Political Quotes

“first, I say to my colleague from Ohio-- Senator Portman, who is a dear friend--that we all have it; you are right, it is nonpartisan. This has no home. This has affected every American family one way or another. There is not a person I know in my State or in the good State of Ohio that doesn't have a family member-- immediate family, extended family--or close friend who hasn't been affected by legal prescription drug abuse. We are looking at a whole cultural change that needs to go on, and I am on the floor to share letters with you. Senator Portman, I am sure you are getting the same letters. I would encourage all our colleagues to read just one letter a week from a family whose lives have been changed. They have lost a husband, they have lost their childhood, or they have lost a dear family member. It has destroyed their family life as they knew it. They can't get a job-- a first-time felony offense, and they are out of the workforce now. If you talk to law enforcement, there is not a law enforcement agency in America today that will not tell you that 80 percent of their crimes are drug related. Theft, arson, robbery--whatever it may be, it is around drug abuse. So I come to the floor to continue to share the story of millions of Americans--most importantly, of some of my very dear West Virginia family members--who have had this. I applaud the good Senator from Ohio. All of us are working. This will go through a normal process, I hope.…”