[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3010-H3011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING JACKIE AND DAVID SIEGEL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Sessions) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on 
the floor about a very important topic but really to honor two people, 
Jackie and David Siegel of central Florida.
  Jackie and David Siegel, as proud Americans, have stepped up to form 
what is known as the Victoria's Voice Foundation.
  The story behind this is one that resonates with millions of 
Americans. They lost their daughter, 18 years old, to the ravages of 
drug addiction, to the ravages of what started as a simple marijuana 
cigarette turning into a THC-induced addiction that led her onward 
through drugs, ultimately to her death.
  Mr. Speaker, across this country, millions of American families are 
searching for ideas not only about the truth behind the problems with 
THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana, but also the ravages 
of drugs that come after that because marijuana is a gateway to these 
harder drugs that so many people move to.
  David and Jackie Siegel understood this as they watched not just 
their daughter's addiction but how she moved herself through drugs, and 
eventually it led them to seek time for her to receive treatment.
  Treatment, while very important, is stronger than love is, and that 
is what they learned also. David and Jackie watched their daughter as 
she spiraled through not only drug addiction but the people that she 
became associated with.
  I stand today to say that David and Jackie Siegel did something about 
this as they joined a nationwide organization that is intended to teach 
communities, schools, and parents that there is a way to not only 
understand and comprehend the things that are happening to our youth 
but a way to become active to where they can address these issues. They 
accomplish this by working with schools, by working with parents, and 
by working with law enforcement to make sure that these ravages of drug 
addiction are not only understood but addressed.
  Mr. Speaker, David Siegel lost an 18-year-old daughter he loved very 
much, and it has caused him and Jackie to spend millions of dollars to 
give this outreach the voice that Victoria held and brings to light how 
important that is to them because they care about other people also.
  Families all across this country are struggling to find exactly how 
to address this; how to take on a big problem. I would suggest today 
that Jackie and David Siegel, through Victoria's Voice Foundation, have 
provided a really clear way for the American people, for families, for 
communities, and for schools who are struggling with these addiction 
problems, who are struggling with not just the psychosis that happens 
but ultimately the death of so many of our students.
  I think that David had the right idea when he said he didn't want 
this to happen to another family without the knowledge of what they 
could do to become engaged to save not just their children but other 
children in their community.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I stand up and salute Jackie and David Siegel for 
not

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just sitting back in their own sorrow but actually moving forward in 
the American spirit, in working with people of goodwill, who want to 
protect our children, who want to see the dangers as they exist in our 
country today and make a meaningful difference.
  I applaud David Siegel for not only his investment of millions of 
dollars, but I also applaud David Siegel for standing up and saying 
that he believes that the only way we can win this battle is through 
the confidence that we give our children, showing them that we care 
about them, that our schools will take this same rigorous 
responsibility, and, we, as a community and as a Nation, can solve this 
problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand today in support of David and Jackie Siegel, not 
in their grief but in the resiliency that they had to move forward to 
help other people in our country.

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