[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 54 (Thursday, April 3, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2887-H2893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues that have joined me 
this evening to talk about an issue that is very personal to me and I 
think something that we need to discuss across America in an open and 
honest fashion.
  Madam Speaker, this month, April, is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 
I am joined with many of my colleagues here today to discuss the issue 
of sexual assault, domestic violence and, in particular, a national 
effort that we have become familiar with in our office and in my 
household called the NO MORE campaign. NO MORE is a group that is 
represented by numerous entities across the country that are coming 
together to say ``no more'' to sexual assault and domestic violence.
  Madam Speaker, you may recall I came to this floor of this Chamber 
back on March 14 and I discussed the issue of NO MORE Week at that 
point in time. I shared my family's personal story that moved us in our 
household--my wife, my brother, my sister, my 11 older brothers and 
sisters--to say ``no more.''
  Madam Speaker, over the last year and a half, we dealt with a 
situation where my niece was raped. I will tell you, going through that 
experience, it is time to say ``no more.''
  I just am humbled to see the outpouring of support that my colleagues 
are showing me this evening and coming together to say we need to talk 
about sexual assault, we need to talk about domestic violence across 
the country. We can't be shameful, we can't hide any longer. We need to 
stand with the victims and say this isn't something that is just going 
to be brushed aside and there are going to be excuses of, well, she 
wanted it or they deserved it or they were drinking, and therefore it 
is okay. ``No more,'' Madam Speaker, no more to sexual assault and 
domestic violence.
  Earlier today, my colleague across the aisle, Gwen Moore, and I 
introduced a resolution supporting the goals and ideas of April as 
Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. I am glad to see that we 
are coming together in this Chamber on a bipartisan basis to identify 
this issue, speak about this issue, and coming together to solve this 
critical problem for Americans across the Nation.
  Also, I just wanted to say, from this personal experience as a 
husband, as a father of a beautiful girl who is 15, the uncle of my 
beautiful niece who went through this horrific situation, that we just 
can't express enough how horrific and tragic sexual assault is when it 
comes to families, young men and women, just men and women across the 
country, and I stand here today to say ``no more.''
  With that, I yield to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito), my good colleague, to speak on this important issue.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for 
bringing highlight to an issue that we all feel a certain sadness that 
has to be highlighted. I am sorry for his personal tragedy for his 
niece, and I wish her much healing and a bright future for her.
  I rise today to, too, speak, as he did, about April as Sexual Assault 
Awareness Month.
  As we know, sexual assault can happen to anyone, regardless of 
gender, age, race, or religion, and it is always heartbreaking. Those 
are the ones that we actually hear about. Many go unreported. So we 
must say ``no more,'' no more to sexual assault and the culture of 
silence and shame.
  One in six women in this country have been sexually assaulted, most 
by someone they know. Hence, the area of deeply troubling behaviors in 
the realm of domestic violence.
  College women have an even higher rate of sexual victimization than 
most women in the United States. Our colleges and universities can and 
must play an important role in stopping sexual assault and joining this 
campaign in April by saying ``no more'' to sexual

[[Page H2888]]

assault. This must be a priority in every college campus in America.
  As a mother of a daughter and now a grandmother of a daughter and 
also two sons who were lucky enough to go to college, I want to make 
sure that when they are on those college campuses they are safe and 
that they know how to get help and that they know how to recognize the 
signals that they might be getting into trouble.
  Many of those affected with sexual assault struggle with depression, 
drug and alcohol abuse, or even thoughts of suicide. We have to make 
sure that they know they are not to blame and that help is available.
  So many people care. Local organizations, like the local Charleston 
YWCA, which runs the Resolve Family Abuse Program, with which I was an 
active board member for many years, they stand ready to help. They have 
counseling programs, they have residential programs, they have programs 
for batterers, programs to try to alleviate the scourge of domestic 
violence.
  We in Congress have passed laws to provide Federal funding for 
programs and organizations to help women seeking help from domestic 
abuse, stalking, and sexual assault.
  I will continue to work to help the men and women affected by these 
heinous crimes and am proud to stand here today and say ``no more'' to 
sexual assault.
  Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from West Virginia 
for her words and offer of support.
  At this time, Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Costa), a good friend from the other side of the aisle, the 
cochair of the Victims' Rights Caucus.
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, as a cochairman of the Crime Victims 
Caucus, along with our good friend and colleague Congressman Ted Poe, 
our caucus wants to join in this effort to say ``no more.'' The Crime 
Victims Caucus is active in a host of different areas, and this is one 
that deserves our attention.
  As we mark the National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we must 
remember that every day millions are struggling with the aftermath of 
sexual assault. We remember the survivors, and we honor the advocates 
who support them.
  Awareness and action can help end the cycle of sexual assault and 
domestic violence. One in five women in this country, sadly, are raped 
over the course of their lifetime, and half of all women will 
experience some type of sexual assault. These are horrific, horrific 
numbers. These are our sisters, our mothers, and our wives.
  We must act. Millions of victims are not receiving the assistance 
they need, and Congress must act. A national survey in 2013 showed that 
75 percent of the rape crisis centers have lost funding, resulting in 
layoffs and reduced services and program closures when, in fact, we 
need 24/7 service for this very, very important matter. Those numbers 
mean communities with shuttered emergency shelters that could have 
helped women and men find safe haven are no longer available. We must 
do better.

