{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://riggleman.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-denver-riggleman-gives-speech-house-floor-outlining-efforts-stop", "Congressman Denver Riggleman Gives Speech on House Floor Outlining Efforts to Stop Cartel Violence", "2019-12-04", "2019", "2019-12", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Denver Riggleman", "R000611", "riggleman.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington D.C. -Congressman Denver Riggleman outlined his efforts to stop cartel violence in southern Virginia in a speech this afternoon on the floor of the House of Representatives. Reacting to a recentarticle in the Louisville Courier Journal titled 'Right under your nose': A Mexican cartel turned this rural area into a hidden cocaine hub, Rigglemanspoke about the problem of drug trafficking and how it affects the 5th District. He also listed steps he has taken to address the issue.\n\"I've spoken on this floor about the dangers our rural communities face from illicit drug trafficking and now, in my district,\" said Rep. Riggleman.\"Mexican cartels famous for their extreme violence are tearing local communities to shreds.\"\nCongressman Riggleman has made stopping the surge of cartel violence and drug trafficking, as well as the impact of the opioid epidemic, a top priority of his time inCongress. Congressman Riggleman voted to provide funding to Customs and Border Patrol that will help stop the influx of drugs over our southern border. Heis working to secure a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HITDA) designation for parts of the 5th District that are affected by this crisis. This designation would increase funding for locallaw enforcement andcreate a regional task force to address drugtrafficking and violence. Congressman Riggleman has also done extensive work combatting the opioid crisis in the 5th District as a member of the Freshman Working Group on Addiction.\nYou can watch the Congressman's remarks here, and a full transcript can be found below.\nThank you, Madame or Mr. Speaker:\nRight under your nose: A Mexican cartel turned this rural area into a hidden cocaine hub, reads the headline from over the weekend from our newspaper in southern Virginia. The article goes on to explain how a drug cartel has smuggled super-pure meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and other drugs through the southern Virginia countryside.I've spoken on this floor about the dangers our rural communities face from illicit drug trafficking and now, in my district, Mexican cartels famous for their extreme violence are tearing local communities to shreds.\nI've taken action:  \n\tI voted to provide funding that will help CBP agents stop drugs at the border. Securing our border cuts the head off the snake of these violent cartels. I've aided local law enforcement and pushed for drug trafficking designations in my district.\nAnd I've worked to fund treatment programs that help those battling addiction. We need to fight back against drug trafficking and take back the communities we call home.\nI yield back my time.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://riggleman.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-denver-riggleman-gives-speech-house-floor-outlining-efforts-stop"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3548179995268583, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}