Drug Trafficking Business From Mexico To U.S. ‘Larger Than Walmart’
Perdue: Drug Trafficking Business From Mexico To U.S. ‘Larger Than Walmart’
Kristina Wong, Breitbart
The drug trafficking from Mexico into the United States alone brings in more money than what Walmart makes in a year, Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) said during a Senate hearing on the drug trade Tuesday.
“Five hundred billion dollars…that makes the cartel business and the and the drug traffic just in Mexico coming across to the United States bigger than Walmart, so this is larger than our largest companies,” Perdue said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said the drug trade in the U.S. is valued anywhere from $426 to $652 billion dollars.
“I think we all know the drug trade in this country is really big business,” she said. “Its reach is global, its distribution is growing, its leadership is criminal. Like any business it adapts to market changes. Its motivation is power and profit at any costs.”
Walmart brought in $500.34 billion in net sales in 2018, according to Statista.
The hearing held by the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control drew broad agreement from both sides of the aisle that drug trafficking into the U.S. was getting worse, as well as the numbers of Americans dying from drug abuse.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the caucus, said drug poisoning deaths remain the leading cause of death and injury in the U.S. “In American alone in 2017, more than 70,000 people died of drug overdoses,” he said.
“The idea that we would somehow lose 70,000 Americans in one year alone to drug overdoses and not consider this a national emergency is really staggering,” he said. He added that since 2006, Mexico has seen 150,000 people murdered from cartel violence.
Perdue added: “If a cartel was sending a cruise missile into Dallas, Texas and killing 70,000 people, I think our response would be a little less measured than it is today.”
Feinstein, co-chairman of the caucus, said in California nearly 5,000 died in 2017, and worldwide it was 450,000 lives in 2015. “These estimates don’t consider the lives lost due to the violence associated with this illicit trade,” she said.
She added that this year, 22 countries have been identified as major transit or source countries for illicit drugs. More than 133,000 pounds of heroin, cocaine, meth, and fentanyl were seized in the U.S. last year, and nearly 101,000 pounds have already been seized this year.
Cornyn said there has been a dramatic increase in synthetic opioid-related deaths with the emergence of fentanyl as a significant contributor. However, he said the traffickers were “commodity agnostic.”
“They’ll traffic in drugs, migrants, in human beings for sex slavery, money laundering, counterfeit goods, whatever will make them a buck,” he said. “The groups fueling this cycle are becoming richer and growing their influence in the United States, and without intervention, their power will only grow,” he said.
“It’s not hyperbole to say we’ve reached a crisis point,” he said.
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who was invited to testify on the State Department’s efforts to counter the global drug trade, said the issue was “personal” for him.
“I know many people that have been impacted by this set of issues. Just last month, there were seven Kansans who died in a ten hour period from a single overdose of cocaine laced with fentanyl,” he added. “This is a serious matter… We all know human lives that have been touched, and families that have been ripped apart by this.”
He said in terms of efforts by the State Department, the Trump administration has focused on China, due to the increase of fentanyl flooding into the U.S. over the past several years. He said the U.S. is working with Chinese officials to shut down labs inside China.
In Latin America, he said Mexico remains a production hub for methamphetamines and heroin, and a transit country for cocaine and fentanyl and other drugs.
However, he said when President Trump recently raised the specter of tariffs on Mexico, more progress was made “in the course of a couple of days” than in his time in office of just over a year. “I think it focused the attention of all of us….and made us more willing to set up true metrics,” he said.
Pompeo’s appearance was the first time a cabinet member appeared before the committee, Cornyn said.
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PERDUE: Politics Has No Place In Disaster Relief
Politics Has No Place In Disaster Relief
By U.S. Senator David Perdue
Today marks eight months since Hurricane Michael made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane.
Hurricane Michael hit southwest Georgia at exactly the time when most crops were ready for harvest. Peanuts, pecans, blueberries, cotton, poultry — nothing was spared.
Agriculture is Georgia’s top industry and our No. 1 economic driver. Before the hurricane, farmers were expecting a record harvest. Instead, their crops were completely destroyed.
Shortly after the hurricane hit, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue all came down to Georgia with Senator Isakson and me. Together, we toured the devastation and heard directly from farmers about the tough road to recovery.
The scene we saw that day is something I personally will never forget – poultry houses flattened, tracts of timber destroyed, pecan trees uprooted, crops ruined and people’s lives radically changed forever.
When they saw the devastation, the Trump Administration told Georgia farmers they would have their backs. Last week, Congress finally delivered on that promise and passed a $19.1 billion relief package for 2017 and 2018 natural disasters – including $3 billion to cover agriculture losses. On Thursday, President Trump signed it into law.
This is great news for Georgia and means our farmers and producers will finally have access to the resources they need to replant, rebuild and recover.
Governor Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senator Johnny Isakson, and the entire Georgia congressional delegation have been working day and night to get disaster relief across the finish line. They have all been great partners in this effort.
However, the fact that it took 237 days for Congress to pass a disaster relief bill after Hurricane Michael is beyond embarrassing.
Disaster aid should have been funded as soon as we had an estimate of the damage, which was just a few weeks after Hurricane Michael hit. Instead, the funding got caught up in partisan battle, after partisan battle, after partisan battle.
Previous disaster aid bills were not held up like this. Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed supplemental disaster relief funding. After Hurricane Harvey, it took 15 days. Even after Hurricane Sandy, which sparked substantial debate, Congress passed a supplemental funding bill 74 days later.
Most of the delay was caused by Democratic demands for additional aid for Puerto Rico — even though the island is already eligible to receive $91 billion to recover from 2017 hurricanes. That’s three times more funding than Texas was eligible to receive for Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and nearly double what was appropriated for Hurricane Sandy in 2013.
It’s clear this fight was never really about Puerto Rico funding. For Democrats, this was about obstructing the president and preventing him from keeping his promise to help the American people recover after natural disasters ravaged their communities.
Disaster relief is not a political issue. It is not a Republican or Democrat issue. It is a shame that it turned into one over the last eight months.
Congress should take action now to avoid similar delays in the future. We should expand Congress’ existing contingency fund for natural disasters so we don’t have to rely on supplemental appropriations bills. Additionally, we should streamline the process for disbursing disaster relief funds once the aid has been approved by Congress.
It’s no secret that every dime of the relief package we just passed is borrowed money. Because of Washington’s fiscal intransigence, we are losing the ability to do the right thing. We need to tackle this debt crisis and fix the funding process so we can help the American people when they are counting on us most.
Going forward, Congress must leave politics out of disaster relief and move swiftly to provide assistance. When disaster strikes, time is of the essence, and the American people need to know we have their backs.
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“Hanging Tough”
‘Hanging tough’
Senator thanks GOP for support, urges more
Brett Fowler, The Walton Tribune
MONROE, Ga. — In case people thought the Walton County Republican Party’s annual barbecue was some small event, just know even President Donald Trump had heard about the annual event held at the Roberts farm in rural Walton County.
“Every year people all around the state know about this, but a lot of people in Washington know about this,” U.S. Sen. David Perdue said while addressing the crowd Saturday evening. “As a matter of fact, I talked to President Trump two nights ago and he said to give (Roy Roberts) his best.”
Perdue’s proclamation was met with a roar of applause from those in attendance.
Roy Roberts Sr., chairman of the Walton County GOP, has held the event at his farm annual for many years and has always gotten the biggest names in Georgia politics to make their way to Walton County. Key speakers for this year’s event included U.S. Rep. Jody Hice; Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan; state Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black; state Reps. Bruce Williamson, Tom Kirby and Houston Gaines and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
But it was Perdue who got some of the biggest applause during and after his seven minutes with the microphone.
While not an election year, many of the politicians in attendance made it clear they wanted to make sure republicans showed up in next year’s election.
“I want to thank you guys for hanging tough in that governor’s race. You stood up to the onslaught of the Democrats,” Perdue said. “(The Democrats) really thought they could come in here and spend almost $100 million against Brian Kemp, Geoff Duncan and all our state officers and steal this state for the Democratic Party.
“But we’re going to continue to hang in there and were going to turn it around even better this time. What we have to do in 2020 that we didn’t even do in 2018 is that’s get even more votes. We got over 4 million votes out in an off-year election, but we’ve got to go even further. I’ve heard them say it, but the Democrats believe the way to win the White House is to win Georgia in 2020. So we’ve got to make sure we get every single person in the state of Georgia who will listen to us to go out and vote because the Democrats are going to make sure they go and get their vote out.”
Once the importance of getting out to vote was established, the subject changed to current legislation that has passed into law or is currently being worked on. Another major subject was the recent success of the economy under Trump.
“This is a guy that’s breaking eggs in Washington just like he said he would do. Five million new jobs and the economy is growing at twice the rate it did under Barack Obama,” Perdue said. “We’ve lowered the debt curve by $3 trillion over the next decade. We have the lowest unemployment in 50 years. We have the highest median income, right now, in U.S. history. This president’s agenda is working.”
Perdue also made sure to note disaster relief was coming for the state of Georgia to help recover after an onslaught of natural disasters over the last two years.
“Brian Kemp and Geoff Duncan have been absolute warriors for this disaster relief effort,” Perdue said. “I’m proud to say we’ve got it done in the Senate. It passed 85-8 last week because the president himself stepped in and broke the log jam.”
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PERDUE: Disaster Relief: What Can Be Done Better Next Time
Disaster relief: What can be done better next time
By U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA)
The Hill
June 1 marked the beginning of hurricane season, and as we prepare to face this year’s inevitable natural disasters, many Americans are still waiting to receive federal aid to recover from last season’s devastation.
Disaster relief historically has never been a partisan issue. Unfortunately, it turned into one over the last eight months.
Despite Democrats pushing for poison pill proposals, President Trump was able to break through the gridlock, and the House and Senate found consensus on a bipartisan disaster relief package on May 23.
