Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a Newsweek article titled: ``Fentanyl Surge Started and Peaked Under Trump Despite GOP Blaming Biden.'' The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New Mexico? There was no objection. [From Newsweek, Feb. 11, 2022] Fentanyl Surge Started and Peaked Under Trump Despite GOP Blaming Biden (By Alex J. Rouhandeh) A major jump in fentanyl seizures at the border between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 has placed President Joe Biden at the center of GOP criticism. However, the problem appeared to be mounting months before he took office. The first time monthly fentanyl seizures saw a sizable spike over the last four years was in June of 2020 under former President Donald Trump when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 713 pounds of the drug, an almost 200 percent increase from the month Only once before then, over fiscal years 2020 and 2019, did the pounds of fentanyl seized in a month crack 400 pounds. However, following the June 2020 seizure, the pounds of fentanyl taken by CBP has surpassed the 700-pound mark each month all but twice. The two greatest monthly seizures of 1,212 pounds and 1,193 pounds both took place in October and December of 2020, just before Trump's turnover to Biden. Nonetheless, certain Republican politicians have looked to place sole blame for the issue on Biden.…”