[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 156 (Thursday, December 6, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7656-S7660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Violence Against Women Act
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I have spoken on this subject many times on
the floor. The people who are affected by violence against women have
wondered why the Congress has delayed so long on the Violence Against
Women Reauthorization Act, the bill we passed here in the Senate. If
someone is a victim of violence, that person can't understand such
delays. So I think it is time for the Senate and the House to come
together to pass the Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Reauthorization
Act. The other body needs to do what we did overwhelmingly in this
Senate.
Earlier this week, I read in the Burlington, VT, Free Press the story
of Carmen Tarleton. She is a woman from Thetford, VT. Thetford, VT, is
a small, quiet, beautiful little town in our State.
Five years ago, Carmen's estranged husband broke into her home, he
beat her with a baseball bat, and he poured industrial strength lye on
her, severely burning a great deal of her body and nearly blinding her.
Her doctors said she had suffered the most horrific injury a human
being could suffer. Today she is still disfigured and continues to
experience pain from these injuries of 5 years ago. She is currently
awaiting approval for a procedure that could help her get a face
transplant. Despite this, Carmen is courageously sharing her story in a
book that she has written called Overcome: Burned, Blinded, and
Blessed.
Stories such as Carmen's remind me that every day we do not pass VAWA
more people are suffering.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the
article to which I referred.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Burlington Free Press,
Dec, 3, 2012]
Lye Attack Victim Writes of Forgiveness
(By Lisa Rathke)
Montpelier, VT.--While Carmen Tarleton lay in a hospital
bed, burned, beaten and disfigured by her estranged husband
with injuries that doctors called ``the most horrific injury
a human being could suffer,'' she had vivid dreams.
In one of the most memorable, dozens of doors stretched
around her. ``Life is a choice,'' a voice said. And then the
words appeared one at a time in white across a dark movie
screen: LIFE IS A CHOICE.
Tarleton carried that lesson with her through her ongoing,
daunting and remarkable recovery after her ex broke into her
Theftord home five years ago, beat her with a baseball bat
and poured industrial- strength lye on her, burning most of
her body.
Tarleton, who at age 44 continues to undergo surgeries and
awaits a possible face transplant, has written a book that
will be published in March called ``Overcome: Burned, Blinded
and Blessed.'' She hopes it will speak to abuse victims and
others.
``I think I can help a whole bunch of people, not just
domestic violence people,'' she said in a recent interview
with The Associated Press. ``I think I can help a whole bunch
of people wherever you are in your life.''
Despite her suffering, she says she's in a better place
than she was before the attack.
``I'm so much more blessed than I was then,'' she said.
The book starts with Tarleton's decision at 28 to move
across the country from her native Vermont to Los Angeles,
with her two children in tow, to work as a nurse at a UCLA
hospital. There she met Herb Rodgers, whom she eventually
married. The family moved back to Thetford, where her
marriage started to unravel--in part over Rodgers'
dishonesty, Tarleton said.
Tarleton recalls what she now says was a premonition. One
evening when she was about to leave for her night shift at
the hospital, her 12-year-old daughter was sobbing in
bedroom. When she asked what was wrong, her daughter said,
``Something really, really bad is going to happen to you.''
Eight months later, it did. Rodgers is serving a minimum of
30 years in prison for the June 2007 attack.
When she set out to write the book three years later with
only limited vision in one eye, she stalled when it came time
to explain what Rodgers had done to her that night. She had
to coach herself through it.
``Alone at my magnifying machine, I felt physically ill
with what I was doing,'' she wrote. ``The experience of
reliving that night, trying to capture every detail as
vividly as I remembered it, was sickening. Halfway through, I
let my pen drop and rushed to my bedroom, the edges of my
limited vision blackening.''
It took her two days to write it. It was scary, but it was
what she wanted to do, she said.
She talked out the rest of the book and recorded it. She
hired Writers of the Round Table Press to write it all down,
including dialogue she had recalled.
``I was paying attention, because some of it I couldn't
forget if I wanted to,'' she said.
She writes about facing Rodgers in court, how she dealt
with being blind and disfigured, her pain, the help she has
received from her community, family and friends, and how she
came to forgive the man who maimed her so she could get on
with her own life.
``That's where I feel people get stuck because we don't
have a segment of our society that says just because this
terrible thing happened to you it doesn't have to ruin the
rest of your life,'' she said. ``And I want to be the example
of that because it doesn't.''
Publishing the book was a no-brainer for Writers of the
Round Table Press, which helped Tarleton write it, said vice
president David Cohen.
``Taking that kind of experience and turning that energy
into something positive and wanting to go out there and
effect change with as much as she had to overcome, to me was
just striking,'' Cohen said.
