AG Tom Horne rips Democrats over drop in drug fight money
Jun 24, 2013, 12:05 PM | Updated: 12:06 pm
PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne ripped Democratic legislators Monday because they mistook funding designated to fight drug cartels as money meant to prevent illegal immigration.
Horne blamed politicking for the funds being caught. He said that the $1.2 million in funding was cut because Democratic lawmakers opposed them and their votes were needed to pass Medicare.
“It would have taken 30 seconds to ask the question, ‘What is this money used for,'” Horne said. “Instead, the just saw it, the reacted to it and demanded that it be taken out of the budget and the other people had to comply because they needed their votes for Medicare.”
In a press release, Horne said the funding cut is a big blow to his office.
“This $1.2 million a year is used to dismantle drug cartels,” he said. “This has been among my highest priorities since I took office and we have successfully dismantled a number of drug cartels that were importing drugs into this country.”
According to a release, Gov. Jan Brewer and other Republicans supported the funds.
Horne is pushing for an emergency session to reinstate the funding. It would require two-thirds of the vote to pass.
