[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 28, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the gentlewoman from California 
[Ms. Woolsey] is recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, it is time for this Nation to take 
violence against women seriously, not just when it hits the evening 
news, but every day that this American tragedy continues.
  Madam Speaker, acts of domestic violence occur every 18 seconds. 
Battering is the single major cause of injury to women; more frequent 
than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Six million women are 
beaten each year by their husbands or boyfriends, Four thousand of them 
are killed.
  Most of the time, these cases do not make headlines, but they are 
just as tragic and intolerable as those that do.
  Madam Speaker, we know what to do. We must enact the violence against 
women act. To help stop the horror of crime aimed at women.
  The Violence Against Women Act provides funding to aid policy, 
prosecutors, women's shelters, and community prevention programs. It is 
a comprehensive approach that is both tough on criminals and smart 
about crime prevention.
  The Violence Against Women Act is now in conference committee as part 
of the crime bill. In the wake of the Nicole Simpson murder case, women 
across America are raising their voices about domestic violence and 
violence against women. Here in Congress, we must join this effort and 
raise our voices about the importance of final passage of the Violence 
Against Women Act--without weakening changes or reductions in funding.
  We owe it to the millions of domestic violence victims across this 
Nation. Let us resolve never to be silent, never to let this issue out 
of the limelight, until women and girls--and all Americans--are safe 
once again.

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