Bayh Urges Full Funding of Key Component of Combat Meth Act
Bayh Urges Full Funding of Key Component of Combat Meth Act
Bayh says Hot Spots program provides critical funding to help fight proliferation of meth labs
U.S. Senator Evan Bayh today joined with a bipartisan group of his colleagues to send a letter calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund the COPS Hot Spots anti-meth program, a critical component of the Combat Meth Act, which targets funding to areas that have been particularly hard hit by meth use and production.
"Meth is destroying communities throughout the country, and especially across the Midwest and Indiana," Senator Bayh said. "To succeed in this fight, we need to attack the root of the problem and go after meth cooks in the areas hardest hit by the meth epidemic. The Hot Spots program ensures that law enforcement officials in areas most in need of assistance have the resources they need to prosecute meth cooks and clean up the toxic waste dumps created by meth labs."
The COPS Hot Spots program trains state and local law enforcement in meth "hot spots" to investigate meth trafficking and prosecute and lock-up meth offenders. The program provides critical funding used by law enforcement around the country to catch and prosecute the meth cooks and clean up the toxic waste dumps created by the local labs.
Last month, the Senate unanimously agreed to include $99 million in funding for the COPS Hot Spots program in this year's budget resolution. Senator Bayh and his colleagues wrote to request that the Committee maintain the $99 million authorized funding level for the Hot Spots program throughout the appropriations process.
Senator Bayh is an original co-sponsor of the Combat Meth Act. The Combat Meth Act includes proposals designed to cut off access to meth ingredients, to offer support for families recovering from meth's devastating effects, and to help local law enforcement agencies and communities currently struggling with the exploding costs of meth prevention and rehabilitation.
Methamphetamine is a deadly, fiercely addictive and rapidly spreading drug that is wreaking havoc in the Midwest and Indiana. The number of meth labs seized in Indiana increased from 177 in 1999 to more than 1,500 in 2004, an increase of 750 percent. Over the past two years, Bayh has secured roughly $3.45 million for the Indiana State Police to combat the meth problem.
http://bayh.senate.gov/~bayh/releases/2006/04/06APR06pr3.htm