  That is why, I along with many of my colleagues here today, are 
fighting to raise the cap on the Crime Victims Fund that is one of the 
top priorities of the Victims' Rights Caucus. More than 80 Members of 
Congress signed our bipartisan legislation. Congressman Ted Poe and I 
carried a letter to the Appropriations Committee urging them to raise 
the cap to $1.5 billion from its current level of $745 million. This 
fund is oversubscribed.
  The fact of the matter is this fund does not contain one ounce of 
taxpayer dollars. It is, in fact, ill-gotten gains by criminals of all 
kinds in which those ill-gotten gains are confiscated and placed in 
this restitution fund that President Reagan signed into law in 1981 
with then a Democratic-controlled Congress. So we must raise these 
funds.
  The Crime Victims Fund provides money for our domestic violence 
shelters that provide shelter for families and women and children who 
are victims of domestic violence. It funds rape crisis centers and 
child abuse treatment centers and programs.
  We must fund the rape prevention and education fund that provides 
moneys to our States in order to support this very important issue of 
rape prevention and education programs conducted by these rape crisis 
centers, sexual assault coalitions, and other nonprofit organizations 
that are attempting to educate to help to assist and to be there when 
these victims are violated by this most horrific crime.
  Awareness, education, and empowerment, we all have a role to play in 
combating the sexual assault. That is why we are honoring those this 
month. Until we eliminate sexual assault and domestic violence and 
rape, we must continue to educate people on where to seek help when 
tragedy strikes. Survivors must know that they are not alone, and it is 
not their fault, and that there is help and that we care so that they 
can come out of the shadows and live a productive life.
  In closing, it is our job and solemn promise here in Congress to 
guarantee that there is help for every victim in our country. ``No 
more'' to sexual assault.
  Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for 
his kind words. What I will say is, it is awareness, education, and 
empowerment.
  With that, I yield to the gentleman from Texas, Judge Poe, a good 
friend and cochair of the Victims' Rights Caucus.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding 
time, and I thank him for having this Special Order regarding the 
dastardly crime of sexual assault.
  I also want to thank my friend Mr. Costa from California for his 
work. We serve as cochairs on the Victims' Rights Caucus, and it is a 
caucus that does exactly what it says. We promote and advocate on 
behalf of crime victims throughout in the country here legislatively.
  Mr. Costa, as some of you may know his history from California and he 
was the author of the Three Strikes, You're Out law that many States 
now have adopted. It is good law, and I want to commend him for his 
work on the caucus and also his comments.
  Madam Speaker, I spent all my career before I came to Congress at the 
criminal courts building in Houston, first as a prosecutor and then 
about 22 years as a criminal court judge. I heard about 25,000 cases as 
a judge. I heard a lot as a prosecutor. All of those cases dealt with 
people, not just the defendant, but the victims of crime as well.
  I would like to talk about just one person. It happened a long time 
ago in a case I prosecuted. I am going to change the names to protect 
the privacy of the family of the victim. This young student went to one 
of our schools in Houston, Texas. She is working in the daytime, went 
to night school to get a second degree. She is driving home on one of 
our freeways at night. She had car trouble. She pulled over to a 
service station, looking for some help because all the lights had come 
on.
  She gets out of the car and she talked to a person that she thought 
was a service station attendant. Billy Smith wasn't a service station 
attendant. He was just hanging around. He pulls out a gun. He kidnaps 
Lucy and takes her to a remote place of our county. He did a lot of bad 
things to her, including beating her up and abandoning her, left her 
for dead. In fact, when he was later arrested by the Houston Police 
Department, he was mad that he hadn't killed her.
  A remarkable lady. She recovered those physical wounds. Her medical 
needs were met. The bad guy was caught. I prosecuted him in front of a 
jury of 12 right-thinking Americans in Houston, and he was convicted of 
sexual assault of Lucy and received the maximum sentence of 99 years in 
a Texas penitentiary.
  We would hope, as a society, that all would be well, life would go 
on, and good things would happen. That is not reality. That is not the 
world we live in now or then. Because when you deal with a victim of a 
sexual assault, they are a special person. Everything about their 
identity, in many cases, has been destroyed. In fact, defendants, I 
think, try to destroy the soul of sexual assault victims.
  Lucy testified at that trial, but her life fell apart. She dropped 
out of school. In fact, she never went on that campus again. She lost 
her job, her husband. The kind of guy he was, he divorced her and left 
her. She started using drugs, and she used drugs for a while.

