[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H1256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ALL PERPETRATORS OF CHILD ABUSE MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

  (Ms. DelBENE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing important 
legislation to ensure that all perpetrators of child abuse are held 
accountable. It closes a Federal loophole that wrongly denies justice 
for some survivors, like Penny Saum from Washington State.
  Last month, I heard from Penny directly about the horrific abuses she 
faced at the hands of her father. He was convicted, sentenced to 
prison, and ordered to pay $5 million in damages. But because he is a 
military retiree, Federal law has shielded him from paying a cent of 
the restitution that he owes. It is unacceptable.
  Congress already passed a law in 1994, holding Federal retirees 
accountable for abusing a child. Now it is our responsibility to apply 
the same standard to all perpetrators.
  I am honored to be working with my colleague from Washington State, 
Congresswoman Herrera Beutler, to close this heartbreaking loophole. In 
these challenging times, this is exactly the kind of bipartisan 
solution we can all work together on.

                          ____________________