Norvell Emerson: “I want to rise today in support of the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government appropriations bill. I really…”

“I want to rise today in support of the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government appropriations bill. I really want to congratulate the chairman and ranking member, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), and their staffs for the incredibly hard work they have done on getting this bill to the House floor today in not the most easy of circumstances, but they have really shown what teamwork is like and working together across the aisle to try to achieve the best results with resources that are scarce. I want to also say that this bill goes a long way towards tightening our borders, making our streets safer, and fighting the war on drugs. It takes important steps towards these goals by increasing the budgets of the Customs Service, the Secret Service, and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. I think the legislation continues to show Congress's strong commitment toward winning the war on drugs. Through the funding of HIDTAs and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, we are making a strong statement that we will not give up on this fight and that we will take any and all steps necessary to make sure that our children and our Nation are drug free. I just want to say that, coming from a very rural area in southern Missouri, I know firsthand the problems that drugs and specifically methamphetamine can cause for families for a region and for a State. We are currently in the midst of a methamphetamine epidemic, Mr. Speaker.…”