Defense Spending Holds Steady

MILITARY November 1994

Funding for Department of Defense anti-drug programs will remain steady for Fiscal Year 1995 at $714 million ("Defense Spending Bill Funds Drug Programs at 1994 Levels," Drug Enforcement Report, Oct. 25, 1994, p. 1).

Brian Sheridan, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support, said that since 1993 the department has reviewed resource allocation and cut 24 ineffective programs. Programs that were eliminated include ship-based aerostat radar balloons and development of remote sensors that could be dropped from airplanes to help find hidden landing strips. The cost-benefits analysis of Defense Department programs is expected to continue.

The FY 1995 budget outlines five major areas of expenditure:

• Drug law enforcement agency (DLEA) support, $305.7 million. Aid law enforcement agencies in anti- drug efforts by providing additional personnel and equipment.
   
• Dismantling drug cartels, $60.8 million. Give intelligence support to the Drug Enforcement Administration and fund the National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown, Pa.
   
• Source nation programs, $128.5 million. Aid Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia in their counter-drug efforts.
   
• Detection and monitoring programs, $127.3 million. Fund projects such as Puerto Rico's new relocatable over-the-horizon radar (ROTHR) station to detect low-level planes over the borders of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
   
• Demand reduction, $91.8 million. Screen for drug use in the military and fund military treatment programs, as well as to expand military anti-drug outreach to the nation's children.