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Senate vote could mean cuts to drug task forces
Area law authorities plan drug war strategy
By CAROLYNN BRIGHT - IR Staff Writer
The passage of a spending bill in the U.S. Senate Wednesday that
included cuts to law enforcement grant programs has local law enforcement officials fearing the worst for its impact on their
war against methamphetamine.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said Friday that nothing
is a done deal, but the 94-5 Senate vote that sent the bill that funds the Commerce, Justice and State departments to the
president to sign could signify the death knell for the Missouri River Drug Task Force.
“We’re looking at a number of options,” she said, explaining
that officials have known about the contents of the bill for a couple of weeks and have been scrutinizing the MRDTF budget
for methods of absorbing the potential loss of 36 percent of their grant funding.
“But this really could cause the dissolution of the drug task force,”
Liedle said.
Under the bill, the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance grants — which
comprise a significant portion of the MRDTF budget — would be funded at $416 million for fiscal year 2006. That’s
down from $606 million in 2005.
MRDTF budget documents indicate that the task force received about $402,000
in grant funding last year. This year, Montana officials anticipate receiving only $257,800.
The total task force budget for fiscal year 2006 is $684,865.
According to Liedle, among the efforts considered by task force members
is dipping into the MRDTF forfeiture fund to make up for the shortfall.
The forfeiture fund comes from the sale of assets seized in drug cases.
“It’s sad because it’s taken 12 years to build up the
forfeiture fund,” she said. “It would be depleted in one year.”
Another option would be a 50 percent reduction in the number of officers
assigned to the task force. Task force members indicated that a result of such a move would be the loss of three of the seven
participating counties — pretty much the disbandment of the task force.
On a larger scale, Liedle said, the loss of participating agencies from
the task force would definitely prompt a review of the federal designation of Montana as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area, and thus, jeopardize federal funding through that program.
At a press conference coordinated by the Montana Democratic Party held
at the Capitol Friday, Liedle expressed her frustration with the cuts.
“Federal funding to fight the drug war is absolutely essential,”
she said, adding that local departments shouldn’t have to scramble every year for funding to continue their efforts.
Liedle said this community has made a commitment to tackling the drug
problem, and the officers deserve consistency in federal support.
Press releases circulated by the Montana Democratic Party Friday took
Montana Sen. Conrad Burns to task for voting in favor of the spending bill. Sen. Max Baucus also criticized Burns following
the vote.
Burns defended his stance Friday in a written statement.
“I was able to include over $3.5 million for Montana-specific law
enforcement projects, and while I would like to have seen the Byrne funding at a higher level, Montana came out on the plus
side on this, and I’m always happy to vote to support Montana’s law enforcement,” he said.
Also, Burns said he believes other opportunities exist to mitigate the
impact of the cuts through other departments such as the Department of Justice, HIDTA and the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition, the bill directs the Drug Enforcement Agency to focus its
Mobile Enforcement Teams on addressing meth production, trafficking and abuse, Burns said, while dedicating an additional
$20 million to assist state and local law enforcement with clandestine lab cleanup.
Burns said the recent creation of the Senate Meth Caucus is another way
of bringing the meth problem to the forefront.
Following a press conference coordinated by the Montana Democratic Party
at the Capitol Friday, Liedle emphasized that the threat to drug task force funding isn’t a partisan issue for her —
it’s about public safety.
Federal funding aside, she said local law enforcement won’t abandon
its efforts to eradicate illegal drug activities in the community.
In fact, she recently shifted another of her deputies over to the MRDTF
program as a show of her dedication to the aggressive investigation of drug cases, bringing the contribution of the sheriff’s
office to the program from one deputy to two. That position is fully paid for through her department.
“We can’t afford to stop our drug enforcement efforts,”
Liedle said, adding that she hopes Montana’s Congressional Delegation understands the gravity of these funding issues.
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