Political Quotes

“I come before the House tonight and the American public to talk about a problem which I believe is our biggest social problem as a country, our biggest social problem as a Congress. That is the problem of illegal narcotics and the damage it is doing to our population, and particularly to our young people across this land. Some people in Congress or some people in leadership positions would have us think that the Y2K problem is the major problem, or that other dotting I and crossing T of legislation is the major problem facing Congress. But I believe that we have no more important responsibility as legislators of this Nation than to see that we do the best job possible in addressing a problem, an epidemic that is ravaging havoc, particularly among our young people. The statistics are mind-boggling. Last year over 14,200 Americans lost their lives because of drug-related deaths. Let me cite a few other statistics that every Member of Congress and every American should be aware of, when they turn away from the question of a drug problem, when they are given some other problem, smoking or Y2K or whatever the issue of the day may be that rates in the polls. Let me talk about the hard facts of what illegal narcotics are doing to us as a Nation. The overall number of past month heroin users increased 378 percent from 1993 to 1997 in this country.”