Tom Harkin: “let me state the obvious. The administration's position, and what I hear from the other side of the aisle, is a blank…”

“let me state the obvious. The administration's position, and what I hear from the other side of the aisle, is a blank check for Iraq but not a dime for urgent domestic priorities. I can tell you that is a nonstarter with the American people. We have more to do here internally for America than just borrowing money from China and sending it to Iraq. I have worked to add to this bill urgently needed funding for an array of domestic needs, including health care, extended unemployment insurance, and grants to fight crime in neighborhoods across America. We have added emergency funding for the Byrne Grant Program to provide critical funding to local law enforcement, and this funding is crucial. Unless we restore the Byrne funding for fiscal year 2008, local law enforcement operations will be severely cut back--set back, even--if we provide the funds in 2009. In my State of Iowa, over half of all the drug task forces will be forced to shut down unless these cuts are restored. Mr. President, 15 out of 21 regional drug task forces will be eliminated. That is just my State. Think about your State. It is going to devastate our law enforcement activities to fight drugs and crime. Law enforcement has made it clear that once these programs are stopped, they are very hard to start again. It is hard to hire back trained and experienced law enforcement, hard to restart a wiretap, for example, to reconnect with lost witnesses. So the Byrne Grant Program is absolutely essential.…”