Statement by John P. Walters,
Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee,
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources.
February 26, 2002
The Fiscal Year 2003 Federal Drug Control Budget:
Integrating Budget and Performance
Budget Summary
The President's FY 2003 Budget presents a balanced approach for drug control programs, fully supporting the National Drug Control Strategy. In FY 2003, critical initiatives significantly expand the Administration's commitment to drug treatment, support essential drug prevention programs targeting youth, and continue assistance to our partners in the Andean region. In total, funding recommended for FY 2003 is an estimated $19.2 billion, an increase of $356.9 million (+1.9 percent) over the FY 2002 enacted level of $18.8 billion.
Restructuring the National Drug Control Budget
The President has committed the Federal Government to manage by results. Effectively managing our federal drug control program, which involves coordinating the work of more than 50 national drug control program agencies, poses a unique set of problems and demands creative solutions. In the past, our ability to manage anti-drug programs has been complicated by the methods used to calculate the drug control budget. The budget information presented in the Strategy each year does not represent actual managed dollars. With few exceptions, the dollars reported are not reflected as line items in the President's budget or in appropriations acts. Rather, they reflect percentages of total appropriations for agencies and programs, with a number of different methods used to estimate the portion dedicated to drug control.
Recent independent analyses commissioned by ONDCP, as well as ongoing, required reviews by Inspectors General, have identified weaknesses in the methodologies agencies use to measure drug spending. These reviews are unambiguous; we need to reform the National Drug Control Budget. The Administration is developing a new way to report the drug budget, based on the following guidelines:
- All funding items displayed in the drug budget should be readily identifiable line items in the President's Budget or agency budget justifications; and
- The budget presentation should be simplified by eliminating several supporting agencies from the drug budget tabulation. Only agencies with a primary demand reduction or supply reduction mission should be displayed in the drug budget. Agencies with no, or little, direct involvement in drug control would be excluded from the revised drug budget presentation.
Furthermore, the budget presentation has historically included costs that are a consequence of drug use rather than expenditures aimed at reducing drug use. Because these costs do not reflect judgments about drug policy, they would be excluded from the drug control budget. These costs would continue to be reported as part of the biennial report, Economic Costs to Society of Drug Abuse.
This proposal will enable the Administration, Congress, and the general public to distinguish between funding for drug control efforts and funding for the consequences of drug use. While this presentational change will lower the amount of funding attributed to the drug control budget, it will not negatively affect the total size of our federal drug control efforts. In fact, it will improve the management of those efforts by enabling policymakers to focus on managing programs genuinely directed at reducing drug use. The President's FY 2004 Budget will implement the proposed changes to the National Drug Control Budget.
Last Updated: March 4, 2002
