Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Martinez Criticizes Cut in Drug Budget

Drug control policy director Bob Martinez said he would work to reverse recent House action that would trim $280 million from President Bush’s $11.7-billion anti-drug budget for the 1992 fiscal year. He said he fears that lawmakers are tiring of the drug war and its cost to taxpayers. But Rep. Neal Smith (D-Iowa), chairman of a subcommittee that voted to cut the budget, took issue with Martinez’s complaints. He noted that the House, although it reduced the budget, still voted to increase next year’s anti-drug funding at a time when many government programs are being cut back.