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Bush Plan To Reduce Drug Program Budget Riles Law Enforcement
Joe Cantlupe | SignOnSanDiego | 03/30/2005

WASHINGTON – Local officials and the Bush administration are clashing over a White House plan to cut money from an enforcement program that targets illicit drug suppliers, including Mexican drug cartels.

At issue is a program known as HIDTA, or High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, that would get 55 percent less money than it did last year, when it spent $227 million.

State, local and federal law enforcement officials said the funding is needed to bring together organizations in drug-related cases.

"This is eviscerated," said Ronald E. Brooks, president of the National Narcotic Officers Association Coalition.

"Reduced federal commitment to help local law enforcement fight drug trafficking will deliver a slow, but devastating blow to the quality of life in America."

The Bush administration said the HIDTA money has not been spent wisely and the program should be overhauled drastically.

The White House proposes to reduce the 2006 funding to $100 million, said John Walters, head of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy.

Walters said in budget documents that the HIDTA program is "no longer well focused and comes at an enormous cost."

"State and local drug enforcement efforts have not been able to show a link with significant reduction in drug trafficking," said Walters, the administration's drug czar.

The Office of Management and Budget also said the program has not been able to "demonstrate results."

HIDTA was created in 1990 at a yearly cost of $25 million. It expanded greatly over the years as the War on Drugs intensified. Administration officials describe the program as bloated, saying drug use among youth – what they term the most important aspect of the drug-war effort – is down 17 percent.

Law enforcement officials said HIDTA has been important in many respects, not the least of which is bringing together local, state and federal officials to work on cases.

Across the country, there are 355 HIDTA task forces, 53 intelligence centers and more than 12,000 officers assigned to HIDTA investigations.

In San Diego County, authorities last year spent about $10 million on HIDTA programs, and Imperial County spent $2 million.

Among the major concerns for officials in San Diego and Imperial counties is the uncertain budget fate of the Major Mexican Traffickers Task Force, which includes 20 local, state and federal agents, and focuses on drug cartels in Mexico.

"If HIDTA funding was eliminated, the local and state positions assigned (to the task force) would be lost," said Imperial County District Attorney Gilbert G. Otero. "This would have a devastating effect on all the initiatives within Imperial County because we all depend on each other to provide intelligence and assistance."

"The worst effect would be that we would lose track of the activities currently happening in Mexicali – because much of the (drug) cartel's activities are moving from Tijuana to Mexicali."

San Diego County's HIDTA, on its Web site, listed as among its goals the "push for complete dismantlement of the AFO (Arellano-Felix Organization) as well as proactive investigations."

Neither White House nor local officials would discuss a breakdown of possible personnel cutbacks if the Bush budget plan is enacted.

Inevitably, "local departments will have to pull people away from some (investigative) initiatives," said David Bejarano, the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of California and former San Diego police chief.

The Bush budget plan is under review by the House subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources.

Chairman Mark Souder, R-Ind., said the panel is concerned that the administration proposal "is both premature and too sweeping."

Under the administration plan, HIDTA would be moved from the drug czar's office to the Department of Justice's organized crime drug enforcement task force program, created two decades ago.

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Burninbrooke

"Reduced federal commitment to help local law enforcement fight drug trafficking will deliver a slow, but devastating blow to the quality of life in America."




They've got NOTHING! NOOOOOTTTTHHHHIIIINNNGGG!!!!
MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!


Hmmm, wonder if this means a break in my taxes .

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"We need to change our ethic and aspire to be more Canadian-like,"

"The majority of Americans - the ones who never elected you - are not fooled by your weapons of mass distraction."
Michael Moore

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." — George W. Bush Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

king cola

It doesn't even matter how much money they threw into the program anyway, because either way people were still continuing to smuggle drugs even if there was more patrols at the borders, etc.

As for kidnappings going on with americans visiting Mexico for vacation, when a smuggler loses a shipment and decides to hold american citizens hostage for ransom so they don't go back to the drug cartels with nothing, i think this also might take care of the problem. No matter what people are going to do drugs and hopefully with less drugs being confiscated less americans will be kidnapped for ransom money. I think some of these people though kidnap americas and hold them for ransom even if they aren't involved in drugs but hopefully the problem will decrease or stop with less drugs bein caught.

frostynugs

It's about time bush did something right!

killer12382

Those poor impoverished drug warriors!! I could just cry.....like a little bitty baby. Nobody loves them....just little baby Jesus.

 

gob

"At issue is a program known as HIDTA, or High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, that would get 55 percent less money than it did last year, when it spent $227 million."

The administration should cut the funds to $0....we all know it is w waste of money....the cops will have to do some real work...like arresting real criminals instead of the easy pot bust.

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End Prohibition

ChronicSmoke7

say goodbye to your tax dollars cause kids are smokin the devil's weed...

Bluee

If ya keep throwin' ****, somethin's bound ta stick!

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Pessimism is being content when things go bad, while enjoying life when proven wrong.

Stephanie S.

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Anybody ever lived in a place with the designation HIDTA? Can't imagine that would be a pleasant thing.

Law Enforcement Institutions, like Public Schools, should be forced to show PROGRESS in some way or another. They should have a specfic goal and be able to prove that their goal is being met and that in meeting their goal, they have provided a service to the community. Arresting and imprisoning people doesn't seem to be providing the means to end the WoD.

Guarding a border, patrolling a neighborhood, making drug related arrests are not bringing an END to the War on Drugs. I'd like to see the EXIT STRATEGY for getting this nations police officers out of this War.

peace

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"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." —George W. Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 (Listen to audio)