Drug War “Byrne Grants” eliminated from Obama stimulus package

(CNN) — A coalition of Democrats and some Republicans reached a compromise that trimmed billions in spending from an earlier version of the Senate economic stimulus bill.

Senators worked late into the night to trim billions from the original stimulus bill.

CNN obtained, from a Democratic leadership aide, a list of some programs that have been cut, either entirely or partially:

• $300 million for federal prisons
• $300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program
• $140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program

What are these BYRNE grants and why do they matter to us?  Radley Balko explains it quite well at The Agitator:

Byrne Grants, meanwhile, are often tied directly to drug arrests, warping police department priorities by encouraging low-level drug busts to juke up department arrest statistics . . . so they can apply for more grants. We have Byrne grants to thank for the civil rights disasters in Tulia and Hearne, Texas, and for the continuing problem of out of control multijurisdictional drug task forces.

It’s the economy, stupid.  They just can’t afford the luxury of playing drug war like the old days.  Add that to how the public will react to other cuts, like:

• $200 million from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)
• $98 million for school nutrition
• $2 billion for broadband

We can’t afford to borrow to spend money on protecting the environment, feeding kids school lunches, or spreading broadband across the country.  How eager will the public then be to see money being prioritized on flying helicopters to eradicate marijuana plants?