Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 5273, the Securing America's Ports Act. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, and I thank my colleague from New Mexico for her work on this legislation. Our ports of entry continue to be a preferred avenue for transnational criminal organizations and drug smugglers to transport narcotics and contraband into the United States. In fact, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 455,000 pounds of narcotics at our ports in fiscal year 2019 alone. The amount of fentanyl seized in 2019 was enough for more than 577 million lethal doses. That is more than the entire population of the United States. H.R. 5273 forces the Department to act on securing the ports of entry by requiring the Secretary to develop a plan to scan all commercial and passenger vehicles entering the United States through land ports using nonintrusive inspection systems or similar systems within 180 days. This bill encourages continued research and development, including consideration of emerging technology, to meet the inspection system plan requirements. H.R. 5273 also requires the Secretary to establish benchmarks to evaluate progress toward 100 percent scanning, estimated costs, anticipated impacts on commerce, and anticipated impacts on border security operations, including staffing considerations.…”