[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[8. Enforcing the Law]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
8. ENFORCING THE LAW
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``Americans are safer today than they have been in many years. Our strategy of putting more police on the beat
and getting guns off the street is working. Americans have taken back their neighborhoods, and shown that rising
crime and deadly violence need not be tolerated. But in far too many communities, crime remains a serious
problem, and our work is far from done.''
President Clinton
November 1998
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The Administration's sustained and aggressive efforts to fight crime
have been extraordinarily successful. For more than six years, serious
crime has fallen uninterrupted. The murder rate is down by more than 28
percent, its lowest point in three decades. And after years of steady
increases, drug use among teens is beginning to level off, and even
decline. These successes are the result of a simple, three-part
strategy:
putting more police on the street and promoting community
policing while taking measures to deter violent offenders and
gun violence;
controlling alien smuggling and illegal immigration into the
United States, and the drug smuggling and other illegal
activities that can accompany it, through reliance on stepped-
up border enforcement and the use of technology; and
fighting drug abuse on all fronts, especially among children,
by vigorously enforcing the Nation's drug laws and developing
prevention programs which give children an alternative to
crime and drugs and a chance for a positive future.
A cornerstone of the Administration's crime-fighting strategy,
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), went into force at the
start of the President's first term. With expanded resources for
enforcement, and reliance on neighborhood involvement, COPS has brought
stability and security to many once-dangerous neighborhoods. COPS has
encouraged citizens to work with officers and other authorities in the
criminal justice system to combat and prevent crime in their
neighborhoods. And it has put more officers on the beat. COPS will
achieve its goal of putting 100,000 officers on the beat in 1999-- ahead
of schedule and under budget--making all communities that much safer.
The next step in the President's anti-crime strategy is the new 21st
Century Policing Initiative. It continues the Administration's
commitment to keep the number of officers on the beat at an all-time
high, by helping communities hire, redeploy, and retain police officers.
It also builds on the COPS program in two key ways. First, it provides
significant new funds to give law enforcement access to the latest
crime-fighting and crime-solving technologies--improved police
communications, crime mapping, laptop computers, crime lab improvements,
and more. Second, the initiative makes an unprecedented commitment to
engage the entire community in the hard work of preventing and fighting
crime--by funding new community-based prosecutors, and partnerships with
probation and parole officers, school officials, and faith-based
organizations.
The budget also builds on the Administration's efforts to combat gun
crime. On the legislative front, the Administration has won difficult
victories in passing some of the toughest gun laws ever--including the
Brady Law, the ban on assault weapons, and the Youth Handgun Safety Act.
To build on these achievements and to further enhance law enforcement's
ability to curb the use of guns in our society, the budget proposes a
plan to address gun crime by enhancing and better coordinating the
enforcement of Federal firearms laws. It also devotes signifi
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cant resources for Federal, State, and local gun tracing, investigation,
and prosecution.
Fighting Crime
The budget proposes $26.4 billion to control crime (see Chart 8-1).
Of the total, $4.5 billion would go for programs authorized in the 1994
Crime Act. While enhancing Federal anti-crime capabilities, the budget
seeks to empower States and communities, which play the central role in
controlling crime, particularly violent crime.
21st Century Policing Initiative: The $1.275 billion initiative (see
Chart 8-2) includes the following:
More police on the streets: $600 million will be used to hire
and redeploy more law enforcement officers, with an effort to
target new police officers to crime ``hot spots.'' A portion
of the funds will also be used to help economically-distressed
communities retain new police hires, and for other programs to
train, educate, and recruit law enforcement officers.
Crime fighting technology: $350 million will be used to help
State and local law enforcement agencies improve police
communications, crime mapping, laptop computers, and crime lab
improvements.
Community based prosecutors: $200 million will be used to
hire new community-based prosecutors and develop community-
based prosecution programs. These prosecutors will interact
directly with the community. Prosecutors are increasingly
being asked to designate attorneys to work in neighborhoods
that disperately need help, in order to help solve local crime
problems, and to focus on methods of crime prevention.
Community crime prevention: $125 million to engage the entire
community in preventing and fighting crime. These funds could
be used to: work with probation and parole officers in
supervising released offenders; work with local school
officials in adopting community-wide plans to prevent school
violence; involve faith-based organi
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zations in juvenile crime prevention; and establish citizens'
police academies that teach neighborhood residents problem-
solving skills.