[[Page H2889]]

  Not too long after the trial was over with, I received a phone call 
from her mother telling me that Lucy had taken her life. And she left a 
note, and in that note she said: I am tired of running from Billy Smith 
in my nightmares. You see, she got the death penalty because she was a 
victim of crime, a real person. We would hope for the best. That is not 
reality.
  So we, as a society, have to understand the plight of victims. When 
the crime is committed against them, it is not like a theft case. It is 
a personal crime. And some don't make it; they don't recover. And 
society needs to be there to help them, as Mr. Costa says, to let them 
know they are not alone anymore, that we are on their side and we are 
going to do what we can to see that justice occurs in their case, 
because, Madam Speaker, justice is what we do in this country.
  And that's just the way it is.
  Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the words. I am so 
pleased that this is a bipartisan Special Order, where Members from the 
other side of the aisle are joining us tonight to talk about the issue 
of sexual assault, domestic violence, and us saying ``no more.''
  With that, I yield to my good friend from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentleman from New York for 
organizing this Special Order.
  Madam Speaker, today I join my colleagues in recognizing the 
importance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault is far too 
prevalent in modern society. It is estimated one in five girls and one 
in twenty boys will be a victim of child sexual assault. Nearly a 
quarter of all women attending college will also become victims during 
their academic career.
  This issue has been a key issue for the Subcommittee on Crime, 
Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, which I have the 
privilege to serve as ranking member. The subcommittee is not only 
focused on investigating and prosecuting offenders, it also looks to 
provide law enforcement with the necessary funding and resources and 
training to immediately help survivors beginning the healing process.
  Just yesterday, the full Judiciary Committee reported a bill that 
will reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act. This will provide funding to 
reduce the DNA analysis backlog in our Nation's laboratories and speed 
up justice to victims of sexual assault.
  Debbie Smith is a constituent of mine, and the horror she endured 
while waiting 6\1/2\ years for the DNA to be tested is beyond 
unacceptable. What is even more unacceptable is that during the time of 
delay, her attacker abducted and robbed two other women. If the DNA 
sample had been tested in a timely manner, it is almost certain that 
those two women would not have been victims of crime. The Debbie Smith 
Act helps ensure that we can bring perpetrators to justice more quickly 
and helps survivors on the road to recovery.
  Madam Speaker, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we need to 
focus on actions that we can take to reduce the incidence of sexual 
assault. For example, we have a profound responsibility to the children 
within our foster care system, and unfortunately we have found that 
those in foster care have experienced sexual assault at a much greater 
rate than average. Ensuring safety is a responsibility that we have.
  Studies show that nearly 70 percent of children who fall victim to 
child sexual trade are runaways from the foster care system. By the 
time they run away, they have already been molested or assaulted by 
either a family member or somebody in the foster care system.
  When we find children that are victims of sex trafficking, we must 
ensure that these children are treated as victims, not as criminals. A 
child cannot consent to sex. Sex with a child is rape and needs to be 
prosecuted as such. I urge my colleagues and my counterparts in the 
States to implement safe harbor laws so that victims of child sex 
trafficking are not victimized again when they encounter the law 
enforcement officials.
  When rescued, efforts to support these children must be improved. 
These survivors require multidisciplinary care and resources that 
recognize the distinct and severe physical and psychological harms 
inflicted on them.
  The potential for victimization does not end at childhood. The rates 
of campus sexual assault far exceed the rates during any time of a 
young person's life. Most of the victims know their attackers. Colleges 
need to ensure the safety of those entrusted in their care. A recently 
established campus safety center can go a long way in setting up the 
protocols to both reduce sexual assault for those on campuses and to 
properly respond when the assaults occur.
  Last year we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act to ensure 
stronger protections for female victims of crime. Since its passage in 
2000, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act has 
significantly increased prosecutions of adult and child sex 
traffickers.
  We just recently, in the last few months, the new regulations under 
the Prison Rape Elimination Act has also gone a long way in reducing 
sexual assault in our prisons.
  As I said before, prosecution of offenders is a critical part of the 
equation, but it is not the only part. We need to ensure that we 
prevent such assaults from occurring in the first place and ensure that 
survivors are provided with the resources they need and support that 
they need. Strategies will evolve over time, but during Sexual Assault 
Awareness Month, we need to encourage actions to eliminate sexual 
assault.
  Again, I thank the gentleman from New York for his support for this 
awareness month and for organizing this Special Order.
  Mr. REED. I thank the gentleman from Virginia for joining us.
  At this point in time, I would like to yield to a good friend of mine 
from the great State of North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers).
  Mrs. ELLMERS. Madam Speaker, thank you to the gentleman. And I would 
like to say thank you for helping out with this Special Order, being 
here, holding this Special Order along with Mr. Costa as part of the 
caucus in this bipartisan effort.
  As you know and as we need to talk about with the American people, 
this is an issue that defies logic and it defies socioeconomic 
background. There are no barriers to sexual assault, human trafficking, 
violence, domestic violence.
  I will say, I recently met a young lady who was the victim of human 
trafficking, not with sexual assault, but with labor, essentially. She 
was brought here to this country at the age of 3, and she was beaten 
every day by the woman that put herself forward as her mother, along 
with the two other young ladies that were brought here that she knew as 
her sisters. And until, I would say, 2007, she said every day that is 
what they endured, beatings by this woman that they referred to as Mom.
  The reason that the woman said that they can't speak out and seek 
help was because they were brought here illegally and they were 
illegal. So, you see, this problem is pervasive and it is one we have 
to deal with, and we are doing exactly what needs to be done.
  To my good friend from New York, thank you again for holding this, 
because we have to show the American people this is an issue we care 
about, this is an issue that we need to solve, and we need to work 
together for that effort. April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month is 
a perfect time for us to take part in this effort.
  I was very distressed to find out recently that the county that I 
live in in North Carolina, Harnett County, as of 2013, is the fifth 
highest county level of domestic-related homicide. That is not a number 
that I want to associate myself with in the very county in which I 
live.
  This month serves as an opportunity for all of us to unite on this 
issue, both Democrat, Republican, every American, to speak candidly 
about the prevalence of abuse and generate a much-needed change in our 
culture. Whether we are talking about our society, whether we are 
talking about those that are in the military, whether we are talking 
about those who come to this country for different purposes, we need to 
be a voice for all of those individuals.
  Sexual assault is a persistent problem. It affects both women and men 
and, again, as I pointed out, regardless

