VALDOSTA — Local law enforcement agencies have expressed continued support for U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss as he urges Congress to restore funding for the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program. This program is instrumental in helping law enforcement agencies pay for drug task forces, courts and treatment programs, police salaries, innovative technologies, and gang prevention strategies.

“We appreciate Sen. Chambliss for his efforts,” Lowndes County Sheriff Capt. J. D. Yeager said. “The Byrne Grant has helped us purchase equipment and increase our service to the community and we would like to see it restored.”

Another strong supporter of Chambliss’ efforts is Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton, who has spoken out against the grant cut since it was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush Dec. 21, 2007.

“The Byrne Grant funds 75 percent of the South Georgia Drug Task Force budget,” Norton said. “The cut will eventually put us well below the minimum standards for fighting drugs. Someone was obviously not paying attention when they voted to cut the grant, but I applaud Rep. Jack Kingston and Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson for voting against the cuts.”

Norton added that the Task Force has opened 4,178 drug cases throughout six counties in South Georgia since its establishment in 1990. Several cases have been successfully prosecuted because the grant provided the force with funds to secure a drug expert — a resource the agency cannot afford without the grant.

“I hope they wake up and realized what they’ve done,” Norton said.

The program, which members of Georgia’s law enforcement and judicial communities have said is critical to crime fighting efforts, was severely cut under the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act.

“I have heard firsthand from Georgians that this funding is vital to their efforts in keeping our citizens in both rural and urban communities safe,” Chambliss said in a press conference Wednesday. “If we’re

serious about protecting our communities, keeping drugs off our streets, and preventing future crime, then we have to give our local law enforcement personnel the resources they need to carry out their duties. I met with many of our district attorneys this week during their visit to Washington and they underscored the need for this funding. Further, I was proud to be joined by Monroe County Sheriff John Carey Bittick today in urging support for this funding. He has been a tireless voice on behalf of those who need this funding to sustain their task forces and carry out numerous other responsibilities.”

Sheriff John Cary Bittick of Monroe County, current chairman of the National Sheriffs’ Association Congressional Affairs Committee and the past president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said “The National Sheriffs’ Association as well as the International Association of the Chiefs of Police and all other major law enforcement associations are going to be greatly appreciative of Senator Chambliss’ efforts on our behalf. The Byrne Grants are important to all law enforcement because it is how we fund our regional narcotics task forces and our major efforts to fight drugs, particularly methamphetamine.”