News (Media Awareness Project) - US WY: Wire: Powell Police Chief Pleased Grant Funding Continued |
| Title: | US WY: Wire: Powell Police Chief Pleased Grant Funding Continued |
| Published On: | 2003-02-18 |
| Source: | Casper Star-Tribune (WY) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-21 04:26:43 |
POWELL POLICE CHIEF PLEASED GRANT FUNDING CONTINUED
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) - Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., was surprised, and Powell Police
Chief Tim Feathers was pleased with a late hour add-on to the omnibus
federal budget bill.
Funding for the Byrne Grant was continued, after Enzi was told money for the
program was cut out of the bill.
Feathers said the appropriation means the war on drugs can continue in
Powell and northwest Wyoming for the next year with funds supporting
undercover work by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation's
Northwest Drug Enforcement Team.
Powell provides a police officer to the DCI team with salary paid by the
Byrne Grant program.
Feathers was in Washington, D.C., at an anti-drug conference last week and
he dropped by Enzi's office Thursday afternoon to check on the Byrne Grant
money. Enzi told him it didn't look good.
The $650 million for the program had been stripped out of the budget bill in
the U.S. Senate, with both Enzi and Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., voting to
keep the funding. Enzi said the delegation sent letters to the
appropriations committee requesting funding at the 2002 level.
The conference committee between the Senate and House was still working on
the final Conference Report Thursday. Enzi put his aides to work searching
the 1,000-page omnibus bill, and that's when they discovered the Byrne
funding was still alive.
''Sometimes it happens,'' Enzi said. ''The conference committee can move
money around to get a deal.''
Late Thursday night, both Houses of Congress approved the final Conference
Report, and now the $397.4 billion budget bill goes to the White House to be
signed.
Feathers said he is happy to keep the work of the Northwest Drug Enforcement
Team going. It provides effective resources that would not otherwise be
available to small communities, the chief said.
''Since the Northwest Enforcement Team began, prosecutions of drug cases
have gone up and property crimes have gone down,'' he said. ''Remove that
effective presence, and we could be back to a flourishing drug trade.''
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) - Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., was surprised, and Powell Police
Chief Tim Feathers was pleased with a late hour add-on to the omnibus
federal budget bill.
Funding for the Byrne Grant was continued, after Enzi was told money for the
program was cut out of the bill.
Feathers said the appropriation means the war on drugs can continue in
Powell and northwest Wyoming for the next year with funds supporting
undercover work by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation's
Northwest Drug Enforcement Team.
Powell provides a police officer to the DCI team with salary paid by the
Byrne Grant program.
Feathers was in Washington, D.C., at an anti-drug conference last week and
he dropped by Enzi's office Thursday afternoon to check on the Byrne Grant
money. Enzi told him it didn't look good.
The $650 million for the program had been stripped out of the budget bill in
the U.S. Senate, with both Enzi and Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., voting to
keep the funding. Enzi said the delegation sent letters to the
appropriations committee requesting funding at the 2002 level.
The conference committee between the Senate and House was still working on
the final Conference Report Thursday. Enzi put his aides to work searching
the 1,000-page omnibus bill, and that's when they discovered the Byrne
funding was still alive.
''Sometimes it happens,'' Enzi said. ''The conference committee can move
money around to get a deal.''
Late Thursday night, both Houses of Congress approved the final Conference
Report, and now the $397.4 billion budget bill goes to the White House to be
signed.
Feathers said he is happy to keep the work of the Northwest Drug Enforcement
Team going. It provides effective resources that would not otherwise be
available to small communities, the chief said.
''Since the Northwest Enforcement Team began, prosecutions of drug cases
have gone up and property crimes have gone down,'' he said. ''Remove that
effective presence, and we could be back to a flourishing drug trade.''
Member Comments |
No member comments available...
