Political Quotes

“I come to the floor to talk about several amendments I am working on in relation to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; the Agriculture; the Interior and Environment, and Related Agencies; and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bills that this body will be working on shortly. The first amendment I am offering to the legislation addresses a very serious issue; that being the rising scourge of methamphetamine around the country. Methamphetamine--meth--use is something we talked a lot about a decade ago. Conversations turned to opioid abuse in this country--and rightfully so--and focused on opioids, but unfortunately meth use is now increasing dramatically in States like Colorado as we continue to address the opioid epidemic. When I traveled across Colorado over the summer and last week and through the August work period, I heard from rural sheriffs across the State who were especially concerned about the severe impact that meth was having on our small communities. Headlines this summer and as recently as this week talked about the increase in meth use across Colorado and the country. From 2011 to 2018, treatment admissions for meth across Colorado increased by nearly 40 percent. In 2018, 318 people died in Colorado from meth overdoses. That is a 750-percent increase over 10 years. From 1999 to 2018, there has been a 1,450-percent increase in meth deaths in Denver alone.…”