[[Page H2890]]

of socioeconomic status. To bring an end to this problem, we must equip 
young people with the knowledge and the resources needed to feel 
empowered, ask questions, and seek support. Sexual Assault Awareness 
Month is about education and informing one another so that we can bring 
about an end.
  It is time to speak up and raise awareness, and I hope all that are 
listening will help in this effort to support this effort.
  Mr. REED. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from North Carolina for 
coming today. I am pleased to yield to a good friend from the other 
side of the aisle to talk about this important issue of Sexual Assault 
Awareness Month and the NO MORE campaign. I can't encourage people 
enough across America to go online, become aware of the NO MORE 
campaign, and the Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
  With that, I yield to my good friend from Florida (Ms. Frankel).
  Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Madam Speaker, I am very honored to be here 
in a bipartisan manner to talk about a subject that we can all agree 
on, which is that freedom from sexual assault is a basic human right. 
It is not to be tolerated in any corner of society. And the issue is 
not talked about enough, so I am glad we are bringing it up today.
  I want to focus today on sexual assault that is taking place at an 
alarming rate in a place that we would not expect, and that is it in 
our military.

                              {time}  1600

  The reports of sexual assault in the military are mind-boggling. The 
Defense Department estimated that there were 26,000 sexual assaults in 
2012. Those numbers are shocking, but this isn't just about statistics. 
It is about real people.
  I want to share a story about one of my constituents. Elisha Morrow 
joined the Coast Guard at age 22. She started boot camp with so much 
pride and hope. She joined the Coast Guard because she believed deeply 
in their mission to save lives, which they do every day.
  Her hope turned to humiliation and sorrow as her company commander 
sexually harassed her with innuendos and advancements night after 
night. The commander became even more emboldened and eventually raped 
the female recruit.
  Shockingly, the commander was convicted of lesser charges of cruelty 
and maltreatment and adultery and not rape because the victim could not 
prove that her life wasn't under physical threat and that she didn't 
fear for her life. She had committed to his sexual advances under 
command.
  The law did not take into account situations in which a superior 
abuses his or her position to take advantage of victims. That is not 
full justice. That is why the victim felt even more humiliated.
  As a mother of a marine war veteran, when I heard this story, I knew 
I had to do something about it, and I want to thank my colleagues 
because we joined together when we passed the National Defense 
Authorization Act to direct the military to examine the need for a new 
definition of rape and sexual assault in cases when someone abuses 
their position in command.
  No military recruit or servicemember should endure sexual abuse. Our 
sons and daughters put on the uniform to protect us, and now, we must 
protect them.
  So we have made some good progress, Madam Speaker, which I am proud 
of, but there is so much more to do. We have to be vigilant.
  There still remains a debate, even within our Congress, whether to 
remove these type of cases from the chain of command. We have to be 
vigilant and make sure our laws are working and make sure our sons and 
daughters are protected and get the full support they need to heal when 
they are assaulted.
  In this country, every citizen has the right to be safe and 
protected. There should be no exceptions.
  Mr. Reed, I want to thank you again for allowing me to share this 
moment with you.
  Mr. REED. I thank the gentlelady for coming tonight and joining us 
and raising awareness on this critical issue facing men and women 
across the country. I appreciate the gentlelady's words.
  From the gentlelady's words, I am reminded how pervasive this is 
across our country. It does remind me also why we have to remain 
diligent and continue to raise awareness and educate people on these 
issues and to empower victims and stand with victims such as my niece.
  With that, I yield to my good friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meehan).
  Mr. MEEHAN. Allow me to express my appreciation to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Reed) for your leadership in putting together this very 
important opportunity for us to talk to not just our colleagues, but 
citizens all across this country, as we jointly focus on this issue of 
sexual assault and domestic violence.
  I am moved by my colleagues who are telling stories from so many 
different perspectives. Many of them are personal. I think that is 
really the way we have to explain these kinds of circumstances, through 
the personal stories in which it is driven home, because you can 
understand how it affects real people on an everyday basis.
  I was a former prosecutor before I came here to Washington, D.C., and 
while this story is about 20 years old, it defines a particular problem 
at a particular point in time.
  I remember distinctly engaging with a young woman. She had been the 
victim of a sexual assault. She met a young man at a party. She 
returned to a dorm room, believing that everything was going to be 
safe. He sexually and violently violated her.
  This was a very prestigious school in New England. She reported it 
later that week to the school authorities, but they took a position 
that, since she really hadn't reported it immediately and she didn't 
have any other kind of particular evidence, it was her word against his 
word, and they took no further action.
  This young woman was completely abandoned on this campus, but worse 
yet, her perpetrator used that opportunity thereafter to jeer at her 
and to taunt her, and not only was she the one who was violated, but 
she was the one who was finally driven to a point where she was so 
uncomfortable, having to confront this guy each and every day, she is 
the one who had to leave her college. She had to go home and start to 
heal and try to start a life all over again and a whole new experience.
  I ran into her because, 2 years later, she came to my district in 
Pennsylvania. She came there as a witness because, only weeks before 
she had arrived, there was another party on a college campus nearby me 
and this same perpetrator happened to come to that college, visiting a 
friend, where he met a woman. He went back to that woman's dorm, and 
another woman was violently raped.
  Fortunately, this victim, for the first time, was able to testify 
against him. We used pattern evidence to give her her first chance to 
hold him accountable. Based on that rape that we were able to 
prosecute, I think he may still be in jail.
  But her life didn't get put together immediately by virtue of that. 
In fact, she represents a story that is too infrequently understood, as 
has been demonstrated by some of my colleagues.
  One in five women on college campuses today will report being victims 
of an attempted or actual sexual assault, yet only about 5 percent of 
those are being reported to law enforcement, so we have got this huge 
disconnect.
  While it is 20 years after the incident that I experienced and a 
great deal more work has been done on college campuses, many of which 
have taken prudent steps to deal with this issue, we have to do a lot 
of more.
  I am encouraged. Just recently, President Obama--and this 
demonstrates the bipartisan nature of this effort--has appointed a 
White House task force to protect students from sexual assault. I am 
pleased to be able to be participating with some local folks in my 
community to help advise that committee.
  We are using the experiences that we have from experts at local 
colleges like Drexel, Villanova, and Penn State and campus experts who 
have worked in this area on the campuses. We are seeing some issues 
that need to be addressed.
  We are looking at issues like reporting procedures that require 
victims of sexual assault, once they report the story, to sometimes 
have to retell it two and three different times, in order

