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The budget also calls for spending $10 million less on the Drug Free Communities program, a major funding source for many community anti-drug coalitions. "The majority of programs that our field advocates for were recommended for severe cuts," noted Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America in an action alert calling for supporters to contact lawmakers to oppose the cuts. "Only a very small handful of programs were recommended for increases."

Overall, the budget plans calls for increasing defense spending by at least $32 billion, foreign operations by $5.4 billion, and law enforcement and prosecution efforts by $497 million. "The budget invests substantial and needed resources to maintain high levels of military readiness and to continue the transformation of our military to meet the new threats of the 21st Century," Bush said in his budget message to Congress.

But Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, charged Bush with "robbing Peter to pay Paul -- taking critical funds from essential domestic programs to fund the president's pet projects and the president's disastrous war and nation-building adventure in Iraq."

$2.2 Billion Reduction in Discretionary Spending at HHS

Discretionary spending at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be reduced $2.2 billion under the president's plan, even as the overall budget rises $29 billion due to Medicare, Medicaid, and other mandatory spending. "There are those who will be unhappy with this budget, but given the Medicare system we have, putting off solving the problem is no longer acceptable," said HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt.

In its budget summary, HHS justifies the $198-million decrease in SAMHSA funding by stating, "The budget makes targeted reductions in areas where grantees have not demonstrated improved health outcomes, grant periods are ending, activities can be supported through other funding streams, or efficiencies can be realized."

Major SAMHSA programs slated for cuts or elimination under the president's FY09 budget plan for HHS include its Programs of Regional and National Significance: cut by $250 million, to $639 million. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's budget would fall by $63 million, while the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention would have $36 million less to spend next year if Bush's plan were approved. The Center for Mental Health Services would be slashed by $126 million.

On the other hand, Bush is calling for level funding of $98 million for his Access to Recovery program, which allows faith-based groups to compete with traditional treatment providers for voucher-driven funding for treatment services; a $40-million increase for treatment drug courts; and $27 million more for screening and brief interventions.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) would receive $1.002 billion, just $1 million more than in FY 2008, while the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) would receive $436.68 million, up $0.4 million relative to FY08. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would face a $412 million budget cut, including the elimination of the $97 million Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant.

"PART" of the Problem

In many instances, the administration justified its cuts by pointing to its Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), used to rate the effectiveness of federal programs. In the budget message for HHS, the administration singled out the Recovery Community Support Program for criticism, saying the program was being eliminated "because services provided, such as manicures and other nontraditional therapies, are not based on evidence-based practices for recovery and grantees have not consistently met all performance measures."

Major programs tabbed as "not performing" by PART also are on Bush's chopping block, including the Social Services Block Grant (a proposed $500 million cut) and the Community Services Block Grant ($1 billion in proposed reductions). However, Bush is calling for a modest $20 million increase in the $1.8 billion Substance Abuse Block Prevention and Treatment Grant, even tough PART called the program "ineffective" because of a lack of independent evaluation and a failure to match formula-based funding to substance-abuse prevalence.

The Legal Action Center reported that the $20 million increase would be used to support "supplemental performance awards" for Block Grant recipients that "demonstrate superior performance in preventing and treatment substance abuse." The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors noted, "The proposed increase for the SAPT Block Grant can be considered unique in an otherwise very difficult budget year."

As with the block grant, the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign was blacklisted by PART, noting that "an independent, long-term evaluation found no connection between the campaign advertisements and youth drug use behavior." Yet the administration is calling for $100 million in funding for the program, up from the $60 million appropriated for the ad campaign in 2008.

Elsewhere beyond HHS, the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities state grants program was once again targeted for reduction, with Bush calling for cutting the school-based prevention program from $295 million in 2008 to $100 million in 2009. "The structure of the program is flawed," according to PART. "It spreads funding too broadly to support quality interventions and fails to target schools and communities in greatest need of assistance."

Bush's budget plan also targets the Department of Education's $32 million Alcohol Abuse Reduction grants program for elimination. SDFSC's national programs budget would increase from $137.7 million in 2008 to $282 million in FY09 under the plan, including $10 million for research-based drug prevention or school safety programs, $77.8 million for grants to school districts for comprehensive, community-wide "Safe Schools/Healthy Students" drug and violence prevention projects, $30 million for school emergency preparedness initiatives, $5 million for initiatives in emergency preparedness for institutions of higher education (IHEs), $11.8 million for school-based drug testing for students, $23.8 million for character education programs in elementary and secondary schools, and $5 million to provide emergency response services to LEAs and IHEs under Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence).

At the Justice Department, funding at the Office of Justice Programs -- which supports Weed & Seed projects as well as some addiction treatment and prevention services -- would be cut steeply, with the Bush budget calling for a 65 percent reduction in state and local criminal-justice programs.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/features/2008/bushs-2009-budget-cuts-198.html?log-event=sp2f-view-item&nid=35836088