As she awaits approval for a procedure that could help her
get a face transplant, she looks forward to feeling well
enough to speak publicly again about her ordeal to help
others. She has had several recent surgeries to install a
catheter in her chest and was sick last winter with
hyperthyroidism.
``When life gives you a big negative situation like I'd
been through, if you can get through that, you can really
find all of the blessings and all of the positive things that
can come out of that,'' she said. ``And I found so much that
I would not go back.''
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the distinguished Presiding Officer was a
strong supporter of this bill--the Violence Against Women
Reauthorization Act, as many of our colleagues were on both sides of
the aisle. We tried to keep this a nonpartisan bill--even beyond
[[Page S7658]]
bipartisan, a nonpartisan bill--because certainly my experience has
been that violence occurs not because a woman is a Republican or a
Democrat or an Independent. Violence against women occurs in all
stratum, in all categories.
Senator Crapo and I put together our bill after listening to victims
and the professionals who work with them every day. We did not want
provisions in our bill included to score political points. They were
there to address the urgent needs of vulnerable victims. That was the
one thing we wanted. This wasn't a Democratic or Republican bill, this
was to address vulnerable victims.
One key provision in our bipartisan bill would allow tribal courts
limited jurisdiction to consider domestic violence offenses committed
by non-Indians against Indian women on tribal lands. On this, I relied
on the experiences of Senator Crapo and others who come from States
where there are tribal lands. As we went into this and talked to the
leaders of various tribes from around this country, I heard that
violence against Native women is not only appalling, as we knew, but it
has become an epidemic. It has been reported that almost three in five
Native women have been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners.
Much of the violence is committed by non-Native Americans--non-Indians.
Federal and State law enforcement may be hours away and lack the
resources to respond to these cases, while tribal courts lack
jurisdiction to consider these cases. So what happens? The perpetrators
are, in effect, immune from the law. The worst part about it is they
know they are immune from the law. So the jurisdiction provision in the
Senate Leahy-Crapo bill would be a significant step toward addressing
this horrific problem, but it would also ensure that no abuser is above
the law. As the President said yesterday in a speech to the Tribal
Nations Conference: ``With domestic violence so prevalent on
reservations, we're pushing Congress to restore your power to bring to
justice anyone--Indian or non-Indian--who hurts a woman.''
Even though our tribal provision is limited and guarantees
comprehensive rights, House Republicans have objected to it. So I come
to the Senate floor to report to my colleagues what I hope is a
breakthrough on this issue in this important bill. Two conservative
House Republicans, with leadership positions in the Republican House
majority, have introduced a reasonable, middle-ground position
regarding tribal jurisdiction.
Representative Issa of California and Representative Cole of Oklahoma
have introduced the Violence Against Indian Women Act, H.R. 6625. Their
cosponsors include Republicans from North Carolina, Minnesota and
Idaho. They all have tribes within their states and are concerned about
the violence our Senate bill is trying to combat. The Issa-Cole bill
includes a provision that allows defendants to remove a case to Federal
court if any defendants' rights are violated. This modification should
ensure that only those tribes that are following the requirements of
the law and providing full rights can exercise jurisdiction, and that
defendants can raise challenges at the beginning of a case.
Some in the House Republican leadership have expressed a ``just say
no'' approach to any grant of tribal jurisdiction, but the House
Republican leadership should give serious consideration to this
Republican proposal so we can move forward and protect thousands of
victims, non-Native Americans and Native Americans.
The National Congress of American Indians has sent a letter and urged
Senator Crapo and me to take a serious look at the Issa-Cole
provisions. We are. I have consulted with Senators on both sides of the
aisle regarding this proposal so we can find a way forward. I urge the
House Republican leadership to do so as well.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the
NCAI letter.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
National Congress
of American Indians,
Washington, DC, November 30, 2012.
Hon. Patrick J. Leahy,
Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Michael D. Crapo,
Dirksen Senate Office Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Leahy and Senator Crapo: The National
Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is pleased to hear that
serious efforts may be under way to resolve the impasse
between the Senate and the House on the Violence Against
Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA). Enhancing the safety of
Native women is one of NCAI's highest priorities, and we
support immediate passage of a strong, inclusive VAWA bill
that contains key protections for Native women, including
those contained in Section 904 of the bipartisan Senate VAWA
bill that passed earlier this year (S.1925).
Section 904 takes small but historic steps to overcome the
systemic barriers that prevent equal access to justice for
Native women by giving tribes limited authority to prosecute
domestic violence and dating violence at the local level.
NCAI commends the two of you for your leadership on this
provision. We strongly support Section 904 as it stands in
S.1925, but we understand the legislative process. A
reasonably modified version of Section 904 would be vastly
preferable to the current situation on tribal lands.
