Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague across the aisle, Mr. Joyce, a former prosecutor, someone who understands the importance of having the backs of law enforcement as they are on the frontlines in dealing with this deadly toxin. I, too, commend CBP for the hard work that they do every single day and the drugs that they are interdicting to protect our communities. No doubt, fentanyl and other toxics have taken thousands of American lives. I can personally speak that in my family, we have seen a family member suffer through a fentanyl addiction. If I could wave a wand and get rid of all the fentanyl in the world, I would do it. Mr. Joyce's legislation makes sure that we are not exposing more people unnecessarily to it. Madam Speaker, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that over 107,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in 2021, which is an increase of nearly 15 percent from 2020. And most of these originate overseas, primarily from China, who is not doing enough to stop the fentanyl leaving its borders. But the heroes of U.S. Customs and Border Protection interdict and seize opioids and other illicit drugs at our borders before they make their way into American communities, and we know that their exposure is extremely dangerous and could be fatal. When detecting or seizing opioids, frontline CBP personnel are at high risk of exposure to these substances through inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact.…”