Pete Ricketts: “my colleagues and I are here today to raise the alarm once again about the ongoing crisis at our southern border. This…”

“my colleagues and I are here today to raise the alarm once again about the ongoing crisis at our southern border. This is an issue that is incredibly important to my constituents, and it should be a priority here in the U.S. Senate. As I said when I visited the border as a Governor and then again last month as a Senator, every State is a border State. It is not just me saying that; it is my colleagues, both as Governors and as U.S. Senators, saying that. That is because the States across the country, including my own State of Nebraska, are dealing with the consequences of this administration failing to secure our border. This crisis is a threat to all Americans for many reasons. Americans are being killed today because of what is going on at the border. The leading cause of death of Americans age 18 to 45 in 2020 and 2021 was fentanyl overdose. A majority of those drugs are coming to this country from overseas. Taryn Lee Griffith was a 24-year-old single mom who died in Nebraska. She died of a fentanyl overdose. She was out with friends and took a pill she thought was Percocet. It was laced with fentanyl, and that is what killed her. Taryn's youngest daughter was only 6 months old when this happened. Now her two daughters are going to have to learn about their mom from pictures and from stories from family. I think we can all agree that fentanyl is a scourge on this country.…”