Tribes understand and support protecting the rights of
criminal defendants. That is why we support reasonable
improvements to Section 904 that would further achieve those
ends. For example, tribes are currently urging consideration
of a removal provision like that in the bill recently
introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives
Darrell Issa and Tom Cole. The provision in the Issa/Cole
bill would give criminal defendants in tribal court the right
to remove prosecutions to federal court for consideration of
any constitutional infirmities. It is a concept based loosely
on the recently enacted 28 U.S.C. 1455--a federal procedure
currently on the books (and sponsored by House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Lamar Smith) that permits federal removal
of state court criminal cases. We urge you to take a serious
look at the Issa/Cole proposal in the coming days.
It is the strong hope of tribal leaders that Section 904
will rarely need to be used, but there are several reasons
why this provision is so critical. First, it would create a
very important and much needed deterrent that is currently
lacking, given the absence of tribal jurisdiction over non-
Indian domestic violence offenders. Second, serious offenses
will most likely continue to be referred for federal
prosecution because tribes are far from eager to incur the
costs of additional prosecutions and incarcerations. And
third, given the long history of the inadequate federal
response to crime in Indian country--particularly in
misdemeanor-level domestic violence cases--it is imperative
that tribal governments have the tools to intervene early and
often to protect Native women and prevent the escalation of
violence.
Under the current scheme, non-Indian perpetrators in Indian
country are often shielded from accountability at the expense
of the safety of Indian women. Section 904 would help reverse
this trend. This provision is essential to the safety of
Native women, and NCAI cannot support any VAWA bill that does
not contain some form of it (see attached NCAI Resolution
#SAC-12-038). Should you have any questions or need
additional information please contact myself, John Dossett,
or Katy Tyndell at 202-466-7767 or [email protected],
[email protected].
Sincerely,
Jefferson Keel,
President.
National Congress of American Indians
The National Congress of American Indians Resolution #SAC-12-038
Title: Support for Immediate Passage of the VAWA Reauthorization with
Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Provision Intact
Whereas, we, the members of the National Congress of
American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine
blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in
order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the
inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights
secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United
States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are
entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United
States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding
of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and
otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the
Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following
resolution; and
Whereas, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest
national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native
tribal governments; and
Whereas, violence directed at American Indian and Alaska
Native women continues at epidemic levels on many Indian
reservations and communities, and is culturally, legally and
morally an impermissible state of affairs; and
Whereas, Alaska Native women are especially vulnerable to
this type of violence and the current system of justice in
Alaska fails to adequately protect Alaska Native victims of
sexual and domestic violence; and
Whereas, the NCAI has consistently supported key changes to
the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), last authorized by
Congress in 2005 for a six year period, the reauthorization
of which Congress has been considering since 2010; and
Whereas, one of the key provisions of the reauthorization
has been the restoration of
[[Page S7659]]
Tribal jurisdiction over non-Indian perpetrators of violence
directed at Native American women that occurs within the
boundaries of an Indian reservation; and
Whereas, this VAWA tribal criminal jurisdiction provision
has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress; and
Whereas, recent actions in Congress failed to reauthorize
VAWA, with the House citing, among other things, the
restoration of Tribal jurisdiction as a stumbling block to
reauthorization; and
Whereas, the longer the stalemate regarding reauthorization
of VAWA continues, the larger the number of Native American
and other women who will lose their lives and their health
because of acts of violence directed at them by men who do
not believe they will be prosecuted for their criminal acts:
Now therefore be it
Resolved, That the NCAI will not support a VAWA
reauthorization bill that does not contain some form of the
tribal criminal jurisdiction provision that would give tribes
authority to prosecute all persons who commit domestic
violence on tribal lands; and be it further
Resolved, That the NCAI calls on Congress to immediately
pass a final Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act that
includes some form of the Tribal criminal jurisdiction; and
be it further
Resolved, That the NCAI urges Congress to include specific
protections for Alaska Native victims of sexual assault,
domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in any final
VAWA reauthorization bill; and be it finally
Resolved, That this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI
until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General
Assembly at the 2012 Annual Session of the National Congress
of American Indians, held at the Sacramento Convention Center
from October 21-26, 2012 in Sacramento, California, with a
quorum present.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, already, eight House Republicans have
endorsed this approach in a letter to Speaker Boehner urging passage of
our VAWA legislation with this compromise. I am reaching out to them
and to members of both parties in both houses of Congress asking them
to consider how we can bridge differences and get VAWA reauthorization
legislation enacted to meaningfully address the brutal violence on
tribal lands.