[[Page H2891]]

for them to fulfill the requirements of reporting either at colleges, 
rape crisis centers, or with law enforcement. We are violating these 
victims again and again with procedures like that.
  We are seeing women who are subjecting themselves to rape kits. It is 
appropriate and may be necessary for the collection of evidence, but we 
are finding, a year later, they haven't even taken the time to process 
the rape kit.

  How many years do we have to continue to deal with dramatic backlogs 
in just the identification of straightforward evidence that would help 
us put some of these perpetrators in jail, where they belong?
  We are examining the convoluted patchwork of Federal rules and 
regulations that, while well-intentioned, often work at cross-purposes. 
We are trying to strengthen the way partnerships can be generated 
between victims' services groups, college representatives, and among 
law enforcement.
  The biggest challenge we face from the victims is the confusion about 
the process. They don't know who to turn to or who to report to. That 
is why we must continue to work together as colleagues to help clarify 
the rules and regulations that we are creating to send the kinds of 
signals so there is certainty and the ability of these victims to reach 
out for help.
  I thank you, Mr. Reed, for your leadership on this. I pledge my 
intention to continue to work with you and our colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle to assure that we are making not only good, sound law, but 
making the procedures work for the benefit of the victims.
  Mr. REED. I so appreciate the work, leadership, and experience of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meehan) on this issue. I don't think I 
could have said it any better in the sense of the victims being 
victimized repeatedly not just by the perpetrator, but by the system.
  Hearing the gentleman from Pennsylvania give a firsthand account as 
to what that means, I think, is very important as we deal with the NO 
MORE campaign and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
  At this time, Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield to a new Member, 
but a great Member of this great Chamber, Mrs. Brooks from Indiana.
  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
  I rise today to say ``no more.''
  I want to thank my dear colleague, Representative Reed from New York, 
for bringing the attention of this body and to the country to this 
campaign of no more to sexual violence. It is Sexual Assault Awareness 
Month, and we need to take this opportunity to speak harsh but true 
words.
  Every 2 minutes, which is about how long my remarks are going to be, 
another American is sexually assaulted. That is 237,868 victims a year. 
This is a crime that touches people of all backgrounds and all walks of 
life.
  Madam Speaker, we have a sexual assault crisis in this country. It is 
time to do something about it. It is time to say ``no more.''
  Perhaps nowhere is the pain and suffering caused by this crisis more 
apparent than on our great college campuses. Nineteen percent of women 
on campus--almost one in five--will be the victim of an attempted or a 
completed sexual assault during their college experience.
  Madam Speaker, we have a sexual assault crisis on our college 
campuses. It is time to do something about it. It is time we say ``no 
more.''
  As a mom who has sent two kids off to college in recent years, these 
numbers scare me. I know the truth of these numbers, having counseled 
one of my daughter's friends in college about 4 years ago and having 
recently counseled the mother of another person who had been assaulted 
on a college campus.
  This makes me angry. There is no excuse in this country for this 
problem. There is no valid reason for anyone to look in the other 
direction or to pretend this problem doesn't exist. Let's once and for 
all say ``no more'' to this problem.
  We have to work together. I am very pleased that the Democrats and 
the Republicans in this body are working together.
  We have to offer victims more support. We have to bring offenders to 
justice. We have to analyze these daunting statistics and find real 
solutions.
  Eighty-four percent of women who experience sexually coercive 
behavior while in college are victimized during their first four 
semesters on campus. Forty-three percent of sexual victimization 
incidents on campuses do involve alcohol by the victim and about 69 
percent by the perpetrator.
  Let's have a real conversation with our freshmen and with our young 
people in college about those risky decisions that they make.
  More than half of the raped college women tell no one about the 
horrendous crime that can change their lives forever. We have to 
support the organizations, coalitions, and families that are helping 
these women--and yes, some men--and empower them to come forward and 
seek justice. That is only a part of the healing process, but it is a 
critical part.
  No one should get away with sexual assault. We have to say ``no 
more'' to free passes. We have the greatest university system in the 
world. We educate the best and the brightest. We graduate 21st century 
innovators with the talent and the dedication necessary to make our 
Nation and world a better place.
  Surely, this is a sad challenge that we can work together on to 
address. This is an opportunity for us to say ``no more'' and mean it. 
Let's take this opportunity. We have a sexual assault crisis on our 
college campuses, but it is also in our Nation, so let's do something.
  I want to thank my colleague from New York for leading. Let's say 
``no more.''