Narrowband Communications: In addition, the Justice and
Treasury Departments will be able to upgrade the Federal
wireless communication systems' efficiency, security, and
compatibility with the radio systems of State and local public
safety agencies. This communications network will ensure that
the Nation's public safety workers can communicate with each
other securely, swiftly and effectively.
Firearms Enforcement: The Administration supports hiring more Federal
prosecutors and agents for an intensified effort to keep guns out of the
hands of criminals, reduce youth violence, and make America's streets
safer. As part of this effort, the Justice Department, working with the
States and the Treasury Department, is now conducting computerized
background checks on all firearms purchases. In its first four weeks,
the new National Instant Check System has reviewed 779,170 prospective
gun sales to make sure only law-abiding citizens take home new guns.
Federal gun checks kept 7,900 felons, fugitives, stalkers, and other
criminals from purchasing new firearms--an average of 290 illegal gun
sales blocked every day.
The Administration proposes $5 million to increase firearms
prosecutions based on focused Federal-local law enforcement efforts to
incarcerate and deter armed violent criminals, violent youth offenders,
and illegal gun traffickers. To support these prosecutions, the
Administration also proposes $23.8 million and 160 additional Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents to investigate and arrest
violent criminals and gun traffickers, which will extend the Youth Crime
Gun Interdiction Initiative from 27 to 37 cities and support
investigations of illegal activity associated with gun shows and illegal
attempts to purchase firearms.
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Law Enforcement on Indian Lands: Homicide and violent crime rates on
Indian lands are rising, even as crime rates in the rest of the country
fall. The Administration proposes $164 million for the second year of
this joint Justice and Interior Departments initiative which provides
anti-crime grants to Indian jurisdictions. The money is used to increase
the number of fully trained and equipped police officers in Indian
country and to improve the quality of detention facilities on Indian
lands.
Violence Against Women: Violence against women is a continuing
problem. Studies show that law enforcement intervention often breaks the
cycle of domestic violence, preventing subsequent incidents. The budget
proposes $456 million to maintain efforts to combat gender-based crime.
Funding for these programs will also enable States to further expand
outreach to previously under-served rural, Indian, and other minority
populations.
Juveniles: The budget proposes $194 million for programs to fight
juvenile crime and $95 million to support more local community
prevention programs such as mentoring, truancy prevention, and gang
intervention. To prevent young people from becoming involved in the
juvenile justice system, the budget expands programs that provide
supervised afternoon and evening activities for youth. The budget
provides an additional $6 million in 2000 to the Departments of Health
and Human Services and Justice to investigate and prosecute the most
egregious child support violators.
Certainty of Punishment: The budget proposes $35 million for grants
to States, local governments, and Indian Tribes to develop and implement
innovative punishment alternatives to incarceration and probation for
young offenders. The program aims to ensure certain punishment, to
strengthen accountability and responsibility, to foster reduced
recidivism, and to promote assistance for victims.
Gangs: The Administration intends to crack down on violent youth gangs
and to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and away from children.
It has launched a tough Anti-Gang and Youth Violence Strategy to help
communities hire more prosecutors and probation officers, and to keep
schools open later when youth crime rates peak. The budget provides $13
million for gang reduction programs, including Treasury funded local
gang education efforts designed to educate youth about the dangers of
gang involvement.
Safe Streets Task Forces: The budget proposes $108 million to continue
the Safe Streets program, which blends the efforts of the FBI and other
Federal law enforcement agencies with those of State and local police
departments to investigate street crime and violence.
Crime in Public Housing: This budget proposes $310 million to support
anti-drug and anti-crime activities in public housing, including
Operation Safe Home, and a new Youth Anti-Drug Diversion initiative. The
Office of Public Housing and the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Inspector General jointly administer Operation Safe Home,
which brings together residents, managers, and various Federal and local
law enforcement agencies to rid public housing communities of crime. The
Youth Anti-Drug Diversion program provides funding in support of anti-
drug and anti-crime activities among youths living in public and
assisted housing, including mentoring and after-school programs focused
on employment training and job placement.
