Pubdate: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 1999 The Seattle Times Company Contact: http://www.seattletimes.com/ Author: Eric Lichtblau, Los Angeles Times CLINTON BUDGET IS SOFT ON CRIME, REPUBLICANS SAY WASHINGTON - Republicans on Capitol Hill went on the attack yesterday over President Clinton's commitment to fighting crime, saying that the White House's newly released budget plan would mean deep cuts in the war on drugs, money for local police and other key law-enforcement areas. Administration officials quickly dismissed such claims, noting that since 1993, when Clinton took office, Justice Department funding has risen 88 percent. "Our commitment to fighting crime remains as high as it has ever been," department spokesman Myron Marlin said. The debate signals another bruising battle in Congress over Clinton's budget, proposed earlier this week, as Republicans seek to portray themselves as the law-and-order party and Clinton as soft on crime. "Time and time again, this administration demonstrates a reluctance to be serious about the drug war," said Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., flanked at a media briefing by five other Republican members of Congress. "There's going to have to be a major debate with the administration here." Clinton wants to severely cut funding for new police officers nationwide this year because he says his hiring program will have met its goal of putting 100,000 new officers on the street. He is also moving to eliminate $523 million in law-enforcement block grants. Justice Department officials said Clinton's plan actually represents an increase of about 1.6 percent in total department funding, but the proposal seeks to redirect money to more narrowly targeted needs - such as new technology, more prisons and the hiring of additional prosecutors and probation officers - rather than doling out largely unrestricted money. Republican critics "are focusing on what programs have been cut, rather than on the new programs that we are funding, and those are the programs that local law-enforcement officials tell us they need on a day-to-day level," said a Justice Department budget official, who asked not to be identified. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized Clinton for seeking money "to turn prosecutors into social workers . . . and provide punishments such as recreational programs" for young, violent offenders. This would come at the expense, he said, of hundreds of millions of dollars for more worthy programs in such areas as juvenile crime and violence against women. The White House budget plan also calls for $17.8 billion to combat drugs, with continued emphasis on curtailing demand. That total represents an increase of about $800 million over Clinton's proposal last year, but a slight decrease from what was ultimately appropriated by Congress. Republicans said yesterday that they were particularly troubled by an apparent shift away from intercepting drugs at the borders, with cuts in such critical areas as the Coast Guard's drug-interdiction efforts. "This is a serious war. This is not a war you `just say maybe' about," said Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "You win this war." - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski