Combating Drug Cartels In 2022, for the second year in a row, U.S. drug overdose deaths exceeded 100,000. The data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also showed that the category of drug deaths involving fentanyl and methamphetamine continued rising. As we work to improve harm reduction strategies on the demand side of this crisis, it is essential that we also take much stronger measures to reduce the supply of these lethal products. Earlier this month, Speaker Kevin McCarthy appointed me to a new congressional task force focused on combating the deadly Mexican drug cartels. The task force will examine cartel tactics and make policy recommendations to prevent cartels from further infiltrating the United States. The task force will also work to educate the American people on the impacts of cartel violence and hold the Biden administration accountable for policies that have empowered the cartels and created a crisis on our southern border. This week, former Attorney General William Barr, who served Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, briefed the task force. He was adamant that the United States must focus our resources on the supply chain in Mexico, specifically on four areas: production, financing, leadership, and structure. He indicated that Mexican cartels are comparable to ISIS and should be targeted similarly. Since taking office in 2021, President Biden’s reckless open-door immigration policies have allowed millions of illegal crossings and thousands of pounds of fentanyl – enough to kill every American several times over – to flood our southern border. The task force will increase pressure on the President, and guide his administration toward new countermeasures to roll back and degrade the power of the deadly cartels. H.R. 4366 – Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 – YEA Honors our commitment to veterans by fully funding veterans’ health care programs and veterans’ benefits and VA programs. Supports national security by focusing military assets in the Pacific theater, funding quality-of-life projects including barracks upgrades, and maintaining two provisions prohibiting the closure or realignment of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cuts wasteful spending by prohibiting the use of funds to promote or advance racist critical race theory, and eliminates funding for the VA’s Office of Public Affairs in response to the VA’s inaccurate and politically motivated public statements making false claims about budget cuts. Talk Business & Politics Several long-term road projects slated in Northeast Arkansas Progress is slowly being made on a number of road construction projects throughout Northeast Arkansas, and several new ones are slated to begin, Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Alec Farmer told Talk Business & Politics. Farmer, along with several other civic leaders including U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, and ARDOT Director Lorie Tudor, were featured speakers at the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation Northeast Arkansas policy event held Friday (July 21) in Jonesboro. Private industry leaders including Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton and Riceland Foods Supply Chain VP Evan Bolte also provided insights. Rep. Crawford | 2422 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]