U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) led a bipartisan call on Thursday for the National Guard to modify its Counterdrug Program-funding model to direct funds to states that need it most.
The National Guard’s Counterdrug Program supports local law enforcement agencies with highly trained analysts to help combat the nation’s growing drug epidemic.
The program uses a threat-based resource model (TBRM) to determine how much funding states and local communities will receive.
In a letter to the National Guard Bureau, Capito and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) requested that the TBRM be modified to account for state-specific drug overdose death rates to more effectively allocate program funds.
“Currently, the TBRM fails to take into account state-specific drug overdose death rates, as reported by the CDC, when determining funding awards,” the senators wrote. “Rather, the TBRM emphasizes raw population as the basis for funding, which results in disproportionate funding allocations to states that may not face the same rates of drug abuse and overdose. New Hampshire and West Virginia were in the bottom third of state funding distributed by the Counterdrug Program in FY15 despite per capita overdose rates ranking in the top five of the states and territories.”
The West Virginia National Guard provided counterdrug assistance to 37 law enforcement agencies last year, resulting in the seizure of illegal drugs and assets valued at more than $1 billion.
In order to fully utilize counterdrug resources, however, the Counterdrug Program’s TBRM must be adjusted to more accurately reflect the drug epidemic at the local level, the senators wrote.
“We hope that our concerns can be addressed and we look forward to continuing to support you on these important matter,” Capito and Shaheen wrote. “We are eternally grateful for your dedication, the sacrifices made by our brave men and women serving in the National Guard, and sacrifices made by the families of those service members.”