[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8206-S8207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               POWER ACT

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, as we all know, more and more brave 
women are speaking out about the abuse that has been reported in the 
papers--abuse by the powerful, in many cases. I want to say at the 
outset that the country applauds these women for their courage and for 
setting an example for others.
  Some of the stories we have heard about involve sexual harassment, 
but some of the other stories also appear to involve even more serious 
crimes, including domestic violence and sexual assault, which is an 
incredibly important issue that often gets underreported all across the 
country. As a result of these news stories, I am certainly hopeful 
these kinds of problems--the domestic violence problems we have in 
America--are going to start to receive the attention they need and 
deserve.
  Just as we are seeing more men fired from jobs because of sexual 
harassment and assault, we also need to see more get the punishment 
they deserve, in a court of law, for violent abuse. We also need to 
make sure victims are protected and that they have an advocate--a 
lawyer--who is on their side in these cases.
  Unfortunately, many who are suffering from domestic abuse and sexual 
assault can't afford attorneys to file charges or, importantly, to even 
protect themselves and their families, their kids. Here is the big 
irony: When someone is charged with a crime--say a sexual assault 
crime, say an accused rapist--that person gets a Sixth Amendment right 
to counsel under the U.S. Constitution. So the perpetrator gets the 
right to a lawyer. What does the victim get? The victim gets nothing--
no attorney, no right to an attorney.
  Think about that. An accused rapist gets a lawyer under the 
Constitution and the victim gets nothing. In fact, what they often get, 
in terms of crimes, are prosecutors, if it is a criminal case. 
Prosecutors do a good job, but they are often looking to score a win 
rather than looking out for the victim and the survivor. If it is a 
civil case, survivors usually go without attorneys.
  I believe this is wrong. Fortunately, we have been working on this in 
this body. We have a bill to change that. Senator Heitkamp and I 
introduced a bill in the Senate that was passed unanimously by this 
body several months ago--and actually passed it last Congress as well--
called the Pro bono Work to Empower and Represent Act, known as the 
POWER Act. Congressman Joe Kennedy in the House has introduced a 
companion bill where it likewise has enjoyed broad bipartisan support. 
Some of the most conservative Republicans and some of the most liberal 
Democrats are showing a broad array of support in the House just as it 
has enjoyed in the Senate.
  When it passes through both Chambers, the bill will be a robust first 
step in making more lawyers available, working on a pro bono basis for 
victims and survivors who can't afford representation. There are 
thousands--tens of thousands--who fall into that category, 
unfortunately.
  So what is the problem we are trying to solve? Domestic violence and 
sexual assault happens every hour, every day, in every part of our 
country. According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease 
Control, roughly 25 percent of American women will be victims of 
domestic assault in their lifetimes--one in four--25 percent. That is a 
horrendous statistic. Every day in the United States, on average, three 
women are killed by a current or former intimate partner, according to 
the National Network to End Domestic Violence. That is also a shocking, 
horrendous statistic.
  No place is immune. This kind of violence happens in small towns, in 
big cities, on college campuses, and in suburban homes. This violence 
transcends political affiliation, race, and socioeconomic status. I 
know a number of my colleagues have watched as I like to come to the 
Senate floor and talk about my State--the great State of Alaska--and I 
like to talk about how many things are so wonderful about Alaska. One 
thing that isn't wonderful about Alaska is, we have the highest rates 
of domestic violence and sexual assault in the country. So this is 
certainly happening in my State, and it is one of the reasons I care so 
much about this issue. It is happening in every State--every State 
represented in the U.S. Senate.
  There are no simple solutions to combat this issue of nationwide 
domestic violence, but experts do agree that securing a lawyer for 
victims is one of the best ways, if not the best way, to get victims 
and survivors out of their difficult situation--out of what often is a 
cycle of violence--to get them shelter, housing, and medical care, and 
protective orders.
  Studies have shown that when an abused victim is represented by an 
attorney, their ability to break out of the cycle of violence increases 
dramatically. One study found that 83 percent of victims represented by 
a lawyer were able to obtain a protective order compared to just 32 
percent in domestic violence situations when they weren't represented 
by an attorney.
  Not only would more legal representation help victims and survivors 
of abuse, but it would also help protect children. In these situations, 
children

[[Page S8207]]

are often abused as well. Paige Hodson from Anchorage is a survivor 
herself. She has been working for years with thousands of women as an 
advocate for women who are trying to get out of abusive relationships 
and women who are also trying to protect their children. These are 
complicated and often difficult issues and cases, but Paige has said it 
is critical for both the safety of the mom and the kids to make sure 
they are represented by an attorney.
  So what does the POWER Act do? Every area of our country--every part 
of America--is represented by a judicial district that is represented 
by a U.S. attorney. Under the authority of the Justice Department, some 
States have several U.S. attorney districts. Alaska has only one.

  Utilizing this national framework of all of our different U.S. 
attorneys throughout America, the POWER Act sets out a way to increase 
connections between lawyers and victims, between advocates and 
survivors. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, directs each 
U.S. attorney to hold at least one annual event, inviting lawyers and 
legal service representatives who want to provide their legal services 
and pro bono time to empower victims by representing them.
  It also requires U.S. attorneys to plan and hold events with a focus 
on addressing these kinds of crimes--domestic violence and sexual 
assault--in Indian Country and among Alaska Native populations, where 
some of the abuse in the lower 40 and in my State is very, very high.
  Another important point about the POWER Act is that it would not add 
a dime--not one penny--to the Federal debt. But here is what it would 
do: It would create an army of lawyers--thousands of lawyers--to defend 
survivors of abuse. Think about that positive vision. Think about that 
positive vision and goal. What a great way for Americans, especially 
attorneys, to rise up in a positive and constructive way in response to 
all the bad news we are reading almost daily about these issues and 
show the better angles, the better side of our country.
  The model for this bill came from my State of Alaska. As I mentioned, 
we have the highest rates of domestic violence and sexual assault in 
the country--something that no Alaskan is proud of. When I was attorney 
general, working closely with our legislature, our Governor, and many 
of the victims advocacy groups, we launched a strategy called the 
Choose Respect Campaign. The Choose Respect Campaign highlighted this 
problem in our great State.
  We did public service announcements about how real Alaskan men choose 
respect; we changed the laws to make the penalties for perpetrators 
much harder; and we provided increased services for victims. One way we 
did that was to hold what were called pro bono legal summits. I hosted 
those summits. We brought together lawyers and victims advocacy groups, 
legal services groups, and this actually worked. It worked. By 2014, 
over 100 cases in our State were handled by volunteer attorneys 
providing thousands and thousands of hours of volunteer legal 
assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
  Think about that. Alaska has a little over 700,000 people, and we had 
over 100 attorneys come out--thousands of hours, just in our State, 
with a small population. If we could take this model to 300 million 
Americans, we literally would have an army of lawyers helping survivors 
with volunteer time and helping meet this significant unmet need 
throughout our country.
  As I mentioned, the POWER Act passed unanimously in the Senate, but, 
unfortunately, it is being held up in the House. Ironically, it is 
stuck in the Judiciary Committee--the committee focused on bringing 
justice to Americans. It is stuck there. Remember, this is not going to 
cost a dime, yet it has been stuck for months in the Judiciary 
Committee. It is kind of ironic. These victims need help, and this bill 
will do that.
  It is not only my bill to help victims and survivors of sexual 
assault that is stuck in the Judiciary Committee. My colleague, the 
majority whip from Texas, Senator Cornyn, has a very important bill 
that he came to the floor of the Senate just last week to talk about. 
It is called the SAFER Act and will help States ease the nationwide 
backlog of thousands of untested rape kits that currently sit untested 
in labs and on police storage shelves across the country. There are 
thousands. Ending this backlog could take perpetrators off the streets 
and provide victims and survivors the justice they deserve. We know 
this would work. We know that would help.
  The SAFER Act passed the Senate under the leadership of Senator 
Cornyn. Let me talk about how important that bill is to the country. In 
my State, there are 3,484 untested rape kits, more per capita than any 
State in the country. Anchorage, my hometown, has one untested kit for 
every 164 residents. In Juneau, AK, it is one for every 160 residents. 
The backlogs are all across the country. As Senator Cornyn pointed out 
in his speech, there are 2,000 kits that remain untested in his State, 
the State of Texas. In Virginia, where the State legislature has made 
this kind of testing a priority, there are also more than 2,000 kits 
sitting on police shelves.
  The Detroit Free Press recently reported on how, in 2009, officials 
stumbled onto more than 11,000 untested rape kits. After they raised 
enough money to test them, 817 serial rapists were identified. That is 
why this is so important. Once these kits are processed, they often 
give us the evidence to go after the abusers, the criminals.
  It is remarkable to me that both of these bills--the SAFER Act that 
Senator Cornyn has championed and the POWER Act that Senator Heitkamp 
and I have championed--are sitting in the House Judiciary Committee. 
Victims are not getting justice right now with these bills sitting 
there.
  Why on Earth would such bipartisan legislation, which would literally 
end up helping thousands of survivors and probably bring to justice 
hundreds of criminals who commit these heinous crimes of sexual assault 
and domestic violence--why on Earth would we have bills, which have 
bipartisan support and little to no impact on the Federal Treasury, 
stuck in the House Judiciary Committee? It is beyond comprehension.
  To my colleagues in the House, let's move this. Let's move these 
bills before the holidays. Let's start focusing on bringing justice to 
people who really need it.
  Helping victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault 
is not a Republican issue, it is not a Democratic issue, it is not a 
women's issue, and it is not a men's issue. It is an issue that affects 
all of us. Working together--as Senators, as Members of the House, as 
Americans--we should clearly unite in this cause, which transcends 
politics or ideologies, because we can start changing the culture of 
abuse. That is what we have been trying to do in Alaska. It is going to 
take a long time. It is going to take a long time, but we need to act.
  I am hopeful that my colleagues in the House--my colleagues 
particularly in the Judiciary Committee--recognize the urgency of these 
kinds of situations and will move the SAFER Act and the POWER Act out 
of committee and get it on the floor for a vote as soon as possible.
  I yield the floor.
  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. BLUMENTHAL. 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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