[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 122 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6579-H6585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SEXUAL ASSAULT ON OUR CAMPUSES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to address the House, Members 
of Congress, and the Chair about what I consider one of our most 
serious things that is happening in our country, and it has to do with 
sexual assault on our campuses, our universities, our colleges, and 
what is taking place there while students, our children, our 
grandchildren, go to these universities.
  I want to recognize a group of individuals who have started a 
program, a cause is really the right word, that they call the 12th 
Woman. They are all members, students, former students of Texas A&M 
University in College Station, Texas.
  The 12th Woman is a phrase that is a takeoff on another phrase that 
that university uses, calling the 12th Man. I look at the 12th Woman as 
a team, 11 on a team, and there is one more. It makes it 12, all 12 
supporting each other in their cause to eliminate sexual assault on 
campuses, not just Texas A&M, but all the universities and colleges 
through the United States.

                              {time}  1215

  So these remarkable ladies started using social media to see if other 
people, students, former students, had encountered sexual assault on 
campus and what happened and what didn't happen after that was 
reported. Then they formed this organization called the 12th Woman.
  Several of those members of the 12th Woman are here today watching 
Congress, and later today, they are going to go to their respective 
Members of Congress and talk about some of the things that are on their 
heart.
  Constituents in the State of Texas, the reason for this request of 
time is that there are bad things that are happening on our university 
campuses. It happens because of a lot of reasons. We are talking about 
a lot of people, a lot of kids, in my opinion, going away from home and 
spending time trying to get an education at one of our universities.
  I believe wholeheartedly that our universities in this country are 
the finest educational institutions anywhere in the world. That is why 
we have people from all over the world coming to our universities.
  So I am going to start by telling some of their stories, things that 
happened to them, things that they have made public. They have been 
bold to talk about the bad things that happened to them while they were 
in school.
  Mr. Speaker, it takes a lot for a crime victim, especially a sexual 
assault victim, to come forward and publicly talk about these things. 
For the last, I guess, 30 years before I came to Congress, I was a 
prosecutor in Houston, Texas, and then I spent 22 years on the criminal 
bench hearing only criminal cases. And I have met, unfortunately, a lot 
of sexual assault victims who have come my way either when I was 
prosecuting their cases or as a judge.
  It is tough, really, it is tough to make those statements public and 
come forward. But I want to read a few of these statements and these 
stories that happened to some of our ladies that they call the 12th 
Woman.
  Abbie's family was based around the values of Texas A&M that it 
instills in its students. She was raised by two Aggie alumni, and there 
was never a doubt about where she would ultimately attend college: it 
was always Texas A&M. But like so many others, what should have been an 
outstanding experience, just turned sour.
  One night, while hosting a Christmas party at her own apartment, she 
was raped. That is correct, Mr. Speaker, she was sexually assaulted.
  So when she woke up the next morning, she didn't remember how a 
portion of that night ended. Bruises, scratches covered her arms, her 
legs, and her clothing was ripped and torn.
  So doing everything that I think a rape victim should do, she had a 
rape kit conducted just a few hours later. The hospital nurse ended 
Abbie's SANE exam--SANE stands for sexual assault nurse examiner--and 
she told her, ``I will see you in court,'' describing it as the most 
evidence that she had ever seen.
  Abbie thought that she had a good case against her assailant. She was 
advised by the College Station Police Department to seek justice 
through the school and proceed to file her report through them.
  So she filed a report. The university called a hearing.
  The hearing began with what Abbie and her mom thought would be a fair 
playing field, until it became evident that she faced a series of well 
prepared attorneys at this hearing and she had no legal representation 
of her own. Not a single person at the university, the police 
department, or the hospital advised her that she had the right to 
retain legal representation.
  During the hearing, she was, in her opinion, ambushed by her 
assailant's attorney, who peppered her with a lot of questions. The 
fact that she had created a Facebook event for the party and offered 
accommodation to those who were drinking to crash at her apartment was 
called into question. It was if the university panel thought that 
Abbie's rape was her fault.
  Let's get one thing straight, Mr. Speaker. Let's make this perfectly 
clear. Sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. It is the fault 
of the perpetrator, and that is the way it should be, because it is the 
perpetrator who caused this. The victim shouldn't feel like they did 
something wrong, but in our culture, sometimes they are put on trial.
  Following the hearing, she was referred to a student counseling 
service, where she met an individual who had no training in working 
with sexual assault victims. So what was the point of talking to the 
school counseling if there was no training to handle these types of 
cases?
  After a lengthy process and dealing with an investigative panel that 
she thought and believed was cold and uncaring, her assailant 
ultimately faced no consequences. Abbie felt betrayed by the university 
that she highly regarded. Her assailant just went back to class. Abbie 
was forced to see the man who raped her walking freely around the 
campus, a campus where she should have felt safe.
  Ultimately, she made the decision to graduate early, ending her time 
at Texas A&M prematurely.
  She feels like the university that she highly spoke of failed her. 
She says:

       The university I speak so highly of has failed. Who knows 
     if it failed before me. There just wasn't anyone to speak out 
     about it.

  Abbie joins the 12th Woman to demand change, not at just Texas A&M, 
but colleges across the country.
  Abbie says:

       It is time for Texas A&M to follow the Aggie code of honor. 
     They should follow it themselves and unite with the sexual 
     assault survivors to be an example of fearless change among 
     the very best American universities.

  Mr. Speaker, the Texas A&M code of honor says, ``An Aggie does not 
lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.''
  That is Abbie's story, and I think we should thank her for making her 
story available for all of us.
  Meghan was a fourth generation Texas A&M Aggie. Her decision to 
attend this prestigious school was never a question in her mind. It was 
an amazing experience until things went bad.

  One morning, while serving as a tutor in the athletic department, a 
member of the Aggie football team, twice her size, exposed himself to 
her not 2 feet away. He made sexual advances toward her, becoming 
aggressive.
  Terrified and shocked, she abruptly walked out of the room, trying to 
remain calm as he followed her.
  Despite reporting the assault to her supervisor, something just went 
wrong.

[[Page H6580]]

The remainder of her assailant's tutoring sessions were not canceled. 
And get this: the very next morning, Meghan's assailant exposed himself 
to another tutor, becoming aggressive.
  Mr. Speaker, Meghan feels she did not get justice against her 
attacker. She feels and tells me she was failed by a university that 
was not really committed to helping victims. She was scared in the 
process, scared to go back to work, terrified she might run into this 
individual again.
  Before the hearing, the university claims she did not need a lawyer, 
she was not facing charges. She received no notice that her assailant, 
however, had hired legal representation, which he has the right to do.
  Months later, Meghan's assailant was found not responsible for 
exposing himself to both tutors. The panel stated that it appeared he 
had a skin condition and just couldn't control himself. A skin 
condition, Mr. Speaker?
  The response she received was nothing short of appalling. The school 
said:

       Sorry, Meghan, that you were offended, but there is nothing 
     else we can do.

  Meghan has appealed that case, and did appeal that case. She still 
believed the university would come to provide justice for her.
  At the appeals hearing, she was informed that the charge against her 
attacker had been downgraded from sexual exploitation to sexual 
harassment. What that meant was, in the university's eyes, she was 
removed from the remainder of the hearing and couldn't be considered as 
a victim.
  The university supposedly has several systems in place to aid 
victims. Texas A&M employs a victim advocate, but no one from the Title 
IX office contacted Meghan. She didn't receive any information 
regarding what sanctions her assailant received, if any, and of course 
her assailant was allowed to be back on the athletic team.
  Mr. Speaker, he stayed on the team until she told the media about all 
of this, and then he was later removed from the team and two 
misdemeanor charges were filed against him after she went to the media.
  Meghan felt abandoned by the university. She thought the accused was 
protected due to his status. Texas A&M spends a lot of money on teal 
ribbons, according to her, for athletes to wear for sexual assault, and 
she says that the ribbon is not enough. Universities must put the 
safety and care of sexual assault victims first. I agree with her.
  She says:

       A&M has a chance to be fearless on every front and to be 
     fearless in the face of such horrible things that are 
     happening to our victims.