The Senate passed this compromise relief bill the very same day. Now, this week, the U.S. House of Representatives will send it to the President’s desk.
This package contains $19.1 billion of disaster relief, including $605 million for Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program, $300 million for additional Community Development Block Grants for Puerto Rico, $3.2 billion to rebuild military bases like Tyndall Air Force Base and Camp Lejeune, $3.3 billion for flood damage repair, and $3 billion for agriculture losses. Additionally, California will be eligible to receive more than $8 billion in assistance for wildfire recovery.
Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, deserve credit for their diligent work in shepherding this process.
However, the fact that it took 237 days for Congress to pass a disaster relief bill after Hurricane Michael is beyond embarrassing. Self-interested politicians have made a mockery of one of their primary responsibilities.
Other disaster aid bills were not held up like this. Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed supplemental disaster relief funding. After Hurricane Harvey, it took 15 days. Even after Hurricane Sandy, which sparked substantial debate, Congress passed a supplemental funding bill 74 days later.
Most of the delay was caused by partisan demands from Democrats for additional aid for Puerto Rico following 2017 hurricanes – even though the island is already eligible to receive $91 billion to recover from these storms. That’s three times more funding than Texas was eligible to receive for Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and nearly double what was appropriated for Hurricane Sandy in 2013.
President Trump agreed to support additional aid for Puerto Rico in order to pass a disaster relief bill as soon as possible. However, Democrats and Republicans could not find consensus on the level of funding. There was also a disagreement over border humanitarian funds.
After Sens. Shelby and Leahy finally came to an agreement with the House on May 23, Shelby and I called the president. The president agreed to break the logjam by supporting a clean disaster relief bill.
Within hours of Trump’s decision, the compromise bill passed the Senate 85-8. The House could have passed the bill by unanimous consent the very next day. Instead, it was blocked by three Republicans in a pathetic attempt to grandstand and get their names in national headlines.
The last eight months have been the height of partisan politics. Never again should we allow the American people to fall prey to Washington’s intransigence.
There are three actions Congress should take right now to ensure that the federal government can indeed take care of its people in times of crisis:
Establish a reserve fund. Most families and businesses set aside contingency funds in case of emergency, and Congress should do the same. We should expand eligibility criteria for natural disasters in Congress’ existing relief fund, so we’re prepared when disaster strikes and don’t have to rely on supplemental appropriations bills.
Cut red tape. Federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing & Urban Development are responsible for disbursing disaster relief funds after it’s allocated by Congress. Each agency has to go through an arduous rulemaking process before any funds can be released. This can often take months. We need to streamline the process so communities get relief in a timely manner, while providing sufficient oversight.
Fix the funding process. Our national debt topped $22 trillion this year. That’s a full-blown crisis. Because of Washington’s inability to get its financial house in order, we are losing the ability to do the right thing. Every dime of this relief package is borrowed money. We need to tackle this debt crisis and responsibly fund the federal government on time so we can help the American people when they are counting on us most.
It’s time for both sides of the aisle to come together, learn from the past, and prove to the American people that we have their backs.
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VIDEO: The Road To Socialism Will Never Run Through Georgia!
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David Talks Trade & Disaster Relief on Bloomberg
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WATCH: David’s Speech To The Georgia Republican Party State Convention
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David Visits The Savannah Port
Senator Perdue visits port to get update on Savannah Harbor Expansion Project
Fox 28
The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) is getting closer to being finished.
Senator David Perdue stopped by the port on Friday to see the progress.
He used to sit on the board at the port and said they’ve been trying to get the harbor deepened for 20 years.
It will allow bigger container ships come into the Georgia port.
“Target here somewhere between the next 5 to 10 years, this port could almost double in terms of its capacity,” said Perdue.
For the third year in a row, the project will get full federal funding. The Trump administration approved $130 million dollars for SHEP in 2020.
Edward McCarthy, COO of Georgia Ports Authority said this is very exciting for them.
“Three years in a row, the funding to get this harbor deepening project completed by the end of 2021, we’re just thrilled and we’re happy it’s moving along,” said McCarthy.
Perdue took a tour of the port and checked out how things are coming with the project. He said things are on track and this will be a major benefit for the area.
“But I think bigger than that, because of its geographic location and the layout of the roads, the workforce here, the productivity, it services almost half of America’s consumption,” said Perdue.
By deepening the harbor just five feet, they can bring in ships much larger than what we see now.
“It’s a $282 million savings year on year, every year for the life of this project, so it’s a tremendous benefit to the country,” said McCarthy.
With a deeper port, they can put more containers on ships, bringing down shipping costs.
“The growth in this facility has just been remarkable, it’s the third largest port in the country and the fastest growing port,” said Perdue.
Officials said the state has done a lot with roads and bridges to handle all the increased traffic from the port.
The project will be completed at the end of 2021 at the earliest, or by 2022.
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David Talks Trade Negotiations With China On CNBC
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