State Criminal Alien Assistance: The budget proposes $500 million to
reimburse State and local governments for the cost of incarcerating
criminal illegal aliens.
Terrorism: Acts of domestic terrorism have resulted in deaths and
injuries to American citizens, while terrorism overseas, as shown by the
recent bombings in east Africa, has taken an even heavier toll. The
Administration has sought more Federal resources to ensure the safety
and security of the public and the Government from these violent and
devastating criminal acts. The budget provides $8.5 billion to combat
terrorism, of which $5 billion would support the Defense Department's
(DOD) terrorism-related and force protection efforts. While much of the
proposed funding continues, current terrorism-related programs in
physical protection and law enforcement activities, the budget also
provides increases in the following high-priority areas:
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Weapons of mass destruction: The budget proposes fully
funding the second year of the Administration's 1999 chemical/
biological weapons initiative, including: $174 million for the
Justice Department to improve the capability of State and
local governments to prepare for and respond to weapons of
mass destruction; more than $100 million for DOD domestic
preparedness and response capabilities; $35 million for the
Department of Energy's emergency response capabilities for
nuclear terrorist events; and $17 million for the Department
of Health and Human Services' Metropolitan Medical Strike
Teams, which handle the medical response to an incident
involving biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction.
Critical infrastructure protection/cyber crime: The budget
proposes over $1.4 billion for critical infrastructure
protection across the Government. These funds support a
national effort to assure the security of our increasingly
vulnerable and interconnected infrastructures, such as
telecommunications, banking and finance, energy,
transportation, and essential government services. Of the
total, $46 million enhances the investigative and
prosecutorial efforts of the FBI, the U.S. Attorneys, and the
Justice Department's Criminal Division. The budget also
supports critical infrastructure-related research and
development programs in DOD and other agencies. In aggregate,
the 2000 request exceeds 1999 enacted levels by more than $400
million.
Aviation security: The budget provides $100 million to the
Federal Aviation Administration for airport explosives
detection equipment in support of recommendations of the White
House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.
Financial crime: The Treasury Department is developing a
national strategy for combating money laundering and related
financial crime. This strategy relies on the efforts of a
number of Treasury bureaus, including the U.S. Customs Service
and the Internal Revenue Service, which identify, disrupt, and
dismantle criminal organizations that launder the proceeds
generated by smuggling, trade fraud, export violations, and a
range of other illegal activities. The Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network also provides money laundering case
support to local, State, and Federal agencies.
Meeting the Challenges of Immigration
The United States is a Nation of immigrants. While we welcome legal
immigrants to our Nation, the United States is also a Nation of laws and
it is imperative to take serious measures to bar illegal immigrants from
making their way across America's borders. Illegal immigration can
threaten public safety when it is accompanied by organized drug, alien
smuggling and gang activities that increase disorder in our communities.
The Administration has done more to control illegal immigration than
any Administration before it. Working through the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), the Administration has reversed decades of
neglect along the Southwest border with an aggressive border control
strategy. Since 1993, this strategy has added nearly 5,000 new Border
Patrol agents--more than double the 1993 levels--fully equipped with
state-of-the-art technology, border barriers and infrastructure to gain
control and return the rule of law to the border. However, we must do
more. The budget continues to fund this bipartisan effort to gain
control and effectively manage our Nation's borders. (See Table 8-1 for
INS funding by program.)
While the Administration takes steps to curb illegal immigration,
which is a threat to our society, it must also be responsive to those
who seek to immigrate to this country by legal means, those who come
here to work hard and play by the rules, and who may also fear
persecution in their homeland.
The Administration is reengineering the naturalization process which,
since 1995, has seen a dramatic upsurge in demand for naturalization.
