Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank all my colleagues for the bipartisan work that is happening this week. I am proud to be a co-chair with the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Guinta) of the Bipartisan Taskforce to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, Members of Congress from all across the country coming together to address this crisis. I rise, however, to oppose the rule and, as Mr. McGovern has said, we intend to move the previous question. I am bringing to the House floor a Democratic substitute opioids package to include $600 million in critical funding to address this opioid epidemic. We have an emergency. People are dying, as Mr. Guinta said--in my own State, our State of New Hampshire, over 420 people in 1 year. We have a better chance in New Hampshire of dying from an opioid epidemic death from fentanyl, from heroin, from drugs off the street, than we do of dying in a car accident. This is an emergency, and it is a crisis. My substitute bill will provide vital funding for all of the bills that we are discussing, for bills that will provide the grants the Committee on the Judiciary has brought forth in H.R. 5046, introduced by Mr. Sensenbrenner, for law enforcement, for drug courts. I have just this week been to the graduation of a drug court. We can turn lives around, but we need funding for drug courts to spread all across our country, for the good work that my colleagues, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.…”