But, he added, "Last year we had over 10,000 deaths by heroin on the streets of the United States. Hotel rooms, houses, on the streets, homes -- people quietly dying from heroin and from narco-terrorists moving into our borders, distributing this incredibly toxic substance across our nation. "So whether it's heroin, whether it's cocaine, whether it's marijuana, whether it's methamphetamine -- it's a very strategic move that's happening, and it's extremely aggressive and seems to be accelerating at pace we haven't seen before."
FBI Director James Comey called Lankford's description of the problem "completely accurate." "And I actually worry that the country is not getting it." Comey said he recently was briefed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and he called the threat "breathtaking." Cocaine use has gone down, he noted, "but all the rest -- it's not just bad news, it's awful!" Comey said the FBI strategy is to lock up and disrupt the traffickers and gangs -- "the goal being to try to drive up the price, to be honest," he said. "Heroin is so cheap and so pure that it's a tidal wave washing over children and killing them because they don't know how pure it is. And so that's the strategy from the law enforcement perspective -- drive up the cost by locking up as many of these people as we can."
Testifying alongside Comey, Homeland Security Secretay Jeh Johnson said, "Interdiction at the southern border is the key." He urged Congress to pass the Obama administration's southern border strategy, "and give us the additonal resources we need to work on this effort." He said he needs more technology and surveillance capability, as well as more help with the backlog of deportations and asylum applications. Johnson said another key element is a good working relationship with the government of Mexico, which he plans to visit again next week. Johnson also admitted that "we need to do a better job in this respect, because the problem is getting worse."
'Just a business'