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. REED. I thank the gentlelady for her comments and joining us in 
this effort to say ``no more.'' The gentlelady's comments about the use 
of alcohol and other intoxicants being a part of, sometimes, these 
situations, I can't express enough how many times I hear that story and 
how we need to make sure that we are talking to our kids, we are 
talking to folks as they are going off to college or in our high 
schools about the danger associated with the use of alcohol and being 
put into this situation.
  Just be honest, just be honest and just say with that decision comes 
risk, and with those risks are often horrific events such as what we 
are talking about tonight, young men and women being sexually 
assaulted, domestically abused by partners, people that they know. It 
is time we raise this in a way that we speak openly and honestly about 
this issue.
  Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to be joined by a new Member of the 
House, my good friend from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), and I yield to 
the gentleman.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Thank you to my great colleague from 
the great State of New York.
  It is humbling for me to stand here with you and the others who have 
spoken before me, those of you who have a family member who has 
experienced such a traumatic, traumatic event.
  I have been here with prosecutors who have convicted those criminals 
who deserve to go to jail and to stand here with somebody like Mrs. 
Brooks, who worked in the college arena and saw devastation, now, for 
me to come up here, I have got to tell you, I am here as a dad. I am 
here as a father to a 17-year-old daughter who, in a year and a half, 
will go to college.
  In my district in central Illinois, we have nine universities and 
colleges, over 45,000 female students. With the CDC estimating that 19 
percent of women have experienced sexual assault since entering 
college, let me do the math for you. That is 8,500 women in my district 
that, if the statistics remain true, will experience sexual assault.
  I represent a district of 14 counties. This is unacceptable. That is 
why I rise with you, Mr. Reed, to say ``no more'' today.
  I am alarmed by the fact that my daughter is going to go off to 
school, get in her car, and my wife and I are going to be very, very 
sad when we drop her off at school. And I hope and pray that these 
statistics don't come right to my mind, but, you know, as a dad, they 
will. We have to do something in this institution about it.
  I am proud to be a part of the Victims' Rights Caucus with you and 
Mr.

[[Page H2892]]

