Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in strong support of H.R. 467 to make class-wide scheduling of fentanyl-related substances permanent. This hits close to home for me. I represent the men and women of eastern Ohio, a region of the country that has been hit particularly hard by this deadly drug. If the current order is allowed to expire, law enforcement will lose their ability to seize some of these fentanyl-related drugs. They will effectively be street legal. Here are two staggering truths: Fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death in the country of adults between 18 and 49. Over three-quarters of teen overdose deaths in 2021 were caused by fentanyl. That is 75 percent. In many of these instances, those taking the fentanyl had no idea they were doing so. That is what makes this lethal and heavily addictive drug so dangerous. Sadly, it is very clear that the Biden administration is not serious about solving this epidemic. If they were, they wouldn't be allowing our southern border to be overrun by the cartels and their drug mules. Who is paying the price for these policies and lack of border enforcement? It is the families of those that have become addicted. It is those that have overdosed and died from fentanyl. We have even had law enforcement officials in eastern Ohio that have been exposed to fentanyl and almost died during the conduct of their work busting up drug rings. We should not be relaxing the penalties for that.…”