King works to arm iowa law enforcement
with resources to fight meth
Iowa's National Meth Training Center
Included in House Appropriations Report
WASHINGTON
- In his ongoing effort to eradicate
methamphetamine from Iowa's communities,
U.S. Congressman Steve King last night
urged his colleagues to support measures
to give Iowa law enforcement officers
the resources to fight meth as the House
debated H.R. 5672,
the Science, State, Justice, and
Commerce Appropriations Act for Fiscal
Year 2007. The bill, passed
out of the House last night, now goes to
the Senate.
King has
been working with his colleagues for
funding for the Sioux City Police
Department National Training Center as
part of H.R. 5672. While the center was
included as a priority in the bill,
projects will not receive final funding
amounts until the bill goes to House and
Senate Conference.
"Law
enforcement departments in 38 states
across the nation know how important the
National Training Center is to fight the
meth problem that infests our country,
hurting our kids and crippling our
communities," said King.
King
worked closely with Rep. Frank Wolf,
Chairman of the House
Science, the
Departments of State, Justice, and
Commerce, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Subcommittee, to secure a
place for the training center in H.R.
5672.
The House
also approved an amendment co-sponsored
by King that restores $50 million to
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance
Grant (Byrne-JAG Grants) funding for
next year by reducing a planned $72
million increase for the U.S. Census.
The amendment was introduced by Reps.
Lee Terry (R-NE) and Mark Kennedy
(R-MN).
Iowa has
approximately 25 police task forces that
use Byrne-JAG grants to stop
methamphetamine cooking, trafficking and
abuse. The House funding bill for next
year now includes $444 million for
Byrne-JAG.
"Iowa's
law enforcement officers fight the war
every day to rid communities of the meth
that is killing our kids," said King.
"Law enforcement could spend the bulk of
their time and resources just fighting
this terrible drug, so this federal
funding is critical to make sure they
are able to do what they need to protect
our communities."
Last year
Byrne-JAG funding was funded at 45% of
what was needed by local law enforcement
in states plagued with methamphetamine
abuse. King pushed for full funding of
the grants then too.
According
to the U.S. Attorney General, the number
of meth cases nationwide has quadrupled
over the last ten years. King is a
member of the House Caucus to Fight Meth.
He has also authored legislation to make
Iowa's tough meth precursor law federal
law.
