DRUG CZAR BANNED FROM POLITICAL ACTIVITY

Drug Policy Letter Fall 1992

Beginning in 1993, officials of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy will be barred from participating in primarily political activities.
The ban came in an amendment to another bill passed by the Senate
Judiciary Committee Sept. 10, 1992.

Members of the committee, especially U.S. Sens. Paul Simon
(D-Ill.) and Dennis Deconcini (D-Ariz.), have long been critical of the
appearance that the Bush administration was using the drug czar for
political purposes. Senator Simon voted against confirmation of both
William J. Bennett, the first Bush drug czar, and former Florida Gov. Bob
Martinez, based on his belief that they were appointed mostly because of
political ties to the president and the Republican party, not because they
had demonstrated expertise in the drug field.

After 19 months on the job, Bennett appeared to confirm Simon's
fears, abandoning the drug post and moving on to become a mover-and-shaker
within the GOP. He is now a fixture on "Washington insider" talk shows.

Martinez came to the drug czar job only months after failing in his
bid to be re-elected governor of Florida. He was national co-chairman for
the Bush campaign in 1988 and worked with the president's son, Jeb, as key
fundraiser for the Republican party that year.

After more than a year of a very low public profile, Martinez began
increasing his out-of-town travel in 1992, including the above-mentioned
trip to Columbus.

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