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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release September 3, 1998

                    STATEMENT BY VICE PRESIDENT GORE ON
             THE RELEASE OF $71 MILLION TO DETER DRUNK DRIVING

I am very pleased to announce today the release of $71 million in incentive grants to help states deter drinking and driving.

Awarded under legislation that the President signed this past June, these grants will be awarded to thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia. These funds will encourage states to lower the level of drunk driving to .08 BAC (blood alcohol content) and support such anti-drunk driving efforts as sobriety checkpoints and alcohol-server training programs.

While we should be proud of the significant strides we've made in lowering the number of alcohol-related crashes -- last year they dropped to an historic all-time low -- we must not lose sight of the fact that there is still much left to do. We could save even more lives by passing a tough national standard of impaired driving at .08 BAC -- and I continue to challenge the Congress to enact this life-saving measure.

President Clinton and I will continue to work to make America's roads, highways, and communities safer for all Americans.

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