BUDGET/TRUMP PEOPLE/REINCE PRIEBUS: “White House chief of staff Reince Priebus defended a draft proposal to slash funds for the White House office responsible for fighting the opioid epidemic on Sunday [5-7-17], saying a lot of what the office does duplicates other government programs.
Cautioning that ‘nothing is final in this debate and discussion in regard to this particular issue,’ Priebus told Fox News’ Chris Wallace that ‘we have duplicative services in this regard all over the place,’ pointing to the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.
The draft budget memo, obtained by CNN, proposes cutting the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s budget from $380 million to $24 million — or nearly 94% — a move at odds with Trump’s campaign pledge to fight opioid addiction and abuse.
The cuts would aim to create ‘a small, more streamlined organization that can more effectively address drug control issues,’ the memo said, adding that the office would look to remove the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, which tries to coordinate the drug-control efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, which provides funding to community-based coalitions that organize to prevent youth substance use.”
-Sophie Tatum, “Priebus defends proposed cuts to W.H. office battling drug epidemic,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 8, 2017 9:34am