I remain committed to finding solutions to all the areas of
contention between the House and the Senate on VAWA. We ought to be
able to pass legislation that includes provisions addressing the
violence on tribal lands and the need to protect immigrant women and
those who have not had access to services because of their sexual
orientation or gender identity. I believe we can find acceptable
versions of the Senate bill's new protections for students and other
key provisions. I am reaching out to the House Republican leadership. I
look forward to their seizing this opportunity provided by these senior
House Republicans to work with me and Senator Crapo and the 68 Senators
from both parties who voted for the Leahy-Crapo VAWA bill last April.
If we can complete our work and send this bill to the President before
we adjourn this year, he will sign it. Because with every day, every
week, every month that goes by there are more horrific accounts of
domestic and sexual violence. Whether it is a victim in Thetford, VT,
or Kansas City, we owe it to them to come together to find a
compromise.
I have said this before several times: I still have nightmares from
the domestic violence crime scenes I saw as a prosecutor in Vermont. I
became a prosecutor at a time when many of the laws were changing--
search and seizure laws, Miranda laws, and so forth--and I would go
with the police to crime scenes to give them advice on what the new
laws might mean. A lot of times those scenes were at 2 or 3 o'clock in
the morning. Many times we would see battered women, sometimes women no
longer alive. I had nightmares from those. But I remember the police
never asked: Is this an immigrant? Is this woman gay or straight? Is
this woman Native American? They just wanted to stop the crime from
happening again, and this legislation would give them a lot of tools so
they can do that. The thought that our inaction could lead to more
scenes such as those I saw would be tragic.
Congress must act now to protect victims of rape and domestic
violence. I am optimistic we can move together now that several House
Republicans support a compromise position on tribal jurisdiction. I
look forward to hearing from the House Republican leadership.
Mr. President, I know we are going to vote at 12, so I yield the
floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, let me first thank Senator Leahy and
members of the Judiciary Committee for the hearing they held on Terry
Berg's nomination for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of Michigan. I know how hard Senator Leahy works to get these judges
and their judicial nominations to the floor, and we are deeply
appreciative for all the efforts over all the years--indeed, may I say
decades--of my good friend Senator Leahy.
I think every member of the Judiciary Committee who had the chance to
read the record or to be there during the hearing will agree Mr. Berg
is an outstanding nominee for our district court bench. I will not go
through all his background. Mr. Berg's qualifications are
extraordinarily impressive. He will make an excellent addition to the
Eastern District Court. He is going to serve with great distinction,
and all of us--and I know I speak for Senator Stabenow as well in terms
of strongly supporting this nomination--thank our colleagues for
bringing this nomination to the floor and for the strong support it got
in the Judiciary Committee.
Mr LEVIN. Mr. President, Terrence, or ``Terry'' Berg, whom the
President has nominated to the federal bench in the District Court for
the Eastern District of Michigan, received a ``Well Qualified'' rating
from the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal
Judiciary. He graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, and
then went on to clerk for U.S. District judge. His career has been
dedicated to public service. Since 2003, he has worked at the United
States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan where he
has worked on various cybercrime issues, has supervised criminal,
civil, and administrative divisions, and has handled a full fraud case
docket, including theft of trade secrets, mortgage fraud, health care
fraud, corporate fraud and other white collar crime cases. During this
time, he received the Assistant Attorney General's Award for
Distinguished Service and the Director's Award for Superior Performance
in a Managerial or Supervisory Role.
Prior to that service, Mr. Berg worked for the Michigan Attorney
General where he established and supervised the State's first computer
crime prosecution unit. He also served at the U.S. Department of
Justice here in Washington as a Computer Crime Fellow. He has also
served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy
School of Law and the Wayne State University Law School.
Mr. Berg has served on the Catholic Lawyers' Society Board of
Directors, American Constitution Society and the State Bar of Michigan
Committee on Judicial and Professional Ethics and has published
numerous articles on cybercrime.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate Judge
Walker on his confirmation vote today. He has been waiting patiently
since he was voted out of committee in June, and the Northern District
of Florida will be well served by his confirmation.
A Florida native, Judge Walker was born in Winter Garden.
He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida
where he graduated first in his class.
He earned his law degree at the University of Florida as well.
He has clerked for Justice Stephen Grimes of the Florida Supreme
Court and Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida.
He served as an assistant public defender of Florida's Second
Judicial Circuit from 1997 to 1999, before then spending a decade in
private practice where he specialized in civil litigation and criminal
defense.
And since 2009, he has had an outstanding record as a circuit judge,
living in Tallahassee.
We have another district judge nomination pending on the Senate
calendar as well.
Judge Brian Davis would fill a judicial emergency for the Middle
District of Florida, and I urge my colleagues to take up this vote as
soon as possible.
I hope the Senate can work to eliminate the backlog of nominees
pending on the floor.
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Even nominees with the support of both home State Senators are being
held up.
The high level of judicial vacancies across the country puts at risk
the ability of all Americans to have a fair hearing in court.
I yield the floor.
With that, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________