Costa and my other colleagues, and I am committed to being a champion 
for the rights of victims.
  There are numerous events. I want to remind people, it is not enough 
to stand and be silent. It is not enough to recognize we have a 
problem. Go participate in your local events that are going to be 
happening in your communities throughout the month of April--as we 
know, it is Sexual Assault Awareness Month--including tomorrow's Paint 
the Town Teal, where hundreds of people will wear this color to raise 
awareness and support survivors of sexual assault. I encourage everyone 
to get involved in these local events.
  I want to make sure that everyone here knows, this is an issue that I 
and my colleagues will not forget about after the month of April. I 
look forward to the day when sexual assault is no longer a chronic 
problem that deserves national attention. However, until that day, the 
responsibility is on all of us to do what we can to stop sexual assault 
in this country and to say ``no more.''
  Mr. REED. I thank the gentleman from Illinois for those very good and 
eloquent remarks on this important issue of ``no more.''
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be joined by a Member from the great 
State of Indiana (Mrs. Walorski), and I yield to her.
  Mrs. WALORSKI. I thank the gentleman from New York for organizing 
tonight's discussion on this important topic.
  April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I rise today to say ``no 
more'' to sexual assault. This tragic epidemic impacts every community. 
Most of us know at least one sexual assault survivor.
  In my area, a report released by Saint Mary's College, found an 
alarming number of Hoosier girls affected by acts of sexual violence. 
Indiana ranks second out of 46 States for the highest number of rapes 
among female high school students, and this is unacceptable. 14.5 
percent of Indiana's female high school students and 5.2 percent of 
Indiana's male high school students have reported being raped. This 
shocking number only accounts for those attacks that are reported. As 
we all know, most assaults go unreported.
  Since joining Congress, I have worked to put an end to sexual 
violence. Working with the House Armed Services and the House Veterans' 
Affairs Committees, I have authored and supported a number of 
provisions aimed at combating the growing number and the epidemic of 
military sexual assault trauma.
  Today I call on my colleagues to raise awareness of about sexual 
assault and how we can all work together to prevent it, to respond to 
it, and to say ``no'' to sexual assault together.
  I thank the gentleman from New York for this opportunity to join you 
in saying ``no more'' to sexual assault.
  Mr. REED. I can't agree any more with my colleague from Indiana. ``No 
more.'' It is time. No more excuses. No more across America.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to be joined by a great friend from our 
State of New York (Mr. Gibson), one of the leaders down here in the 
House, and I yield to him.
  Mr. GIBSON. I thank my friend and neighbor from New York.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to be here today with my colleagues as we 
jointly pursue the effort to prevent sexual assault. I think this is 
something that really goes to the core of who we are as a people.
  I am reminded at this moment of some of our ideas at the very 
founding, inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness. These inalienable rights come from God, but 
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed to secure these rights.
  We have taken action here in this Chamber. We have worked together to 
do that. The Violence Against Women Act we passed a little over a year 
ago, and then the budget agreement that we enacted at the end of last 
year increased by $10 million. Certainly we need to do more than that, 
but we are taking some action.
  I want to highlight how that can make a difference right at the local 
level. These resources go towards education for law enforcement 
professionals and for conduit with the judicial system. It is also for 
shelters and for supporting infrastructure and health care networks.
  I am reminded of one of the visits my wife and I made recently to the 
Washbourne House in Kingston. That is the largest city in my district, 
the 19th district in New York, where I met with Michael Berg, who heads 
the Family of Woodstock shelters, and Cathy Moriarty, who actually runs 
the Washbourne House.

  Madam Speaker, this is really hard work. These victims of sexual 
assault and domestic violence, when they first show up at the doorstep 
of the Washbourne House, security, the most basic of human needs, that 
is their biggest concern, and for these leaders, providing that 
security and helping the family to be able to trust again; then, for 
basic needs, some of these victims come with children, and providing 
for them to get back into a sense of normalcy, to get them back into 
school, all the while, to help our victims to get back up on their feet 
and to be self-reliant going forward, these resources are just critical 
to support these programs.
  I am very proud of the work that is done there. I think it is 
illustrative of the kind of work that is done by very special people in 
our country all across our land. But there is more to be done, and 
there is an opportunity for us to do more. I am talking about, now, 
H.R. 3571. This is the International Violence Against Women Act, and 
this provides resources to help coordinate USAID and Department of 
State efforts about our funding programs to make them more effective as 
we work with our friends and allies across the world.
  I will tell you, this will not only help, I think, prevent sexual 
assault and bring more security, but it will also make us a stronger 
country. It will make us a stronger country, and it will bring us truer 
and in line with our founding principles. I argue that when we do that, 
on our best day, other countries want to be like us; and in that 
regard, it actually makes us safer as well.
  So I just want to thank the organizations that work with us on this 
effort. I am talking about a number of organizations, but I would like 
to point out Amnesty International, CARE USA, and Futures Against 
Violence. I thank them for their leadership on this issue.
  I thank everyone for being here today, and I thank my friend from New 
York.
  Mr. REED. I thank the gentleman from New York for joining us tonight, 
and I appreciate the friendship and the support for the NO MORE 
campaign tonight.
  Madam Speaker, one of my best friends here in this great Chamber, my 
fellow member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentlewoman from 
Tennessee (Mrs. Black) is joining us this evening, and I yield to her.
  Mrs. BLACK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here with my good 
friend from New York and to say ``no more'' to sexual assault. This 
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I commend Mr. Reed for 
leading this effort to raise awareness and bring attention to this 
crucial issue.
  Every 2 minutes, an American is assaulted in this country, and one in 
five women is a survivor of rape. This is sad and deplorable, and we 
must do more to share the daunting facts about sexual assault in this 
country as well as let people know where they can go to get help.
  We must act to protect our Nation's women, but it goes further than 
this. You see, in this country, one in six men have been victims of 
sexual abuse before they reach the age of 18. This kind of child abuse 
must be brought to light, and perpetrators must be severely punished.
  During my time of working in the Tennessee State Legislature, I was 
proud to support numerous measures to help protect women and children--
and, in particular, children--from sexual assault. I sponsored 
legislation strengthening the penalties for the crime of rape of a 
child.
  But in order to root out perpetrators of sexual violence, victims 
need to know where they can turn. I am grateful for the work of 
nomore.org for raising the awareness on this issue and for offering 
resources where victims can get the help that they so greatly need.
  These heinous crimes are unacceptable, and it is why it is so 
important to say ``no more'' this Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

[[Page H2893]]

