WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Senate should reject US President Barack Obama’s cuts to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and instead it should increase its funding by $100 million to help fight the rise of heroin in New York state, US Senator Charles Schumer announced in a statement.
“The President’s [Obama] budget proposal would cut HIDTA funding from $245 million to $193 million, which Schumer made clear today that he strongly opposes,” the statement, issued on Monday, said. “Schumer instead urged the Senate to reject the President’s budget request and increase HIDTA’s funding by $100 million in the Fiscal Year 2016 budget.”
Schumer warned that Obama’s cuts to HIDTA could undermine the fight against a new potent form of heroin known as “China White” that is increasingly sold in the US states of New York and Connecticut.
“With the emergence of highly deadly, fentanyl-laced heroin, now is clearly not the time to cut back on federal funding for HIDTA, one of the best programs available for monitoring drug trafficking rings and facilitating information sharing and coordination amongst all levels of law enforcement,” Schumer said.
In the United States there are currently 28 HIDTAs nationwide, which include about 16 percent of US counties and 60 percent of country’s population, according to statement.
The rate of heroin overdose deaths has more than doubled from 2010 to 2013, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
