I will assure you the communities are in desperate need of lifting these restrictions, which have no foundation at all in science.

I have similar concerns with respect to juvenile offenders who commit unspeakably violent crimes.

The current 18-1 disparity certainly does strike me as excessive.

I endorse any effort to ensure that the First Step Act is fully implemented.

While I believe that the safety valve was too stringent prior to the passage of the First Step Act, I'm a bit uncomfortable with expanding the safety valve to recidivists.

I question whether this expansion makes sense at a time when we have experienced a dramatic spike in violent crime.

The question that Congress must decide is whether that is in the interest of the United States as a whole to admit Puerto Rico as a state.

I am very disappointed with the Republican position on this issue.

The question we need to ask is whether admitting Puerto Rico as a state makes our country stronger or weaker.

The government of Puerto Rico is a fiscal basket case, which we have been dealing with on this Committee for many years.

I find that shocking, and I strongly disassociate myself and support that are expressed for that on behalf of the Minority.

So, we basically, 170-plus years after the 13th Amendment, have slavery burgeoning in this country as a result of these policies.