He proposes to spend an additional $36 million:

1) $15,000,000 is for salaries and expenses of the Drug Enforcement Administration;

(2) $15,000,000 is for salaries and expenses for the Offices of United States Attorneys;

(3) $4,000,000 each year is for salaries and expenses for the Criminal Division; and

(4) $2,000,000 is for salaries and expenses for the Office of the Attorney General for the management of such prosecutions.

Then he includes this:

(b) Authorization of Appropriations for Department of Treasury- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the Treasury for salaries and expenses of the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FINCEN) not more than $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 in support of the prosecution of high-level drug offenses.

© Authorization of Appropriations for Department of Homeland Security- There is authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Homeland Security not more than $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for salaries and expenses in support of the prosecution of high-level drug offenses.

(d) Additional Funds- Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this section shall be in addition to amounts otherwise available for, or in support of, the prosecution of high-level drug offenses.

Note there are no increases for the federal public defenders or Criminal Justice Act lawyers who defend those charged.

By contrast, the bill provides $10 million for grants for preventive drug treatment and $5 million for "demonstration programs" that reduce substance abuse in prison or while on supervision.

So, $36 million for prosecution, 0 for defense and $15 million for prevention and treatment.

Biden's bill also directs the Sentencing Commission to raise the guidelines for a host of other factors, including along with violence factors, if the offender has a prior drug conviction or imports the drug into the U.S.

On the House side, Charlie Rangel's bill, H.R. 460 (with 19 co-sponsors including Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul and Sheila Jackson Lee)is the best by far. It reduces the crack penalties to the current level for powder -- period.

The remaining bills all increase the penalties for powder.

There's Sen. Jeff Sessions bill, S. 1383, which is co-sponsored by Democrat Ken Salazar (Colorado) and Republicans John Cornyn and Mark Pryor. It would reduce the 10 year threshhold for powder from 5 kilos to 4 kilos while increasing the threshold for crack from 50 grams to 250 grams. That's still an unacceptable a disparity of 4 kilos to 250 grams. (For the 5 year mandatory minimum, it would go from 500 grams of powder to 400 grams of powder and 5 grams of crack to 20 grams, with a resulting disparity of 400 grams to 20 grams.)

Another pending bill with no co-sponsor is H.R. 79 which would raise the powder levels to meet those of crack.

FAMM's analysis of the bills is here.