Due to this unprecedented flood of applications, the Nation welcomed
over a million new citizens in 1997, and 473,152 citizens in 1998. There
is currently a backlog of over 1.8 million applicants waiting for the
receipt of the most important
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Table 8-1. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE FUNDING BY PROGRAM
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
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Dollar Percent
1998 1999 2000 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate Proposed 1999 to 1999 to
2000 2000
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Appropriated Funds:
Border Patrol............................................... 875 917 1,044 +127 +14%
Investigations and intelligence............................. 271 293 324 +31 +10%
Land border inspections..................................... 168 172 189 +17 +10%
Detention and deportation................................... 413 474 577 +103 +22%
Program support and construction............................ 614 704 802 +98 +14%
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Subtotal, Appropriated Funds.............................. 2,342 2,560 2,935 +376 +15%
Fee Collections and Reimbursements:
Citizenship and benefits.................................... 719 636 689 +53 +8%
Air/sea inspections and support............................. 412 486 518 +32 +7%
Immigration support......................................... 203 184 127 -57 -31%
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Subtotal, Fee Collections and Reimbursements.............. 1,333 1,306 1,334 +28 +2%
=================================================
Total, Immigration and Naturalization Service................. 3,675 3,866 4,269 +403 +10%
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and valuable benefit the Federal Government can bestow--citizenship.
The Administration is committed to ensuring that the benefits of
citizenship are provided in a timely manner.--------------------------
Border Control and Enforcement: The budget continues last year's
level of Border Patrol staffing at nearly 9,000 agents--a 127-percent
increase from 3,965 agents--representing a year of consolidation after
steady growth since the start of this Administration. The budget
increases the Administration's commitment to border control by proposing
$50 million in funding for ``force-multiplying'' technologies, including
border monitoring with high resolution color and infrared cameras and
state-of-the-art command centers. This combination of surveillance
technology, Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System (ISIS), provides
the capability to monitor the border from remote sites. Reliance on this
advanced technology will permit Border Patrol agents to monitor the
border more effectively and increase their ability to actively respond
to incursions. The $50 million budget request will fund the deployment
of approximately 200 systems, adding capacity to monitor areas that
would otherwise require the addition of approximately 1,000 extra
agents. The deployment of these systems ensures an immediate and
effective deterrent while the Border Patrol more effectively deploys and
builds the experience base of the agents it has hired and trained over
the past several years.
The budget also provides funds to expand, renovate and construct
Border Patrol stations, border barriers and fencing, install permanent
lighting, and construct support roads along the Southwest border. These
deterrents help control the border by increasing the abilities of Border
Patrol agents to apprehend those trying to enter illegally. Since 1993,
INS has added over 165 night scopes, 5,115 ground sensors, 97 miles of
fencing, and 22 miles of border lighting. It has also added or improved
over 1,500 miles of roads. The budget provides funds for another 18
miles of border lighting and additional fencing, and for maintaining
border deterrents now in place.
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Detention and Removal of Illegal Aliens: The Administration is
committed to removing those who have entered the country illegally. With
the resources provided over the past few years, INS has targeted its
efforts primarily on removing aliens held in Federal, State and local
facilities to ensure these criminal are not allowed back on the street.
In 1998, INS removed 169,072 aliens, including 55,211 criminal aliens.
The budget supports INS' detention program by proposing a $42.5 million
increase for detention facilities, transportation, and contract bed
space to detain and swiftly remove those who have entered illegally. An
additional $54 million is requested to fund detention operations
previously funded from a depleted Breached Bond/Detention Fund account.
Border and Port-of-Entry Coordination: The United States Customs
Service (Customs) and the INS have developed a strategic plan to expand
cooperation on the Southwest border focused on increasing the
interdiction of illegal drugs, aliens and other contraband. The border
management agencies have announced six initiatives along the Southwest
border aimed at improving coordination.
These initiatives include:
replicating the successful San Ysidro, California, port
management model which combines enforcement, traffic
management and community partnership to all major land ports;
expanding joint intelligence operations and creating Customs/
INS intelligence teams;
adopting a unified investigative approach focusing on
seizures and controlled drug deliveries originating from ports
of entry;
sharing research, development, and deployment of border and
port technology;
promoting interoperable wireless communications; and
developing a coordinated air and marine interdiction
capability.
These initiatives, which began in 1998, are expected to result in a
fully integrated border management approach by Customs and INS along the
entire Southwest border by 2003.
In primary inspection and areas of shared responsibility, Customs and
INS have seen virtually the same level of staffing growth from 1993 to
1997, with both agencies adding approximately 1200 inspectors. Since
1998, the Administration has targeted INS inspection staff on primary
vehicle and pedestrian inspections, where the use of illegal and
fraudulent entry documents poses the greatest enforcement threat. This
has permitted Customs to focus greater attention on cargo inspection and
pre- and post-inspection roving operations in the passenger environment.
