DON'T CUT U.S. AID FOR DRUG TASK FORCES

You really have to wonder what goes into this kind of thinking:

At a time when the state attorney general is scheduling a statewide forum
to address the increasing problems caused by the manufacture and use of
methamphetamine, President Bush wants to slash federal assistance for local
drug task forces.

"You really need well-trained investigators who understand the culture of
drugs," said Eau Claire County Sheriff's Department Capt. Ken Berg.

Sure, Bush and like-minded Republicans can argue, fighting meth and other
illegal drugs mainly is a local responsibility. That can be said of most
law enforcement activities.

But fighting meth isn't like investigating minor burglaries or vandalism.
This is big-time, sophisticated criminal activity that can overwhelm small
police departments.

That's where the federal government comes in.

Fighting drugs is expensive and requires a coordinated effort. That is why
drug task forces, which are a collaborative effort involving a number of
law enforcement agencies, are effective.

Drug violators often cross-jurisdictional lines. They also cross state
lines. That's why the federal government has a role to play in supporting
the local drug task forces.

But Bush is going after federal law enforcement programs that are more than
a decade old.

Bush, in his 2006 budget proposal, wants to cut spending for the Community
Oriented Policing Services program from $499 million to a paltry $22 million.

Bush also wants to eliminate so-called Byrne grants, which disseminated
$475 million nationwide. Byrne grants help support the Western Central Drug
Task Force.

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, said Bush targeted both programs in the
past, but Congress found money to keep them alive. Both have their roots in
the Democratic administration of former President Clinton.

"There is other fat in the budget to go to," Kind said, referring to Bush's
effort to cut domestic spending.

Kind said he is a member of a "meth caucus" in the Capitol and is pushing
the federal government for more effective ways to fight the drug. Cutting
programs that help support drug-fighting efforts only hurts anti-meth
efforts, he said.

"We do have a major meth problem," Kind added.

While Bush wants to cut these two anti-crime programs, he wants to spend
millions of dollars on new equipment that supposedly will make the homeland
more secure from terrorist attacks.

That's also a worthy cause. But you have to question some of that spending.
A recent Leader-Telegram story by reporter Chris Vetter said the state
received $38 million in 2003 and $51 million in 2004 from homeland security
grants and is slated to receive another $37 million in 2005.

No doubt some of the equipment will be used regularly by law enforcement,
and some may even save lives. But a lot of this equipment probably will
gather dust.

It's all about priorities. For residents of the Chippewa Valley, the threat
of meth is a lot more real than threats from terrorists.

That message needs to be conveyed to Bush and the Republicans who control
Congress.