Senate subcommittee approves $300 million for Drug-Free Schools.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor/HHS Education has approved a spending bill that would give level funding, with minor increases and cuts here and there, to substance abuse treatment. The big news at the July 12 "mark-up" was that state grants for Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities, which the President had zeroed out in his budget request and which the House Appropriations Subcommittee restored to $400 million, was cut to $300 million. However, considering the alternative, this was good news.

Overall, the current FY 2006 spending bill includes $3.385 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is $49 …