Political Quotes

“Madam President, there was some sobering data that came out from the CDC last week. It was a new set of preliminary data on overdose deaths. Last year, we lost almost 108,000 people to the ravages of drug abuse. Almost 4,000 of those 108,000 were Tennesseans. Those 2021 numbers are the worst that we have ever seen, and I am concerned because it seems that my Democratic colleagues and their friends in the White House are not seeing the big picture on this issue. Now, the White House claims they have a plan to address the drug crisis in this country, but they have intentionally ignored a key vulnerability when they do this. It is as if they are turning a blind eye to a key component, to a key contributing factor, of this drug crisis, and they are refusing to talk about it. It is the reason that crime is on the rise in most of our American communities. It is also the reason it is easier for drug dealers to get their hands on fentanyl than on just about anything else, and it is the same reason that human traffickers now are pushing people--the sex trafficking gangs, the labor gangs--into communities all across this country. Indeed, every town is a border town and every State a border State because of this key vulnerability. They don't want to talk about this because I don't think they want to admit that they have been so wrong.…”