ONDCP Seal
 PolicyPolicy
IV. Agency Budget Summaries

TREASURY FORFEITURE FUND


  1. RESOURCE SUMMARY

  2. METHODOLOGY

    • The drug control percentage has been adjusted as a result of a line-by-line review of the drug-related spending from the Fund. A weighted average was calculated and appears in the figures above.

  3. PROGRAM SUMMARY

    • The Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF) was established by the Treasury Department Appropriations Act, P.L. 102-393 as a special fund. Special funds consist of separate receipt and expenditure accounts. The TFF has two accounts for paying fund expenses -- a permanent indefinite and an annual appropriation. The permanent indefinite appropriation is available for purposes related to specific seizures. The annual appropriation is enacted in the Treasury Appropriations Act and represents a congressional limitation on the use of the proceeds of seized for forfeited assets for purposes more generally related to the forfeiture program. In addition, at the end of each fiscal year, the Fund is authorized to reserve unobligated balances of the Fund for future operations.

  4. BUDGET SUMMARY

    1998 Program

    • Drug control resources of the TFF total $194.5 million in FY 1998. This budget is devoted almost exclusively to increasing the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence. A small amount (one-eighth-of-one-percent) of the total budget support activities that shield America's air, land, and sea frontiers from the drug threat.

    Goal 2: Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence.

    • The Youth Crime Gun Initiative (YCGI) program is supported by the TFF. This program received $9.5 million in FY1998 is designed to discourage youth activities which are related to drugs and violence.

    • Federal, state, and local law enforcement task forces are supported to fight criminal activity related to drugs and violence.

    • Investigations and intelligence gathering efforts are supported which lead to seizures and forfeitures of assets obtained through the sales of illegal drugs.

    Goal 4: Shield America's air, land, and sea frontiers from the drug threat.

    • Multilateral intelligence sharing with other governments has been supported by the Fund.

    • The TFF provided $250,000 for interdiction operations conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard in vessel seizures in conjunction with the U.S. Customs Service.

    1999 Request

    • The total drug control budget request is $179.7 million, which includes a nonrecurring reduction of $14.7 million below the FY 1998 level for Goal 2 activities. Total funding for Goal 5 activities will be $250,000, the same level as FY 1998.

  5. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    • Reimbursing proper expenses of seizure and forfeiture, sharing funds with state and local law enforcement agencies, and managing the resources of the fund constitute the main achievements of the TFF. These achievements apply mostly to the investigations into money laundering and illegal drug activity conducted within the United States.

    • Domestic efforts in training law enforcement officers in the asset forfeiture process were conducted as a means of facilitating investigations wherein money laundering and other proceeds from illegal drug activity are affecting the United States.