  I thank my friend for bringing this issue to the floor tonight. It is 
so important.
  Mr. REED. I thank the gentlelady for her remarks and comments.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington State (Mr. 
Reichert), our great sheriff and cochair of the Law Enforcement Caucus.
  Mr. REICHERT. Thank you, Mr. Reed, for inviting me to speak this 
evening on this important topic.
  I don't come here tonight with statistics. I come here with 33 years 
of experience in law enforcement. I was a cop for a long time before I 
came to Congress. I have been to the homes. I have seen the faces of 
the mothers and the fathers. I have seen the faces of the victims of 
sexual assault. I have held them in my arms while they cried and fell 
to the floor in a puddle of tears. These are real people. These are our 
children.
  When I was on patrol back in the early seventies, I had a case where 
I was driving around all night. It was 2 in the morning. I found this 
young man wandering the streets. I pulled up and asked him what was 
wrong. He was sobbing and crying and asking for help. It took him at 
least an hour, Madam Speaker--an hour--before he could really finally 
tell me what happened to him. He had been abducted and taken to a 
remote home and raped and assaulted, humiliated and beaten for 2 days.
  Imagine being in that position. Imagine being a victim of such a 
horrendous crime.
  My own family has been touched by this, as I know some folks may be 
listening and some speaking tonight may have mentioned that. One of my 
own family members was raped.
  But I know this from a deeper experience. When I was a homicide 
detective for the King County Sheriff's Office in the early eighties, I 
was assigned a case called the Green River serial murder case, where 
50-plus women were killed.
  Now, how did those young girls and women get on the streets? They 
were abused. They were sexually assaulted at home. They were physically 
assaulted. They were emotionally assaulted, and they left home. They 
were raped at home. They were raped by their neighbors. They were raped 
by their family members, and they ended up on the street.

                              {time}  1630

  And whose arms did they fall into, Madam Speaker, but the arms of a 
pimp, again to be victimized and raped over and over and over, 
sometimes for money, sometimes not. Lives destroyed. Some survived 
physically but were mentally and emotionally drained. Their lives and 
spirit ripped from their hearts.
  This is a crime that until you see, until you look into the eyes of 
the person who has been victimized in such a horrendous way, you never 
really truly understand the pain and the suffering that they have been 
through.
  If they survive, they have a long, long road of recovery. And we call 
these people survivors. We call them survivors. If they don't, like in 
the Green River case, they die; their lives are taken.
  Madam Speaker, we cannot allow this to continue in this country. I 
know that every day, there is a cop on the street, there is a social 
worker out there that is dealing with this crime. We have got to stop 
this. We have got to save the lives of our children.
  Thank you, Mr. Reed for holding this hour tonight. Thank you for the 
opportunity to share some of my story.
  Mr. REED. I thank the gentleman from Washington State, the sheriff, 
for the words and the experience and sharing tonight in our efforts to 
say ``no more'' to sexual assault.
  Madam Speaker, I know we are coming to the end of the Special Order 
this evening. So I will just close with a few words.
  Madam Speaker, I stand in this Chamber today joined by my niece, who 
is with us this evening. I can't tell you how impressed, how proud I am 
of that young lady who has now turned one of the most negative 
experiences, horrific experiences in her life and is doing something 
positive about it.
  It is her voice that has moved me to stand with my colleagues, to 
work across the country, to work with organizations like NO MORE and 
Sexual Assault Awareness Month to say, I am going to do my part, Madam 
Speaker. I am going to do my part to make sure that we scream from the 
mountains, across this land, that sexual assault--be it man, woman, 
child, adult--we have heard the stories all night tonight. But in the 
great land of the United States of America, we are going to say ``no 
more'' because it tears lives apart.
  Victims are not only victimized by the perpetrators who do these 
horrific acts, but they are revictimized over and over again. And it is 
time we, as a Nation, come together and say, you know what, we are 
going to stand with the victims. We are going to educate and make 
people aware of this issue so that we can empower people--our law 
enforcement agencies, our prosecutors, the people that do God's work 
and tending to the people when they need the services that rape victims 
and sexual assault and domestic violence victims need and turn to in 
their time of need.
  So we are going to continue this battle. We are going to continue 
this fight. And I just have to applaud the efforts of the men and women 
across the country that are coming together to say in one voice, ``no 
more.''
  All 300-plus million people in America need to come together to 
highlight this issue. And I can tell you, if we unite as a Nation, we 
can bring to an end sexual assault and domestic violence.
  And to my niece, I just say, I will always have your back. I will 
always stand with you shoulder to shoulder. And to anyone who wants to 
say she deserved it or she wanted it or that she was drinking and it 
was the alcohol that caused it, ``no more.'' She is not the person that 
is responsible for this. As I said on March 14, when I asked her what I 
should tell the American Nation on her behalf, say ``no more'' because 
there are no excuses.
  I appreciate my colleagues, my friends and the folks from the other 
side of the aisle coming together tonight to talk about this, which is 
such an important issue that we need to talk about and to, for once and 
for all, say ``no more.''
  I ask every American, have a conversation with your daughter, your 
spouse, your son, your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle. 
Speak about this issue. Empower each of us, as individuals, to say, we 
are not going to accept this in our midst any longer. I am confident, 
Madam Speaker, if we do that, that we won't have to say in the last 60 
minutes that we have joined here together, that 30 more of our fellow 
American citizens have just suffered from one of the most horrific 
crimes on the face of the Earth, and that is sexual assault.
  It is time to say ``no more,'' and I ask everyone to join us in that 
campaign.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________