[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 112 (Monday, June 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AMERICA MUST DEMAND BETTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, nearly 100 days after being 
appointed as the Biden administration border czar, Vice President 
Harris finally visited the southern border at the end of last week. It 
was 800 miles away from the crux of the problem, but I suppose it is a 
start.
  Clearly, the Biden-Harris administration knows that it is facing a 
border crisis. To them, it is a PR crisis. To the American people, the 
Biden border crisis is so real.
  As I have said time and time again, the illicit fentanyl that is made 
in China or elsewhere crosses the porous southern border and winds up 
on our streets in Pennsylvania. It spurs addiction; it tears apart 
families; it destroys the workforce; and worst of all, it is killing 
friends and neighbors.
  Last month alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted more 
than 900 pounds of fentanyl. In fact, border agents have seized more 
fentanyl at the border so far this year than in all of last year.
  As my friend and Franklin County Coroner Jeff Conner just recently 
told me, fentanyl is easy to get and fast to kill. This is true in 
Pennsylvania, and this is true across our country.
  Can you imagine what 900 pounds of fentanyl means for American 
communities, what it means to American families?
  The chaos on the southern border is absolutely a crisis for first 
responders, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and community 
leaders on the front lines of the drug epidemic in our communities. 
Every day, I hear from Pennsylvanians who have experienced the 
ramifications of this crisis firsthand. For them, this is a stark 
reality.
  Vice President Harris says that the Biden administration is making 
progress on this crisis. If that is the case, what is the President's 
definition of progress?
  Does the President believe that his administration is making progress 
on the Biden economic crisis, as inflation spirals out of control and 
hardworking families bear that cost?
  Does the President believe that his administration is making progress 
on the Biden crime crisis, as violent crimes skyrocket in cities across 
the country and our brave law enforcement officers face unprecedented 
opposition?
  If this is President Biden's idea of progress, we must demand better.
  Once again, I stand ready to work with the President and my 
colleagues on commonsense reforms to restore law and order and end the 
administration's border crisis. We must demand real progress.
  Lives are depending on our work. All of America is depending on our 
work.

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