Help Restore Proposed Cut to National Guard Counterdrug Programs in FY 2011 Appropriations

CADCA on Monday issued a legislative alert on the Proposed Cuts to National Guard Counterdrug Programs. A funding decrease could also decrease the substance abuse efforts involving the successful partnerships CADCA and national coalitions have made with the National Guard on our common substance abuse prevention missions such as facilitating evidence-based youth anti-drug programs and eliminating drug production, importation and distribution across the U.S.

President Barack Obama in his FY 2011 budget request recommended a total of $228.3 million for the National Guard Counterdrug Program. This level of funding falls short of the previous year in which the program received $276.1 million in total funds, which included $50 million from specific congressional additions to the president's budget. Those additions were not included for the FY 2011 appropriations.

Consequently, in the president's FY 2011 budget request, there are short falls of: $30.1 million in state plans, which includes the Drug Demand Reduction efforts; and $18.4 million for Regional Training schools, which support local law enforcement and community based organizations. It is imperative that Congress hears from you about the importance of sustaining funding levels for the National Guard Counterdrug Programs in order to keep pace with local and state support needs.

At a minimum, these funding levels need to be restored to the FY 2010 appropriated level. Using CADCA's Web-based faxing system, fax the members of your congressional delegation immediately about the importance of restoring funding for the National Guard Counterdrug programs in the FY 2011 Defense Appropriations Bill.

Send a fax to your legislator.

If you would like to personalize your letter with examples from your state/community, please email dkurosky@cadca.org for a MS Word version of the sample letter.