Cantwell Demands Support for Local Law Enforcement in Fight Against Meth
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called on Congress to make good on its commitment to provide local law enforcement with the resources needed to win the fight against meth. Earlier this year, Congress authorized $99 million a year in vital Meth Hot Spots grants to train state and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute meth offenders. In a letter to Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice, Cantwell called on the Committee to fully fund this vital program at the authorized level of $99 million during 2007.
“Congress has already recognized the need to get these resources to local communities struggling to combat the meth epidemic,” said Cantwell, co-chair of Senate Anti-Meth Caucus. “Now, we need to finish the job. Washington’s first responders are doing an outstanding job, but they need all the help they can get to stop meth-production, meth-trafficking, and meth-related crimes. If we don’t act, this dangerous drug will continue to harm families, lives, and rural communities all across America.”
Earlier this year, Cantwell worked with her colleagues to include the Combat Meth Act and other anti-meth measures in legislation to re-authorize the Patriot Act. This new law restricts the sale of products used to produce meth, provides funds to help those affected by meth use, and gives new tools to states, law enforcement, and prosecutors working to combat meth. The legislation also authorizes a total of $509 million in grants to states and local communities, including $99 million for the Meth Hot Spots program.
Thursday, in addition to her request for full funding of the Meth Hot Spots program, Cantwell joined Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mark Dayton (D-MN), and others in a separate letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice requesting $900 million for the Byrne/Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program for Fiscal Year 2007. Byrne/JAG Grants target illegal drugs and address other law enforcement needs by helping local law enforcement agencies add and train personnel, and acquire equipment and technical assistance. Many rural communities rely on these grants in their fight against meth.
Cantwell is also the sponsor of the Arrest Methamphetamine Act to curb meth trafficking across the U.S.-Canadian border into Washington, as well as legislation to investigate the link between meth crimes and other criminal activity such as identity theft. The growing connection between identity theft, the nation’s fastest-growing crime, and the use and production of methamphetamines, is an issue raised often during Cantwell’s meetings with law enforcement officials from across Washington state.
[The text of Cantwell’s letter requesting $99 million for the Meth Hot Spots program follows bellow]
April 7, 2006
Dear Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Mikulski:
I respectfully urge your Subcommittee to appropriate $99 million for the COPS Hot Spots program as authorized by the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act Of 2005.
Methamphetamine production is a growing threat to our country. First responders see the impact of meth on families and children everyday in hospitals, homes, and raided labs. Law enforcement officials from across my state have told me they need all the assistance they can get to combat the recent rise in meth-related crimes.
President Bush signed the legislation on March 9, 2006. As you know, the Senate unanimously agreed to fund the $99 million it authorized for the COPS Hot Spots program as an amendment to the 2007 Budget Resolution. The COPS Hot Spots program is vital to a broad range of anti-meth initiatives carried out by states and local law enforcement. It provides crucial funding enabling law enforcement to stop meth cooks and deal with the toxic waste created by meth labs.
We must do everything possible to help states and local law enforcement keep meth ingredients out of the hands of criminals. Therefore, we ask for your assistance in maintaining funding for the COPS Hot Spots program throughout the fiscal year 2007 appropriations process. Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator
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