Office of National Drug Control Policy

ONDCP Leadership

From its inception to the date this entry was written, ONDCP has had five directors: William J. Bennett (1989–1991), former director of the National Endowment for the Humanities and secretary of education under Ronald Reagan, was appointed by George H. W Bush; Bob Martinez (1991–1993), also appointed by George H. W Bush, previously served as mayor of Tampa, Florida, and as governor of Florida; Lee P. Brown (1993–1995), a former professor at Texas Christian who served as Houston, Texas, chief of police and subsequently as mayor of Houston, was appointed by William Jefferson Clinton; General Barry R. McCaffrey (1996–2001), former head of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), was also appointed by William Jefferson Clinton; John P. Walters, who previously served as chief of staff for ONDCP director William J. Bennett and as deputy director for supply reduction and before that served as assistant to the secretary of education, was appointed by President George W Bush in 2001.

Expanding Scope

The authority and responsibilities of ONDCP and its director were expanded and clarified through a number of executive orders, through reauthorization bills, and through other legislation. On November 16, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12880, which clarified and expanded the authority and responsibilities of ONDCP. Among the requirements of the order were that the ONDCP director provide guidance [Page 656]in the development of relevant national security programs and that the director oversee all international counternarcotics policy development. The order also established an Interagency Working Group on international counternarcotics under leadership of the Department of State and directed that it report to the ONDCP director on its activities. Additionally, Executive Order 12880 required that the ONDCP director designate a drug interdiction coordinator to ensure that resources dedicated to interdiction were sufficient and were effectively coordinated and required that the ONDCP director assist the Department of Justice in disseminating statistics and studies relating to anti-drug abuse policy. The order also required ONDCP to develop and implement national drug control strategy outcome measures that include long-range goals for reducing drug use and its consequences, including reduced medical and criminal justice costs, high school drop out rates, and prenatal exposure to drugs and ensuring adequate substance abuse treatment capacity. ONDCP budgetary, planning, and coordination authority was also increased by Executive Order 12880, which called on the ONDCP director to ensure efficiency in spending and to improve interagency cooperation to enhance drug control efforts and treatment and prevention services. The order authorized the director to request studies, data, and analyses to support this function. Additionally, the order instructed the director to provide budget recommendations to department heads and agencies under the National Drug Control Program by July 1 of each year and certify the adequacy of agency budget requests to implement the provisions of the annual National Drug Control Strategy. In cases where the director determined requests inadequate to certify, he was required under the order to recommend and certify funding levels that would make budget requests adequate to meet plan goals. Finally, Executive Order 12880 charged the director with coordinating efforts to monitor and evaluate the quality, administration, effectiveness, and accountability of substance abuse treatment, prevention, and education; oversee other demand reduction activities; and ensure adequate access to those services.

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