[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 147 (Monday, October 1, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12349-S12350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today marks the beginning of domestic 
violence month, and it marks a time when we look at the progress we 
have made in this area and what challenges remain.
  As a former prosecutor, I am well aware of the tragedies we see every 
day in this country from domestic violence. But it is also a time in 
our State where we look back at the lives of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, 
who devoted their time, their passion, and their energy to doing 
something about a problem that so often is overlooked or about which 
people do not want to talk.
  This is, in fact, a few weeks on the calendar before their tragic 
death in a plane crash. Today we are going to welcome their son, David 
Wellstone, to the Capitol, and there will be a quilt displayed in the 
Russell rotunda, a quilt made by women and children from 13 different 
domestic violence centers across this country.
  At the event today, we are going to have in Paul and Sheila's honor--
we are not just going to look back on all they accomplished and stood 
for, but we are also going to look ahead to the work we all must do to 
carry their legacy forward, especially that commitment they had to 
ending domestic violence.
  It is hard to believe it has already been nearly 5 years since we 
lost Paul and Sheila. It feels both so long ago and yet not that long 
ago. But we know their dreams and passions remain alive in each one of 
us, and that is why we are gathering tonight.
  For me, I get my own special reminder of Paul Wellstone every day. 
His family gave me the flags that hung in his office. I am also 
reminded every day by ordinary people in the Capitol when I say I am 
from Minnesota--the tram drivers in the basement or the police officers 
or the secretaries in Senate offices who, when you say you are a 
Senator from Minnesota, they remember Paul, and they remember how well 
he treated people and the dignity with which he treated people every 
day.
  Above all, I keep in mind, in front of my mind, the fundamental 
values for which he fought and struggled--being a voice to the 
voiceless, bringing power to the powerless, bringing justice to those 
who suffered injustice and above all, bringing hope to all of us that 
we can change the world and make it a better place.
  There is no better way to honor Sheila's groundbreaking work in 
domestic violence than to mark the beginning of Domestic Violence 
Awareness Month with that quilt hanging in the Capitol.

[[Page S12350]]

  I had the honor and opportunity to work with Sheila on many occasions 
when I was Hennepin County attorney. She was instrumental in creating 
and funding the Hennepin County Domestic Abuse Service Center. Hennepin 
County has about 1.1 million people, and this center is a landmark 
center across the country. It is a single place where women and their 
children can come. There is a play area for the kids. There are 
prosecutors there. There are police there. It is one place where they 
can get through the redtape and come to get help. The center is an 
international model for serving victims of domestic violence.
  Sheila and I shared a particular concern for the fate of children who 
grew up in homes with domestic violence. There are deeply disturbing 
statistics on children who witness domestic abuse in their homes. These 
kids are six times more likely to commit suicide. They are 24 times 
more likely to commit sexual assault. They are 60 times more likely to 
exhibit delinquent behavior and, most chilling of all, little boys who 
witness domestic violence are 100 times more likely to become abusers 
themselves.
  In my job as a prosecutor, I learned very quickly that when there is 
domestic violence, there is always a victim, the immediate victim, but 
it ripples through an entire family.
  I remember a case we had in a suburban area where a man who had been 
abusing his wife killed her. There was a little girl, a little daughter 
who was about 4 years old. When he disposed of his wife's body, he 
brought the daughter with him in the back seat. A few days later, the 
grandparents came in from Russia. The woman was a Russian immigrant. 
They brought the deceased woman's twin sister, identical twin sister. 
This little daughter had never seen her aunt before. She ran through 
the airport when she saw her get off the plane and she said: Mommy, 
mommy, mommy. When you hear stories such as that story, you remember it 
is not about one victim, it is about an entire family.
  Sheila knew those stories, and Sheila knew those statistics. But even 
more, she knew the names and the faces of the real children who 
witnessed and experienced abuse in the home. It made her all the more 
determined to do something about it because in America, of all places, 
kids should be free to grow up with safety, security, and peace of 
mind.
  I remember the last time I saw Sheila. It was 2 weeks before that 
terrible plane crash. She and I had been asked to speak at a ceremony 
celebrating the new citizenship of Russian immigrants. It wasn't a 
campaign event. There were no cameras, even though it was about 3 weeks 
before one of the biggest elections in the country. It was just new 
citizens and their families.
  We both talked about the immigrant traditions in our own families. 
She talked about her family growing up in Appalachia. I talked about my 
family on the Iron Range with the Slovenian roots. As the event was 
winding down, in walked Paul. He wasn't supposed to be there. He was 
supposed to be in Washington. It was 3 weeks before this major 
election, and he was in this little room, with no reporters and no 
cameras, to greet these new citizens.
  I always knew he was there for two reasons. One, he was there because 
he loved his wife and he wanted to be there to surprise her and support 
her. But he was also there that night because he truly embraced that 
immigrant tradition. He embraced the idea that a person could come to 
this country, an incredible journey to freedom, with nothing, and they 
could work hard, succeed and send their kids and their grandkids to 
college because that had been what had happened to him and that had 
been what happened to Sheila.
  It was the same thing for Sheila and Paul with victims of domestic 
violence, people who had sunk to the lowest in their life, who had no 
home, who were out on the street, who were out hiding in a shelter. She 
worked tirelessly to ensure that victims and their families could begin 
their own journeys to freedom, that they could get a fresh start, with 
new opportunities, in a new and secure environment.
  We will always miss Paul and Sheila, but thanks to their son David, 
who is going to be with us here this evening, and countless volunteers 
and friends from all over the country, they have carried on their 
legacy and their work. They have carried on their legacy to change the 
world and make it a better and safer place for everyone.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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