U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez is proud to represent Ohio’s 16th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. As the son and grandson of Cuban immigrants who fled the Castro regime, Congressman Gonzalez cherishes the opportunity to serve his country and his community as a member of the world’s greatest legislative body. Congressman Gonzalez serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and on the Financial Services Committee, where he is the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. He is also a proud co-chair of the House China Task Force.
Congressman Gonzalez was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he played wide receiver under Coach Jim Tressel, before becoming a first-round draft pick for the Indianapolis Colts. After five seasons in the NFL, Congressman Gonzalez attended Stanford Business School and launched a career in the technology industry before returning home to Northeast Ohio.
In our state the opioid epidemic has taken a toll on too many families and their loved ones. Ohio is among the top five states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths at more than double the national rate, and this number is still increasing every year. In 2019 alone, more Americans will die from opioids than in the entire Vietnam War.
To fight back against this crisis, we must improve our border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs across our southern border through modernization of our ports of entry, equipping border patrol agents with better technology to detect heroin and fentanyl, and physical barriers to deter trafficking. We must also cut off the money supply to cartels, identifying and blocking the shell companies traffickers use to hide their illicit money and activities here in the U.S.