These efforts have helped to control the entry of illegal drugs into the
country and to expand outbound vehicle inspections to control the
smuggling of contraband.
To ensure a comparable mix of Customs and INS enforcement staff and
technology at ports of entry, Customs will continue to deploy narcotics
detection technology to support cargo and passenger inspection
operations. The budget includes $6 million for INS inspectors for ports
scheduled to open in 2000. Customs inspectors were funded for these
ports in the 1999 Budget.
Citizenship and Benefits: The Administration is committed to building
and maintaining a naturalization system that ensures integrity and
provides service and benefits in a timely manner. The surge of
citizenship applications in 1995 required the INS to reengineer what had
previously been a manual operation built to handle a far smaller
application volume. The INS also had to address unprecedented growth in
naturalization applications from approximately 340,000 annually to
nearly 1.6 million applicants in 1997. The record number of
applications, antiquated INS processes, and complicated reengineering
efforts have all contributed to an unacceptable citizenship application
backlog of over 1.8 million cases.
In 1999, the Administration worked with Congress to obtain $176
million in appropriated and reprogrammed funds to supplement the INS fee
revenue. These resources have funded the process reengineering and the
backlog reduction initiatives. The 1999 funding request was accompanied
by a series of INS initiatives including:
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establishing backlog reduction teams in the five offices
responsible for 65 percent of the caseload and hiring 200
addition adjudicators,
expanding support staff and contract services;
establishing an Immigration Services Division to coordinate
backlog reduction and process reengineering;
creating a customer service telephone center to provide an
accurate and timely responses to inquiries; and
centralizing application and medical waiver review to ensure
quality and integrity.
The budget provides $124 million to continue funding these
initiatives and to assist INS in finalizing the naturalization process
reengineering in 2000. The result of these funding enhancements is that
the unacceptable backlog--which currently requires applicants to wait
upwards of two years for immigration benefits they are eligible for
now--should be reduced to a six to nine month waiting period.
Reducing Drug Use, Trafficking, and its Consequences
Drug use and its damaging consequences cost our society more than
$110 billion a year \1\ and poison the schools and neighborhoods where
our youth strive to meet their full potential. Illicit drug trafficking
thrives on a culture of crime, violence, and corruption throughout the
world. Drug use is a major contributing factor in the spread of AIDS and
other deadly diseases. All Americans, regardless of economic,
geographic, or other position in society, feel the effects of drug use
and drug-related crime.
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\1\ National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism, March 1998.
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The budget proposes $17.8 billion for drug control programs, a 4.3-
percent increase over the 1999 budget, which was supplemented with $844
million in emergency funds primarly to provide one-time capital
investments for boats and planes. The budget supports increases for key
elements in the mission to reduce drug use and its consequences, such as
drug treatment and prevention, especially for children and adolescents;
domestic law enforcement; and other supply reduction programs (see Table
8-2).
Community-Based Prevention: The budget proposes $2.5 billion for drug
prevention programs. The percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade
students reporting that they used marijuana at least once in the past
month decreased sightly from 1997 to 1998. This is the second year of
decline for 8th graders and the first year for 10th and 12th graders.
The use of other drugs, including alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, and
heroin either declined or remained stable over this period.
Additionally, the view that drug use is harmful appears to be more
deeply shared, particularly among the youngest age segment. These
results indicate that America's youth are receptive to the
Administration's ``no use'' message and that it should reinforce this
message and expand upon recent gains.
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Table 8-2. DRUG CONTROL FUNDING
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
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Dollar Percent
1998 1999 2000 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate \1\ Proposed 1999 to 1999 to
2000 2000
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Demand reduction.......................................... 5,372 5,830 6,040 +210 +4%
Supply reduction.......................................... 10,726 11,212 11,737 +525 +5%
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Total, Drug Control Funding............................ 16,098 17,042 17,777 +735 +4%
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\1\ Excludes $844 million in emergency funds provided primarily for one-time capital investments.
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National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign: The Office of National Drug
Control Policy, in conjunction with other Federal, State, local, and
private experts, is implementing a $195 million national media campaign,
including paid advertisements, targeting youth and their parents on the
consequences of illicit drug use. Advertisers are required to provide a
``pro bono'' match for each dollar the Federal government spends on
these paid advertisements. The anti-drug media campaign is fully
integrated Nationwide, including utilization of the Internet and the
entertainment industry. This campaign will continue in 2000 with
proposed funding $10 million higher than 1999.
Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program: Students can
reach their full potential only in safe, disciplined, and drug free
learning environments. The Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities
program helps 97 percent of school districts implement anti-drug and
anti-violence programs in schools. The budget proposes $591 million for
this program, including $90 million in competitive grants to high-need
areas that use proven program designs and $50 million for the School
Drug Prevention Coordinators program. The proposed funding, 43 percent
more than in 1999, will enable nearly half of the Nation's middle
schools to have a knowledgeable director of drug and violence prevention
programs to ensure that local programs are effective and link school-
based prevention programs to community-based programs.
Drug Free Communities Act: The budget proposes $22 million, a 10-
percent increase over 1999 for activities under this Act that promote
citizen participation in our efforts to reduce substance abuse among
youth and provide funds to help community anti-drug coalitions carry out
their important missions.
Drug Treatment: The budget proposes $3.6 billion to treat drug abuse,
six percent more than in 1999. The Administration realizes that an
effective treatment system must confront drug abuse where the challenge
is the greatest--in the streets of urban, suburban, and rural drug
markets, and in the criminal justice system. It is a top priority to
close the gap between the capacity of the public treatment system and
all those who could benefit from substance abuse treatment. These
chronic drug users consume a disproportionate amount of the illicit
drugs used and inflict a disproportionate share of drug-related costs on
society.
Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision: The budget includes $215 million to
promote zero tolerance drug supervision for persons under criminal
justice supervision. Specifically, it proposes: (1) $100 million to help
States and localities implement tough new systems to drug test, treat,
and punish prisoners, parolees and probationers; (2) $50 million for
drug courts that work to break non-violent offenders of their drug
habits; and (3) $65 million to provide intensive drug treatment to
hardcore drug users before and after they are released from prison.
Domestic Drug Law Enforcement: The budget proposes $9.2 billion for
drug-related domestic law enforcement, 3.5 percent more than in 1999, to
help bolster community-based law enforcement efforts, shield the
Southwest border from illicit drugs, and enhance coordination among
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. The budget proposes
an increase of $22 million for the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), most of which is to increase staff productivity through an
improved information, telecommunications, and technology infrastructure.
The Federal Government will continue its focus on providing leadership
and training; facilitating multi-agency cooperative efforts through the
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, the Southwest border
initiative, and other efforts; and offering incentives to States and
localities to use the most effective drug control methods.
International Programs and Interdiction: The Administration's
comprehensive approach to combating drug use includes an enhanced
international strategy, making it harder for drug-criminals to smuggle
illicit drugs into the United States. The budget includes funds to
upgrade interdiction efforts along the Southwest border and in the
Caribbean, and continues to provide heightened assistance to foreign
governments to curtail drug cultivation and production. In addition, the
budget fully supports the operation of the planes and boats provided for
in the 1999 Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act.
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Source Nation Efforts: Internationally, the United States focuses
primarily on interdiction in source countries and transit zones,
disrupting the drug organizations and their production, marketing, and
money laundering structures. The budget proposes an increase of $29
million over the 1999 base program level to continue funding
counternarcotics programs in source nations, mainly Columbia, Peru, and
Bolivia. It proposes continued funding for enhanced coca, opium poppy,
and marijuana crop eradication efforts, and to provide training,
logistics, equipment, intelligence, and communications support to source
nations. The budget also provides for relocation of the U.S.
Government's drug mission from Panama to other localities in the region
in compliance with the Panama Canal Treaty.
Southern Tier of the United States: The Administration remains
committed to shielding the Nation's Southern tier from the drug threat.
Customs will continue to deploy technology, such as the use of x-rays in
the air passenger and outbound environments, to detect illicit
contraband and currency. The budget further solidifies the interdiction
effort by providing $50 million for the technological equivalent of
adding another 1,000 border patrol agents, of which $7.5 million
supports anti-drug programs. An increase of $36 million, or 7.4 percent
above the 1999 level, expands Coast Guard interdiction operations beyond
the levels initiated with 1999 emergency supplemental funding.