Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the en bloc package, which includes my amendment to increase funds to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas by $10 million.

After many grave conversations with law enforcement throughout my district, it is crystal clear that this drug scourge is one of the top concerns right now, if not the top concern.

Mr. Chairman, I know my colleagues are having similar discussions in their districts, so they understand just how serious the issue is becoming for the American people. Our drug task force in the Eighth Congressional District of Tennessee desperately needs these funds, as we have seen a spike in trafficking of narcotics across Interstate 40 in west Tennessee.

The spread of illegal drugs in west Tennessee and across the Nation leads to higher crime rates, which means our local, State, and Federal law enforcement are being stretched incredibly thin. But we must also think of the resources needed to battle the drug addiction epidemics, such as the opioid crisis. We should be proactive now because prevention is the best long-term solution.

Our law enforcement are working tirelessly, but they simply do not have the proper resources to eAffectively combat drug trafficking. We must do more to support our law enforcement in this fight, and I believe that increasing funds to the HIDTA program is a really good first step.

No doubt, officers at the local, State, and Federal level have expressed support for this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support these en bloc amendments.

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