[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pete Geren of Texas). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the 
gentleman from Washington [Mr. Kreidler] is recognized during morning 
business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KREIDLER. Mr. Speaker, domestic violence is one of the most 
serious health issues facing women today.
  As a health professional, I know how important it is that the public 
health community recognize and respond to victims of violence.
  And they are in a unique position to do so, since women often seek 
help in the emergency room or other clinics for their injuries. In 
fact, up to a third of emergency room admissions for women are due to 
battering.
  Pregnant women are at special risk of battering--one in six are 
abused during pregnancy. Battering can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, 
and low birthweight babies.
  Like any disease that goes untreated, domestic violence tends to 
escalate over time, and too often ends in murder. Fortunately, this 
congress finally passed the Violence Against Women Act, and I hope my 
colleagues will be just as serious in funding the desperately needed 
programs for battered women's shelters, police and prosecutors, and 
victim's services.
  It is time every American understood, as the Family Violence 
Prevention Fund says, that ``There's No Excuse'' for domestic violence.

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