A FIRST STEP ON METH FRONT Radanovich Promises To Seek Congressional Hearings. Rep. George Radanovich's pledge to seek congressional hearings on the methamphetamine problem in the Central Valley is a welcome response from one of the region's elected officials. Most have been silent despite growing evidence that meth is one of the Valley's most serious law enforcement challenges, with broad social implications for our children and families. These issues were documented in "A Madness Called Meth," an 18-page special section produced by a team of Bee journalists from Fresno, Modesto and Sacramento. The Central Valley is meth's principal breeding ground, but little has been done by our governmental leaders. Radanovich made his pledge to seek congressional hearings on the meth epidemic on Monday during a meeting with The Bee's editorial board. The Mariposa Republican said he would talk to Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, about possibly scheduling hearings. Radanovich's office later said he also would be pursuing other avenues to increase funding for the meth fight and to increase public awareness of the seriousness of the meth problem. Congressional hearings certainly would raise the profile of this issue, and we commend Radanovich for deciding to attack this problem at the congressional level. He said he had not realized how widespread the meth problem was or how little funding actually went into the fight in the Valley prior to publication of The Bee's report. It is disturbing that most of the region's lawmakers have either ignored the problem or have been making excuses for their timid actions in responding to the crisis. The region has been declared a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which should open it up to increased funding and allow better coordination of the governmental authorities and resources involved in this fight. But the lack of federal funds to fight meth in the Valley remains an indictment of our representatives, and is clear evidence that the region has been ignored when meth-fighting money has been handed out. The Bee report found that while San Diego gets $10 million from the federal government to combat drug trafficking, Milwaukee $4.5 million and Lake County, Ind., $3 million, the nine Valley counties that stretch from Sacramento to Kern receive just $1.5 million from the federal government. It is the smallest drug-fighting budget of any region in the country. If Radanovich is successful in getting federal hearings, it will focus attention on the problem and the lack of state and federal commitment to resolving it. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has defended her actions in the meth fight by citing all the anti-meth laws that she has authored. They have been helpful, but this battle is far from over. At the very least, the senator should get more federal funds directed at the Valley's meth problem. We hope Radanovich persuades his colleagues to hold congressional hearings on the Central Valley's methamphetamine problem. Maybe then, with the cameras rolling, our state and federal officials will take this threat much more seriously.
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