WASHINGTON, April 16: In a rare show of discontent with the White House, 41 congressional Republicans have signed a letter protesting President George Bush’s plan to sharply cut spending on an anti-drug programme.

The 41 House of Representatives Republicans joined 59 Democrats in signing the letter, which asked top House budget writers to reject the cuts.

Mr Bush’s budget request to Congress in February proposed cutting funds for the High Density Drug Trafficking Area programme to 100 million dollars, from 228 million dollars last year, and moving control from the White House drug czar’s office to the Justice Department.

The programme brings together law-enforcement agencies to fight drug trafficking in 31 major problem areas across the United States, including big cities and the southwestern US border with Mexico, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

“If enacted, these proposals would effectively terminate the ... programme. We believe that such a result would severely undermine federal, state and local drug-enforcement cooperation and coordination, threatening the substantial progress we have made in reducing drug abuse since 2001,” the letter said.

The administration, in its annual drug-strategy statement issued in February, said the programme had become too big and had not demonstrated results.

—Reuters