[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 134 (Thursday, September 18, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5770-S5771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  BANK ON STUDENTS EMERGENCY LOAN REFINANCING ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--
                               Continued


              Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2013

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I also wish to speak in support of S. 1507, 
the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2013. I am a cosponsor of 
this bipartisan legislation which passed the House of Representatives 
earlier this week.
  This bill would codify that general welfare benefits provided to 
tribal members by Indian tribes--often in areas with high levels of 
poverty and unemployment where these benefits are much needed--are 
exempt from Federal taxation.
  The bill would ensure parity between the tax treatment of benefits 
provided by Indian tribes and those provided by State and local 
governments.
  While the Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on this issue, 
further action is needed to ensure that our tribal citizens are treated 
fairly with regard to taxation of certain tribal welfare benefits.
  This bill establishes a tribal advisory committee to advise the 
Secretary of the Treasury on the taxation of tribal members.
  This is a bipartisan amendment with support from the National 
Congress of American Indians and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
  Tribes and tribal organizations across the country, including the 
Great Plains Tribal Chairman Association and the Coalition of Large 
Tribes representing the nine tribes in my home State of South Dakota, 
are urging us to move forward with this legislation.
  The Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that this legislation 
would have a negligible impact on Federal revenue.
  I hope before we adjourn that the Senate can pass by unanimous 
consent this legislation that was passed by the House of 
Representatives earlier this week under suspension and that we will 
reaffirm our commitment to Indian Country.
  I hope we move this legislation and move it quickly and clarify once 
and for all this important issue.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MORAN. I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Domestic Violence Awareness Month

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, October--next month--is Domestic Violence 
Awareness Month. It is not expected that the Senate will be in session 
next month and I would like to use this opportunity to visit just a 
moment about domestic violence in an effort to create a greater 
awareness and to work to eliminate this plight among many families and 
many individuals across the country.
  Domestic violence is an issue that impacts way too many Americans. In 
fact, it affects so many homes, and yet it is something that is rarely 
spoken about publicly. Right now, because of actions of professional 
athletes, domestic violence is in the news and it is on our minds. But 
this attention needs to continue when the sports writers quit writing 
and when the news reporters and camera crews quit covering and they 
move on to the next story.

[[Page S5771]]

  Many Americans assume domestic violence doesn't occur in their 
neighborhood, it doesn't occur among their friends, but unfortunately 
that is not the case. Domestic violence does not discriminate by race, 
gender, age group, education or social status. We can't stereotype, the 
way we often do, about domestic violence. In fact, it is not just a 
problem for women; it is also a problem for children and men who are 
often victims.
  In large communities, in small communities across the country and 
across, unfortunately, my State of Kansas, too many Americans, too many 
Kansans find themselves placed in danger by the very people who are 
supposed to love and care for and protect them. Each year, more than 2 
million women are victims of domestic violence across the country. In 
Kansas alone, it is estimated that 1 in 10 adult women will suffer from 
domestic abuse this year. These are damning statistics that make clear, 
whether we realize it, someone we know is enduring physical and 
psychological abuse today, tomorrow, this week. We have a 
responsibility to help the hopeless--those who are often too afraid to 
speak out for themselves. I rise tonight to try to give voice to those 
who are victims and to acknowledge professionals and volunteers who 
provide care and the services those victims need.
  On a single day last year, shelters and organizations in Kansas 
served more than 720 victims, and similar organizations around the 
country served more than 66,000 victims each day.
  I visited one of those organizations last year, the Kansas SAFEHOME. 
It is a tremendous organization that serves the greater Kansas City 
area. SAFEHOME provides more than just a shelter for those needing a 
place to live or to escape from abuse. They provide no-cost advocacy, 
counseling, an inhouse attorney, and assistance in finding employment. 
The agency also provides education in the community to prevent abuse.
  Each year SAFEHOME helps thousands of women and children reestablish 
their lives without violence. The employees and volunteers there are 
making huge differences in the lives of many. I have often said on the 
Senate floor that what happens in Washington, DC, matters, but I know 
we change the world one person, one soul at a time, and in this setting 
and in settings similar to it across Kansas and around the country, 
lives are being changed and improved.
  Despite the important and the honorable and noble work that 
organizations such as SAFEHOME are performing, they are often faced 
with uncertainty regarding the Federal support they will receive. The 
good news is that last year Congress was able to move past politics and 
pass legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
  I sponsored and voted for that legislation and in my view it provides 
crucial, critical resources for victims of domestic violence and 
empowers our justice system to act on their behalf. Just as crucial, it 
works to prevent abuse from occurring in the first place.
  This legislation is having a real impact on the lives of Kansans 
because survivors now have access, for example, to legal services, 
through the Legal Assistance to Victims grant project, established in 
2012 by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
  One survivor expressed how grateful she was for the program because, 
as she said, ``I didn't know what I would have done without it.'' 
Without the assistance of this program, she may have had to go to court 
without legal representation, knowing that her perpetrator already had 
an attorney representing him. With that legal representation, her 
perpetrator was held accountable for his actions.
  Throughout our country, more than one in three women still suffer 
from abuse during their lifetime, and domestic violence brings fear and 
hopelessness and depression into the lives of every victim. We should 
work not only to end this violent crime, but we must also care for 
those who are victims. By volunteering at a local shelter, speaking out 
when we become aware of domestic violence or making a donation to an 
organization that helps in those circumstances, every citizen--as I 
said, we could change the world one person at a time, and every citizen 
can find a way to get involved and make a difference.
  Now and throughout the year--not just now, not just next month, 
October is Domestic Violence Month--let us be mindful of the victims of 
domestic violence and each of us do our part to break the cycle and 
bring hope to those who suffer and are in despair. Let us also use the 
conversations taking place now in the print in the papers and on the 
view of the television as an opportunity to speak out against any and 
all types of domestic abuse. Let's raise the awareness of this silent 
and devastating crime and bring about an end to all domestic violence.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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