FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2000
CONTACT: Lisette McSoud Mondello
SENATOR HUTCHISON WINS FUNDS FOR BORDER PROSECUTORS
Senator Secures $10 Million to Reimburse Texas Border Counties
for Federal Drug Cases
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a significant victory for anti-drug prosecution efforts along the border, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison today secured $10 million to reimburse Texas counties for costs associated with prosecuting federal drug cases.
This past summer, Senator Hutchison obtained an emergency appropriation of $3 million for each of the four border states to help local district attorneys handle federal drug cases. However, the Justice Department would not release funds for detention costs, the largest cost factor for the counties. This year, Senator Hutchison's provision mandates that detention costs will be reimbursed.
"The Justice Department has found every excuse not to spend the $3 million I provided Texas for this purpose earlier this year. This bill provides more funds for Texas and cuts through the bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. The time for excuses is over," said Senator Hutchison.
The Hutchison provision, included in the final spending bill passed by Congress today, will reimburse county governments for detention costs, court costs, courtrooms technology, the building of holding spaces, administrative staff, and indigent defense costs.
"I share the anger of our border prosecutors that the Justice Department has refused to use federal funds Congress specifically provided for the full range of costs that our border counties bear in trying federal drug cases. Our border counties have borne the heavy financial burden alone of prosecuting many of the federal drug cases," said Senator Hutchison, who has made border issues a priority since coming to the Senate in 1993.
There have been dramatic increases in drug smuggling across the US-Mexico border. Coupled with the increased apprehension rates by the Border Patrol, DEA and the Customs Service, the federal drug cases falling to our border prosecutors has also risen significantly. "The burden had become too great for many of our cash-strapped border communities. The federal government has an obligation to assist these border communities and I am pleased that it is beginning to meet this responsibility," said Senator Hutchison.
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