FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1995 (202) 616-0189 TDD (202) 514-1888 RENO CALLS ON CONGRESS TO SAVE DRUG COURTS FROM BUDGET AXE RENO AND ONDCP DIRECTOR LEE BROWN ATTEND D.C. DRUG COURT "GRADUATION" WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno and Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Lee Brown today visited a D.C drug court as prosecutors, police and former drug addicts explained how drug courts can help get tough on drug criminals and return them to society clean and sober. Drug courts are designed to force criminals out of the cycle of drug addiction before they return to the streets. D.C.'s drug court, acknowledged as one of the nation's most innovative, assigns drug felons to a program of intensive coerced abstinence and treatment for up to eight months. The event featured several participants who have completed the program successfully. Reno and Brown watched as program participants received recognition for graduating. Former participants who have stayed clean were also honored. "Drug courts make sense, and they are tough on crime," said Reno. "Most of all, they work. Congress should not turn its back on one of the few tools we have to break the cycle of drug crime." The 1994 Crime Bill provided $1 billion in funding for drug courts, but the House of Representatives voted to defund the program after this fiscal year. This week, the House is expected to vote on a proposal to eliminate this year's drug court appropriations, as well. ### 95-138