Text of a Letter from the President to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations (9/6/00)

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Text of a Letter from the President to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations (9/6/00)

                              THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
                           (New York, New York)

                                                               For
Immediate Release                         September 6, 2000


                    TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
                TO THE CHAIRMEN AND RANKING MEMBERS OF THE
               SENATE AND HOUSE COMMITTEES ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               New York City

                             September 6, 2000



Dear Mr. Chairman:  (Dear Senator:)    (Dear Representative:)

I am writing to convey my strong support for a critical public safety issue
under consideration by the Conference Committee for the FY 01
Transportation Appropriations bill.  As you know, the Senate-passed
Transportation Appropriations bill includes a provision sponsored by
Senator Frank Lautenberg and supported by Senate Transportation
Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby to help set a national impaired
driving standard at .08 blood alcohol content (BAC).  Currently, 18 states
already have .08 BAC in place as the legal limit for drunk drivers, and I
strongly support making this the nationwide standard.  As the bill moves
forward, I urge you to also address a number of other important issues that
we have raised separately with the House and Senate versions of the bill.

The final 1999 Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) assessment released
today by Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater shows that
alcohol-related traffic fatalities are con-tinuing to decline and have hit
a record low.  However, we are still losing over 15,700 American lives in
alcohol-related crashes every year -- one every 33 minutes.  It is
imperative that we do more to save lives and keep drunk drivers off our
roads.  Enacting a standard of .08 BAC across the country is the next
logical step.  Studies have shown that a nationwide limit of .08 BAC could
save an estimated 500 lives a year.

That is why I strongly urge the Conference Committee to send me a final
bill that includes this life-saving .08 BAC provision.  The Congress missed
an opportunity 2 years ago when conferencing the TEA-21 bill to make a .08
BAC standard mandatory, despite strong bipartisan support.  Since that
time, we have lost over 30,000 more Americans to impaired drivers on our
nation?s roads.  We cannot afford to wait any longer to save more lives.

Along with the thousands of families that have lost loved ones to drunk
drivers, I urge you to seize this opportunity to work with your colleagues
on the Conference Committee and ensure this provision is in the final FY 01
Transportation Appropriations bill.

                              Sincerely,



                              WILLIAM J. CLINTON



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