Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the chairman and the ranking member for capturing what we in the Committee on the Judiciary have been doing over…”

“I thank the chairman and the ranking member for capturing what we in the Committee on the Judiciary have been doing over the last couple months. We have been working in a very effective, bipartisan manner to deal with the whole scheme, if you will, of criminal justice reform. We have been extensively involved in what has become a major epidemic across this Nation. I listened to a number of legislative initiatives, one dealing with a veteran who died from a drug overdose that was just debated here on the floor of the House. As I was flying in today, we knew there was an incident in my district where a motorcyclist was killed by a driver, a young woman who was under the influence of opioids. We know that this Transnational Drug Trafficking Act is an important act, and we want to continue in our bipartisan effort. It is important for me to note a concern that I do not believe the sponsors intended, but which I believe must be addressed. This bill is intended to help us do more to combat the importation of illegal drugs into our country, but it could also subject more people to mandatory minimum sentencing, an unfortunate feature of our criminal justice system that we must address. The United States has been suffering from the damaging effects of illicit drug trafficking for decades.…”