Barbara Boxer: “I voted for the amendment offered by the majority leader on the subject of drug prosecutions in the Southern District of…”

“I voted for the amendment offered by the majority leader on the subject of drug prosecutions in the Southern District of California, but I wish to take a moment to clarify any misperceptions that the amendment may have prompted. Some have implied that the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California is weak on drug prosecutions. This implication is false and unfair. The facts are that the U.S. attorney's aggressive policies have led to more drug prosecutions, more prosecutions of border drug smugglers, more criminal alien prosecutions, and more alien smuggling prosecutions. This is a record to be proud of. Let us take a look at the facts. Total prosecutions by the U.S. attorney have more than doubled over the past 5 years. Let me say that again, the U.S. attorney is prosecuting more than twice as many felonies as his predecessor. The U.S. attorney initiated a formal cooperative agreement on drug prosecutions with the San Diego District Attorney. In the past, the DA did not prosecute border-related drug cases at all. Last year, the local DA prosecuted more than 1,000. As a result of this unprecedented Federal-county cooperation, total border-related drug prosecutions have more than tripled over the past 5 years. This cooperative Federal-county relationship is credited by the San Diego District Attorney with making a positive impact on San Diego's overall crime rate.”