Tester calls on Attorney General to back bill extending anti-drug grant programs

After U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the opioid epidemic the “deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history” during an address to members of Montana law enforcers on Friday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) called for support of legislation he introduced to continue critical anti-drug grant funding programs.

Introduced by Tester on April 18, the Assisting Narcotics and Trafficking Officers in Interdicting (ANTI) Drugs Act, S. 2709, would reauthorize High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) grants, Operation Stonegarden Grants (OPSG) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants.

“We ask a lot of our local law enforcement, and providing federal resources is the most effective way we can help in their effort,” Tester stated in an April 27 letter to Sessions. “We must do better to help our law enforcement officers keep our communities safe. That is why I recently introduced the ANTI Drugs Act which would increase resources for local law enforcement officials to better allow them to combat the flow of narcotics in Montana. I would appreciate your support in moving this legislation forward.”

Tester noted that Montana continues to witness the “devastation” caused by illicit drugs, and methamphetamine in particular. Methamphetamine-related violations increased 427 percent from 2010 to 2015, and Tester said local, state and federal authorities are “our first line of defense.”

“However, the jobs of our law enforcement officers are getting more difficult as traffickers continually learn new ways to bring drugs into our state in purer, more dangerous forms,” Tester wrote. “It is vital that our local law enforcement keep up in order to ensure our families and communities are safe.”