Political Quotes

“I offered this amendment last year, and it was adopted by voice vote. However, it was not included in the final Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted in March. The homicide rate in Puerto Rico is about three times higher than any State, and most of these murders are linked to the international drug trade. Appropriately, the Federal Government is allocating substantial resources to combat drug trafficking organizations operating in the Central American corridor and along the Southwest border. However, those organizations are adapting, returning to smuggling routes through the Caribbean region that were heavily utilized in the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, the Coast Guard seized or disrupted over 17,000 pounds of drugs in the vicinity of Puerto Rico in 2012, a 600 percent increase over the previous year. DEA seizures rose nearly 100 percent. CBP seizures were up nearly 40 percent. And in 2012, CBP seized more drugs in Puerto Rico than it did along the 180-mile border between Mexico and New Mexico. Meanwhile, the street price of drugs in Puerto Rico has decreased. This is a security problem of national scope, given that 80 percent of the drugs that enter Puerto Rico are subsequently transported to the U.S. mainland, where they destroy communities and lives. Through various bills and accompanying reports, the House Appropriations Committee has expressed a view that DHS and DOJ should prioritize counterdrug efforts in the U.S.…”