Senators Vote Mailings Ban to Fund Drug War

In a political maneuver expected to meet strong resistance by the House, the Senate on Thursday moved to raise the first $45 million for President Bush’s war on illegal drugs by voting to eliminate the mass mailing of congressional newsletters.

The proposal by Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) to spend the postal savings on drug-addicted women and infants was adopted, 81 to 9, as William J. Bennett, the Administration’s top drug control official, made his first appearance on Capitol Hill to promote Bush’s anti-drug plan.

At Senate and House hearings, Republican lawmakers generally supported the plan, which calls for increasing anti-drug spending by $2.2 billion in the 1990 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Democrats cordially received Bennett but continued to insist that the proposal needs beefing up.

Responding to critics, Bennett--director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy--said that the “national drug control strategy” is only a first step and that more funds probably will be requested as soon as February, when revisions to it will be presented.

“We’ll probably ask for more (money) for (fiscal) 1991 and probably for (fiscal) 1992,” Bennett told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Meanwhile, Bush took his three-day-old anti-drug campaign on the road, telling the American Legion’s national convention in Baltimore that “by taking the hoods off the streets, we can and will take back the streets.”

Bush called on the veterans to join the fight, saying:

“The cops out here on the street, they can’t do it alone. The teachers--God bless our teachers--. . . they can’t do it alone. The addict, really trying to get clean, can’t do it alone. They all need your help.”

Wilson’s proposal to ban all congressional mass mailings--including newsletters and town meeting notices--was added as an amendment to the Senate version of the fiscal 1990 legislative appropriations bill. It was seen as a shrewd political maneuver to put lawmakers on the spot by essentially forcing them to choose between tightening a prized perquisite and fighting drugs.

The postage-free mass mailings are dear to the hearts of lawmakers, who are frequently accused by election opponents of gaining an unfair advantage by flooding voters with newsletters.

“Congress should just say no to junk mail,” Wilson declared. “It must be weaned from its dependence on unsolicited and wasteful spending on newsletters, which too often are thinly disguised political advertisements.”

Wilson won reelection last year but is now running for governor of California.

His amendment specified that $45 million of savings from the ban be used for a program to reduce the number of “crack babies” through prevention and rehabilitation of addicted mothers and children. This year, the government’s substance abuse prevention program received only $4.5 million for demonstration projects for such treatment.

Opposing the amendment, Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) charged that it was “nothing but posturing. The way to fight drugs is not by finger-pointing and grandstanding.”

If the ban were to go into effect, Bradley added: “I would not be able to inform persons in New Jersey on a number of issues. . . . It would further distance members of Congress from their constituents.”

“I doubt the House will vote to reduce communications with constituents,” predicted House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.).

In what could develop as another bitter battle in the longstanding rivalry between the two chambers, the House has a bargaining chip that its negotiators might use to get rid of the Senate ban on mass mailings. A provision in the House bill would force the Senate to close down “hideaway” offices in the Capitol. The House, except for its leaders, does not have similar personal offices in the Capitol.

At the hearing with Bennett, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) reiterated concerns that the Bush anti-drug plan fails to fund enough police officers, prosecutors, judges and prison cells. Making clear, however, that he has a good working relationship with Bennett, Biden proposed that a small group of congressional leaders and Administration officials meet to work out a compromise plan on a “fast track.”

Bennett indicated that he is amenable.

In the House, Rep. William J. Hughes (D-N.J.), chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on crime, told Bennett that “I heartily welcome and support the strategy overall.” He promised to “help fast track its approval,” subject to various changes, including more money for treating “hard core” cocaine users.

Staff writers William J. Eaton and James Gerstenzang contributed to this story.