Cato Daily Dispatch for November 7, 2001
Bush Threatens To Veto SpendingAmtrak On The Brink Of Liquidation
War On Terrorism Vs. War On Drugs
Bush Threatens To Veto Spending
Defying growing pressure in Congress to pour more money into homeland security and the military, President Bush yesterday threatened to veto emergency spending above the $40 billion Congress passed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, according to Reuters.
In a move all but certain to set up a budget battle, Bush threatened to veto the additional billions in spending that Democrats and a number of Republicans say is needed to continue the military strikes on Afghanistan and tighten domestic security against bioterrorism and other threats.
In "Patriotic Scoundrels," Senior Fellow Doug Bandow outlines the long list of groups seeking emergency funding from Congress. "Instead of slopping cash to every interest group that crowds the federal trough, Congress should cut nonessential spending," he writes. "Citizens already face myriad increased security costs. As both the public and private sectors retool to address the security challenge, Americans cannot afford frivolous spending that only enriches favored political interests."
Amtrak On The Brink Of Liquidation
An oversight board that monitors Amtrak's financial condition is considering a draft resolution that finds the passenger railroad will not meet its deadline for weaning itself of federal operating subsidies by the end of next year, according to Reuters.
A finding by the Amtrak Reform Council that the rail service was not viable would accelerate a politically sensitive process later this year for determining a new Amtrak business plan or the railroad's liquidation just as the nation's transportation priorities are being reassessed after the Sept. 11 attacks.
In the new Cato Institute study, "Help Passenger Rail by Privatizing Amtrak," former council member Joseph Vranich and Edward L. Hudgins, director of regulatory studies at Cato, argue that Amtrak will not meet the deadline. "It is time for the council to make this finding official and begin the mandated process of restructuring and liquidation," they say.
"Amtrak legislation now before Congress is delusional," Vranich and Hudgins write in "Stop the New Amtrak Bailouts." "Policy makers should first decide on the type of organizations needed to replace Amtrak and which markets can sustain rail passenger service before spending more taxpayer dollars propping up Amtrak's hopelessly dysfunctional system."
War On Terrorism Vs. War On Drugs
The war against terrorism is diverting federal agents, patrol boats, and other resources from the war on drugs, the nation's chief narcotics officer said yesterday, according to The Washington Post.
"It's a battle of resources right now," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson said at a breakfast with reporters. It is particularly an issue for the Coast Guard and the FBI, he said. "When the dust settles, there will be discussions."
The FBI has removed agents from narcotics cases for counterterrorism duty, Hutchinson said, and Coast Guard cutters that once were dedicated to patrolling for narcotics shipments now watch over vulnerable seaports.
Given new priorities, the Bush administrations should pay attention to the growing sentiment among Americans, including two sitting governors, that the drug war has failed and should be reconsidered. The Cato book, "Beyond Prohibition: An Adult Approach to Drug Policies in the 21st Century," explores alternative approaches to drug policy. It is edited by Timothy Lynch with an introduction by Milton Friedman and chapters by New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, Roger Pilon and others.
In "Time to End the Drug War," Financial Services Analyst Jacobo Rodriguez explains that "efforts to eradicate crops and interdiction of traffic -- that is, efforts to reduce the supply of drugs -- put only a small dent in the profit margins of traffickers."
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