Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1032, ``Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should continue to assist the Mexican Government in fighting the drug cartels and curbing violence against Mexican and United States citizens, both in the United States and abroad.'' Let me begin by thanking my colleague Representative Judy Chu for introducing this resolution, as it is vitally important both to our national security and the safety of the American people that we confront the problem of transnational drug trafficking and attempt to reduce the violence associated with the trade of narcotics. Violence related to the drug trade has hit catastrophic proportions over the last few years. Just across the United States-Mexico border from my home state of Texas a battle is being waged by armed gangs for the control of the illicit transnational drug market. In Mexico alone, drug cartels killed at least 5,600 people in 2008 and that number increased to more than 7,000 people in 2009. I condemn in the strongest possible terms this type of senseless violence and will work to see that violence against civilians in the U.S. and in Mexico is curbed or eliminated. Unfortunately, execution-style killings and kidnappings have become the norm in many Mexican cities like Ciudad Juarez and Gomez Palacio as drug cartels attempt to extend the reach of their power and institute a sense of fear over the local populations.…”