  She wants A&M to take the lead on this that is taking place on our 
university campuses.
  I applaud Meghan for having the courage to come forward and tell her 
story to the world.
  Kirsten, she loved being at Texas A&M University. She considered it 
one of the friendliest campuses, and enjoyed her time at one of the 
country's finest educational institutions.
  After she returned from the winter break in the second semester of 
her freshman year, her happy-go-lucky bubble of college was shattered.
  She was invited to hang out at her guy friend's apartment, and was 
led to believe that several of their mutual friends would be there.
  When she arrived at the apartment, she realized that they were alone. 
Her so-called friend proceeded to sexually assault her.
  The next day, her friends and sister pushed her to report the 
assault, but she didn't want to. She was made to feel like the crime 
was her fault. She told her resident assistant, who warned her that as 
an RA, she was required to report it. So a few days later, she received 
an email from the Division of Student Affairs inviting her to tell her 
story.
  Time and time again, she had to relive the story in graphic detail 
almost directly after it happened.
  One thing about sexual assault victims that unfortunately seems to 
happen, when they first tell the first person about what happened to 
them, it is not going to be the last time. Generally they tell people 
who are strangers, people they don't know, and they have to tell that 
story over and over again, and because of that, they have to relive 
that experience. That is what happens when sexual assault victims have 
to come forward. They go through that, but we should be understanding 
of that process.

  She says:

       If I hadn't already been traumatized by this, the 
     university officials re-victimized me, certainly cementing 
     the damage to my mental health.

  It is true that any investigative panel must understand what happened 
before drawing conclusions, but there is a way of doing that and 
getting that information without being insensitive.
  Kirsten says she felt as if the investigators were cold and devoid of 
empathy. During the disciplinary appeals panel after the deadline to 
submit new evidence had passed, she was informed that the assailant's 
fiancee, who wasn't even present the night he attacked her, was 
permitted to serve as a witness. This witness served only the purpose 
to disparage Kirsten's character.
  Right before the panel began, she discovered that her assailant had, 
like some of the others, obtained legal counsel. Unable to have 
representation of her own, she ran to the Student Legal Services. They 
refused to help her. They wouldn't offer her legal advice. They had no 
victim advocate there to speak to her or on her behalf.
  Kirsten, like many other victims, was alone, and she felt alone.
  There was no other choice. The investigation continued.
  At one point, the officials at the university asked her why didn't 
she scream, as if it is Kirsten's fault she was assaulted and raped.
  Kirsten says the university official in the investigation became 
increasingly irritated, and it was abundantly clear to her that that 
person viewed this as a waste of the university's time.
  Ultimately, the university concluded that Kirsten had likely been 
sexually harassed, but it was not up to the university to sanction her 
offender, because there was no impediment to her educational 
opportunity.

                              {time}  1230

  Let me repeat that. Nothing happened because, according to them, 
there was no impediment to her educational opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, Kirsten fully believes, in the end, the panel turned her 
words, her desire to complete her education, and her commitment to her 
family against her. And they used her resilience and her loyalty to the 
university as a weapon against her to absolve themselves from any 
responsibility.
  Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell Nikki's story, as she recounts it. I 
have a total of six. For Nikki, a semester's worth of studying was 
about to pay off. Finals week was here. One week was all that stood 
between Nikki and a short break before the next semester began--that 
is, until she was sexually assaulted.
  Following her assault, she reported to the Texas A&M clinic, creating 
even more stress on her. Before she left the clinic, Nikki recalls the 
head physician came over to her and told her: Things happen for a 
reason.
  It was shocking to her, and it was traumatic.
  Following this traumatic experience at the clinic, she decided 
against engaging in the reporting process, feeling that the university 
was not sensitive enough. She was aware of the process, because she sat 
on the university disciplinary appeals panel, listening to the appeals 
of cases similar to hers.
  She did return to a private hospital for a SANE examination--once 
again, sexual assault nurse examination--by someone who is qualified to 
examine, on a medical basis, sexual assault victims. She returned home 
for a short break, where she says she had time to process everything.
  Mr. Speaker, deciding to come forward and report the sexual assault, 
as I have said, is overwhelming to these victims.
  After some serious soul-searching, she began the reporting process. 
She told the story to the university officials, like so many others, 
over, and over, and over again. After her shocking experience with her 
visit to the Texas A&M clinic, she says it felt like the reporting was 
getting nowhere.
  After weeks of attempting to report the behavior of the school 
clinic, she finally received a call back, but she was dissatisfied.
  The school apologized, but no change ever occurred that she knows of. 
She says that: ``After encountering three different women's clinic 
physicians

