Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that finally addresses a longstanding and discriminatory gap in coverage and expands treatment options for those suffering from addiction. This House, Mr. Chairman, should be commended for its work on opioid addiction, but let us not forget that we have insidiously ignored another pervasive and catastrophically destructive addiction that is known as crack cocaine. To remedy this, Mr. Chairman, my amendment would expand the bill to include those individuals suffering from cocaine use disorder and explicitly clarifies the inclusion of cocaine base, more commonly known as crack cocaine, which, along with opiates, is a double-barrel cause of drug-related deaths in communities like mine all across this Nation. Too often, Mr. Chairman, this House seems to only have focused on issues when they have affected the majority, the White population. This leaves vulnerable, non-White, minority Americans without any chance to escape from their illness and their resulting suffering. Too often, Mr. Chairman, the government's response to minority Americans has been mass incarceration instead of treatment. Too often, Mr. Chairman, crises that impact the African American communities are seen as a criminal justice problem, while those that affect the White community are seen as a public health problem. That phenomenon changes today.…”