[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                GHB INCIDENT--THE DEATH OF KERRI BRETON

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I too, offer godspeed as we 
make our decisions on Kosova.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to talk again about GHB, a dangerous 
drug that has destroyed the lives of some of our young women and young 
people in this country.
  I have introduced a bill, the Hillory F. Farias Date Rape Drug 
Prevention Act, along with my colleague, the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Stupak), who has also introduced a bill.
  I would like to share the story of a young woman named Kerri Breton, 
who also died as a result of GHB poisoning. This young, 26-year-old 
single mother died last May after she ingested a GHB laced drink while 
on a business trip.
  She was a vibrant young woman who had worked hard for most of her 
life to achieve, despite the setbacks she had faced. She lost her 
mother to cancer when she was 13 and she had a child while in high 
school. However, Kerri was able to get her GED and at the time of her 
death she worked at an insurance firm where she had just received her 
insurance license.
  On the night of her death, Kerri was on a business trip in Syracuse, 
New York. She had drinks with a colleague and then went to her room. 
The next morning, her roommate found Kerri dead on the bathroom floor. 
There is still a murder investigation going on to determine how this 
drug got into Kerri's drink.
  We must commit to passing legislation that will schedule GHB.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce) for 
sharing this story with me. Kerri Breton was a resident of his district 
in New York, and this tragic story was sent by Ms. Breton's stepfather, 
Roger Voight. The gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce) has recently 
joined us as a cosponsor of this important legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to immediately have hearings on scheduling GHB 
and for this House to pass this legislation expeditiously so that we 
can save the lives of young people like Kerri Breton and give tribute 
to the loss of their lives and avoid these tragedies in the years to 
come.

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