Federal funds that help pay for Pima County's anti-drug task force were slashed by more than two-thirds when Congress passed the fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill.

The amount going to the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which received $520 million last year, dropped to $170 million this year, said Mary Marshall, spokeswoman for the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission.

That means Arizona will likely get about $1.7 million, compared to $5.6 million last year, she said. Pima County will get a fraction of that.

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