Drug shortages can hamper patient care. They delay, obviously, medical procedures, or lead to the substitution of recommended treatments with alternative therapies.

I also want to thank Chairman Pallone for supporting us on this issue.

I want to thank the leaders of the bills. Representatives Barbara Lee and Congressman Earl Blumenauer who have joined us.

The Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, introduced by New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, would decriminalize marijuana and THC.

I think it is really important for us to understand that calling cannabis a gateway drug in an anecdotal fashion is unfair to the American people.

there's obviously got to be a congressional inquiry to this.

Many of the proposals under consideration today would help us move closer to the complete legalization of cannabis.

More than 2,000 American lives lost and thousands more wounded, more than 60 thousand Afghan deaths.

for 24 hours now, Secretary Pompeo has not said one word in defense of Ambassador Yovanovitch.

As an advocate for legalizing cannabis, I have been supportive of state laws to legalize cannabis, including marijuana.

But State laws and Federal policy are a 1,000 miles apart.

It doesn't make sense, at least to me.

Our nation has been at war in Afghanistan for more than 18 years.

It is also critical that we streamline the federal process for medical research on cannabis.

Looking back at this statement, President Bush was right, except his administration and subsequent administrations did repeat that mistake.

We are in a military stalemate.

What I have--I think one of the main things that we need to understand as policymakers is that the inception of the United States Congress calling cannabis a class I drug...

I think we ought to put forward a diplomatic initiative and I think that will be clarifying.

We have never authorized strikes against Iran, and to say otherwise is just not factually correct.

And I would remind you that when we killed Soleimani, the Iranians chose to escalate by attacking our bases in Iraq.

I would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, please don't question our motives or patriotism and we won't question yours. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

I am sorry that the Republican leader is casting aspersions. I think everyone on both sides of the aisle takes this seriously and has reasons for what we are voting on. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California…

It is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), an esteemed member the Foreign Affairs Committee. {time} 1545

I just can't really believe what I just heard. It was the 2001 AUMF that specifically authorized our going after Osama bin Laden. He is the example of Congress getting involved. That was the authorization to get Osama bin Laden in Pakistan…

Let me remind my friend that we, too, cherish our military and also have their backs. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.