Feds cutting resources for U.S. lawmen to fight the war on drugs; instead, they are giving that money to Mexico
The following letter has been sent to local sheriffs to inform them of the U.S. government’s recent idiotic move to reroute $450 million from our law enforcers and send it to Mexico. This is beyond outrageous but not surprising considering the corrupt individuals we have representing us. Follow the links folks and raise holy hell. If we don’t start speaking up, we will continue to get hosed until this country is completely extinct.
Dear Sheriff,
It is with great disappointment that we inform you that the House reached a deal with the White House on Thursday and passed its version of the emergency supplemental spending bill (H.R. 2642) without funding for the critical Byrne JAG program. Next week, the Senate is expected to bow to the House in their long battle over whose plan for the supplemental spending bill will reach the president’s desk. As you may recall, we were successful in including $490M for Byrne in the Senate-passed version of the bill.
The House-passed bill would provide $161.8 billion in war funding, an expanded veterans’ education benefit, an extension of unemployment insurance and money to deal with flooding in the Midwest. And while failing to provide funding to restore the 67% reduction for Byrne to help local law enforcement fight the war on drugs here at home, the bill includes nearly $450M in funding to assist law enforcement in Mexico and Central America to assist them in their counter-narcotics efforts. Our allies in the Senate from both parties had fought hard to include domestic spending of about $10 billion above President Bush’s stated limit, including $590M for local law enforcement, and had approved a version with that level, 75-22, last month.
But after weeks of negotiations, it appears that Senate Democrats reluctantly endorsed the deal that House Democrats finally struck with the White House and GOP leadership, potentially ending the back and forth of the bill.
The Senate’s Democratic leaders said Thursday that they would bring the House package to the floor next week and expressed that it would clear that chamber.
NSA will meet on Monday with key law enforcement organizations to consider our next steps which may include: a possibility of attaching funding for Byrne in a second supplemental, if available, and doing a media blitz to express law enforcement’s outrage and disappointment–to help in our efforts as we work on appropriations for FY2009.
Let Your Voices Be Heard:
If you would like to express your concerns to the White House, the comment line is 202-456-1111 or you can email President Bush at president@whitehouse.gov. To call your U.S. Senators, you can go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.
As always, we thank you for your efforts,
Ann Yom, Director of Government Affairs
National Sheriffs’ Association
Direct 703.838.5323, ayom@sheriffs.org