In order to increase funding for a failed drug war program, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to cut eight million dollars from the budget of the National Archives.

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, established in 1988, was intended to support drug interdiction efforts along the U.S. borders and other areas critical to moving large amounts of drugs. Various regions in the U.S. are designated as HIDTAs by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which enables these zones to receive extra law enforcement funding. 

The program has failed to reduce drug trafficking while costing taxpayers enormous amounts of money. Not only that, but HIDTA has become a pork-barrel program that allows members of Congress to funnel funding to their districts - even in areas that have nothing to do with major drug trafficking.

Now, careful preservation of the nation's history is poised to become the latest casualty in the war on drugs. The eight million dollar budget cut to the National Archives comes on the heels of severe flooding in the Main Archives building in Washington, DC, which will cost two million dollars to clean up. The budget shortfall may also lead to reduced access to the archives for researchers, reduced tourist access to displays of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution, and reduced research hours in presidential libraries.

Fortunately, there is a movement afoot to restore National Archives funding in the Senate. For more information, please see the National Coalition for History's action alert.