WASHINGTON – Today on the floor, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed the roundtable he held earlier this week at R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas to raise awareness of the fentanyl crisis and the Biden administration’s failure to stop the flow of this deadly drug across the southern border. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.

“We continue to hear and read heartbreaking stories of teens who overdosed in their bedrooms, or in a car, or at school. Sadly, this is a recurring nightmare in communities across Texas, which have experienced a wave of overdoses among teens.”

“Earlier this week, I heard more heartbreaking stories from folks in Carrollton, Texas.”

“Lilia Astudillo told me about her 14-year-old son, José, who loved playing sports and spending time with his brothers and sisters. One night, José took a pill that he thought would help him calm down before he went to bed… When Lilia went to wake her son for school the next morning, it was too late.”

“I also heard from another brave parent, Ryan Vaughn, who told me about his 16-year-old daughter, Sienna.”

“Had she been offered fentanyl, he knows she would have said no. But when her friend came over for a family get-together and gave her what seemed like a more innocuous pill, she had no idea, and she said yes… Later that evening, the Vaughns found their daughter and her friend overdosing. They were able to save her friend, using Narcan, but for Sienna, it was too late.”

“On Monday, I was at R.L. Turner High School and heard from Saniyah Rodriguez, who heard the telltale noise of somebody overdosing in the bathroom and saved that student’s life using the lessons she learned on a video at school.”

“Communities across Texas are doing the best they can to fight fentanyl head-on, and I’m grateful for the work they’ve done to protect and educate our children. But that’s only one piece of the puzzle.”

“When I spoke with the grieving parents in Hays County, which is in San Marcos, just outside of Austin, Texas – where I live – they stressed the importance of securing the border and preventing fentanyl from ever getting across the border, into their communities in the first place.”

“I appreciate everyone who joined me in Carrollton on Monday to talk about this crisis. I’m especially grateful to Saniyah Rodriguez and the families of José and Sienna who had the courage to talk about their stories.”

“People need to remember that these are not just data points. These are bright, young, loving young people who are stolen from their families and from this world.”

“Until the Biden administration steps up, and does its duty to secure the border, and takes action to stop this fentanyl from entering the southern border in the first place, there will continue to be more and more victims, and more and more grieving parents, and family, and friends like I heard from in Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District this past week.”