The Nation : Byrd Offers $10-Billion Anti-Drug Plan

The Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee called for an across-the-board cut in federal spending to finance a $10-billion package of anti-drug funding--some $2 billion more than the $7.9 billion proposed by President Bush. The sweeping proposal by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.), which could face a Senate vote as early as today, would devote substantially more money to drug education and treatment programs than the Bush Administration package without undermining its law enforcement initiatives. The Byrd plan marks the first comprehensive Democratic alternative to the Administration proposal. The plan, endorsed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and other key Democrats, would reduce spending on all discretionary programs next year by .58%.