The Nation : Drug Fight Funds Sought

The Reagan Administration and a group of Republican senators proposed that an additional $101.6 million be spent this fiscal year for about 2,000 new agents, high-speed boats, surveillance planes and radar to battle illegal drugs. “We’ve been out-spent, outmanned and out-gunned in this battle,” said Sen. Paula Hawkins (R-Fla.) at a Washington news conference to announce the proposal. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III said that “with these additional resources, we will be able to shake the foundations of deeply entrenched and sophisticated drug empires.” He was joined by Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III and Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole.