New Mexico AG Asks Congress to Restore Crime Fighting Funds

March 03, 2008 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King today joined attorneys general from all jurisdictions of the United States in asking Congress to restore funding to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

Byrne-JAG is currently the only source of funding available to local and state law enforcement for multijurisdictional drug enforcement, including methamphetamine initiatives, and is a critical source of funds for drug courts, law enforcement collaboration, gang prevention, and prisoner reentry programs.

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In FY 2007, the Byrne-JAG program was funded at $520 million. For FY 2008, the Senate had originally funded the Byrne-JAG program at $660 million and the House at $600 million in their respective appropriations bills. However, in the omnibus FY 2008 appropriations bill signed into law in December of 2007, the Byrne-JAG program funding was cut to $170 million for the coming year – a 67 percent decrease from 2007 funding levels.

Attorneys General assert in their letter to Congressional leaders that these cuts would devastate state law enforcement efforts by shutting down multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces, requiring layoffs of police and prosecutors, and cutting funding to programs proven to assist drug-addicted citizens in becoming productive members of society.

Source: New Mexico Attorney General