CLINTON SEEKS TO TOUGHEN LAWS ON DRUNKEN DRIVING

WASHINGTON -- A mother's anguish still on his mind, President Clinton
embraced legislation that would force states to tighten their drunken
driving standards or face a loss of some federal highway funds.

Clinton endorsed an amendment to lower the legal blood alcohol level to .08
percent, down from the more commonly used standard of .10 percent. Only 15
states currently use the .08 percent level.

The president spoke after hearing an emotional statement by Brenda Frazier,
a Maryland mother who watched as her daughter Ashley, while waiting for a
school bus, was struck and killed by a car driven by a woman who had been
drinking.

"There is no one that will ever convince me that .08 is not serious
impairment," Frazier said. "My eyes have seen it; my ears have heard it."

Clinton voiced his support for a proposal by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.,
that would be added as an amendment to the highway spending bill. The
Senate began debate on the amendment Tuesday evening and scheduled a vote
on it for today.

Under Lautenberg's provision, a state would lose 5 percent of its highway
funding if it failed to pass a law instituting the .08 limit by Oct. 1,
2001. The penalty would rise to 10 percent if a state refused to pass such
a law in subsequent years.

"Let me say that after hearing Brenda Frazier's story, there is very little
that needs to be said. After seeing the photograph of Ashley, there is very
little that needs to be seen," Clinton told a group of activists and
lawmakers during an East Room ceremony.

Clinton also ordered Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater to report back
to him in 45 days with a plan to make .08 the legal limit on all federal
property, from national parks to military bases.

"Lowering the legal limit to .08 will not prevent adults from enjoying
alcoholic beverages, but lowering the limit will make responsible Americans
take even greater care when they drink alcohol in any amounts if they
intend to drive," Clinton said. "To people who disregard the lethal threat
they pose when they drink and drive, lowering the legal limit will send a
strong message that our nation will not tolerate irresponsible acts that
endanger our children and our nation."

Currently, 35 states, including Texas, use the .10 percent level. In Texas,
a new law revokes the driver's license of anyone under age 21 with a trace
of alcohol on his or her breath. The youths can lose their licenses for 60
days to six months plus be fined and sentenced to community service.
Third-time offenders can be jailed for six months.

The zero tolerance for youths who drink was a federal proposal that Clinton
signed into law in 1995.

Brenda Frazier, flanked by the president, police officers and Cabinet
officials, told a harrowing story of watching her 9-year-old daughter walk
to the curb to await a school bus at 8:20 on a December 1995 morning and
seeing a car hit the child. The driver had a blood alcohol level of .08,
lower than Maryland's legal limit.

Clinton was joined by Ashley Frazier's classmates as he signed the order
directing .08 to become the law on federal property.

Under the .08 limit, a 170-pound man would have to drink more than four
alcoholic beverages within an hour and a 137-pound woman would need to
drink three alcoholic beverages in an hour to be declared legally drunk.

Alcohol is suspected as a factor in half of the 40,000 traffic fatalities
every year.

Although Lautenberg's amendment has bipartisan support, the Republican
leadership in Congress has reversed many laws that use highway funds to
force states to adopt certain restrictions such as the 55 mph speed limit.

However, several industry associations opposed the move.

"Attempting to lower the (blood alcohol concentration) level to 0.08 at the
federal level is the wrong answer to preventing drunk driving fatalities,"
said Elaine Z. Graham, senior vice president of government affairs and
membership for the National Restaurant Association. "This proposal will not
reduce the number of alcohol-related deaths. Instead, it will punish the
responsible drinker and take the spotlight off the real problem -- chronic
alcohol abusers."

Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau