Mark Dayton: “I thank Senator Stevens for his support and assistance in this matter. I thank him and the ranking member and members of…”

“I thank Senator Stevens for his support and assistance in this matter. I thank him and the ranking member and members of the committee and acknowledge in every one of these three areas the Senate Committee on Appropriations has added funding already above the President's recommendation. I recognize, also, that the committee is dealing with the budget constraints that were imposed upon it by the Senate budget, but conditions in the real world do not always conform to those constraints. This funding is essential to address these critical areas, beginning with an additional $40 million for the National Guard counterdrug efforts which would enable State coordinators to increase their border security, to increase reconnaissance, and to expand their effort to interdict the flood of illegal drugs into our country. These National Guard antidrug efforts are under the control of the Governors and Adjutant Generals so they do not violate Federal passe comitatus laws. Yet they are essential to our national security. Other than international terrorism, there is no greater threat to the safety, the health, and the well-being of our citizens than the increasing flow of illegal drugs into our country, into our neighborhoods, into our schools, and into our homes. They are destroying lives, they are destroying families, and they are destroying communities.…”