Trump backtracks on cuts to anti-drug office
Source: The Hill
BY RACHEL ROUBEIN - 05/23/17 11:38 AM EDT
President Trump has reversed course on a proposal to nearly eliminate the nations anti-drug office in the face of opposition from Democrats, Republicans and advocates.
The presidents budget, released Tuesday, reduces funding for the Office of National Drug Policy (ONDCP) by $11 million, a 3-percent cut. According to a document sent to The Hill, the White House just weeks ago had floated slashing the ONDCPs budget by nearly 95 percent.
ONDCP, which was created in 1988, helps coordinate the federal response to the opioid epidemic and advises the president on ways to decrease drug activity.
GOP and Democratic lawmakers warned the White House that eliminating this office could worsen the opioid crisis, which has seen rising deaths from prescription drug and heroin overdoses. The Office and the programs it supports are uniquely positioned to address the causes and effects of the current opioid crisis with proven strategies and broad reach, a May 16 letter from about 70 House members to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney stated. For these important programs to remain effective, we believe they must continue to be funded fully and coordinated effectively.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/334730-trump-backtracks-on-cuts-to-anti-drug-office
Initech
(100,068 posts)Yet they don't want to pay for the department to make it happen? These fucking people.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)Fixed it.
Tom Rinaldo
(22,912 posts)Purely in a abstract manner, as if the content didn't matter (but of course it does).
What type of serious thought can possibly be going into a budget planning process that on one day calls for cutting a major program by 95%, and then upon review suggests making a 3% cut instead? Bat shit crazy bi-polar logic is needed to defend making an "adjustment" like that, so they won't try. They got caught stealing money too blatently from people who desperately need it, that's all. And they assume if they just quietly give most of it back now no one will dwell on their prior attempted larceny, in this particular instance.