ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:96082002.TXT
DATE:08/20/96
TITLE:20-08-96  WHITE HOUSE REPORT, TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1996

TEXT:
(Drug use, FBI expansion)

NEWS BRIEFING:  Press Secretary Mike McCurry covered these topics:

DRUG RECORD DEFENDED: Citing a study released August 20 by the
Department of Health and Human Services, McCurry noted that the huge
increase in teen-agers' use of drugs pre-dated the Clinton
administration and "is a very specific target of (the president's)
national drug strategy." McCurry said that combatting teen-age use of
drugs "is first on a list of five priorities" set by Barry McCaffrey,
Clinton's drug czar, in his fight against narcotics.

McCurry pointed out that the study also showed that there has been "no
marked increase in overall use" among all age groups and figures are
now "well below (the) levels of the late 1970s and 80s," except for
teen-agers.

McCurry said that Clinton remains concerned about teen-agers' rising
level of usage, has spoken out about its implications, and has
"identified this problem as an area he wants to work on personally."

FBI EXPANSION BACKED: Questioned about news reports that the Federal
Bureau of Investigation plans to double to 46 the number of foreign
cities where it has a permanent presence, McCurry asserted, "The State
Department and other agencies working with this have come together
with a coordinated plan to increase our ability to address the most
urgent threats we face." The Washington Post reported the FBI plan has
drawn "scattered criticism" at the Department of State, the Central
Intelligence Agency, and on Capitol Hill.

McCurry said the threats of the post Cold War era include terrorism,
drug trafficking, and international money laundering, "all areas in
which the FBI has expertise." He said the new plan "respects the
traditional prerogatives of the president's chief of mission in each
diplomatic post," while also encouraging "involvement by the FBI."
NNNN