December 4, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 193 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H9230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RURAL COMMUNITIES FACE DANGERS FROM ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING

  (Mr. RIGGLEMAN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RIGGLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, ``Right under your nose: A Mexican cartel 
turned this rural area into a hidden cocaine hub,'' reads the headline 
from over the weekend from our newspaper in southern Virginia.
  This article goes on to explain how a drug cartel has smuggled super 
pure meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and other drugs throughout the 
southern Virginia countryside.
  I have spoken on this floor about the dangers our rural communities 
face from illicit drug trafficking, and now in my district, Mexican 
cartels, famous for their extreme violence, are tearing local 
communities to shreds.
  I have taken action. I voted to provide funding that will help CBP 
agents stop drugs at the border. Securing our border cuts the head off 
the snake of these violent cartels. I have aided local law enforcement 
and pushed for drug trafficking designations in my district, and I have 
worked to fund treatment programs that help those battling addiction.
  We need to fight back against drug trafficking and take back the 
communities we call home.

                          ____________________