[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]

 
                      DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

  (Mr. SANDERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, it is disturbing that the death of Nicole 
Simpson, a tragedy affecting the rich and the famous, should be 
necessary to force us to take notice of the horror of domestic 
violence.
  Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of homicides in Vermont involved domestic 
partners or family members. All of the six women slain in Vermont 
during 1993, died at the hands of an intimate partner or family member.

                              {time}  1210

  Nationally, 3 out of every 10 women who are victims of homicide were 
murdered by a spouse or an intimate partner, and every 15 seconds a 
woman is battered by her husband or a boyfriend.
  Mr. Speaker, we have 17 programs in Vermont that work with victims of 
domestic violence and sexual assault, and 92 percent of the people who 
provide those services are volunteers. These volunteers, most of whom 
are women, are doing an extraordinary job in counseling and supporting 
the victims of domestic violence. But they need help.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a number of serious problems with the crime bill, 
but one part of it that I vigorously support is the Violence Against 
Women Act. We urgently need the $1.8 billion in this bill to combat the 
epidemic of violence against women on the streets and in the homes of 
America.

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