[[Page H6581]]

with such poor manners in a sexual assault case, it is clear to me that 
something is wrong at the institutional level.''
  It felt like she was the bad guy, forced to justify over and over 
again her reasons for reporting. Feeling attacked, she tried to 
withdraw her case.
  Mr. Speaker, no victim should be forced into a situation where they 
feel more discouraged by reporting a rape than they do by staying 
silent.
  But it was too much. Her grades started dropping. She started 
receiving Ds and Cs on tests. She had never gotten Cs and Ds. Her 
professors questioned her excused absences, asking if she was in 
trouble, only forcing her to explain the situation more and more.
  Upon finding out her assailant had hired legal counsel, she asked the 
university if she could obtain her own legal counsel. The university 
discouraged her from doing so and set a quick panel date.
  Ultimately, her attacker was found guilty of sexual abuse, sexual 
misconduct, dating violence, and sexual harassment. He was suspended 
for the remaining three semesters of Nikki's time at Texas A&M. She 
felt lucky because many survivors never receive, in her opinion, 
justice.
  Just in my opinion, if a person is guilty of sexual abuse, sexual 
misconduct, dating violence, and sexual harassment, a three-semester 
suspension doesn't seem to be much punishment, if any.
  She says: ``If I felt lucky my rapist, who was found guilty, was 
suspended for three semesters, one of which was already halfway over, 
then, clearly, something was wrong procedurally,'' if that happened.
  Many times, so many other victims never receive any justice, and the 
question remains: Why is a three-semester suspension unheard of as 
severe punishment?
  Mr. Speaker, something here is wrong. The reporting process for 
sexual assault should never continue to traumatize the victim at every 
turn.
  Nikki says: ``The trials of the reporting process at A&M served to 
exacerbate an already traumatizing experience, leaving me feeling 
punished, trapped, and deceived.''
  She called on the university's support program for survivors of 
sexual assault. It is an interesting note that, during this process, 
she received a cease and desist letter from a lawyer wanting her to 
tell the university it never happened, and to pay $10,000--I presume 
legal fees--to the attorney. I think that is just outrageous that that 
happened.
  Sydney was at Texas A&M, the school she loved, a school she always 
wanted to go to and did go to. It was her dream school. She was in the 
second semester at Texas A&M and, over a welcome weekend break, she was 
sexually assaulted. Her assailant took advantage of her as she was 
unconscious, intoxicated, and unable to fend for herself.
  In accordance with title IX rights, she reported the rape. Ninety-six 
days after reporting, she was granted an 8-hour hearing. She was told 
that any individual can serve as her support during the hearing, but 
was never advised to seek legal counsel. Here are a few lines from her 
victim impact statement: ``Over the spring break, I decided that I 
didn't want to live anymore.''
  Let me read that again: ``Over spring break, I decided that I didn't 
want to live anymore. I consciously decided that this was too much for 
me to take. The waiting. . . . The constant paranoia. The fact that 
this boy did something to me that made me want to take my own life 
should speak for itself. I am an optimistic person. I excel at creating 
my own happiness. But no matter what I tried, I could not find the 
silver lining in this situation.''
  Mr. Speaker, Sydney did seek help. She was diagnosed with PTSD.
  Her impact statement continues: ``What happened to me 4 months ago 
has impacted me in the most tremendous way--academically, spiritually, 
mentally, physically, in how I handle my relationships. What happened 
to me has ultimately changed my life and my perspective of life 
forever.''
  Mr. Speaker, this is one of the rare cases, in my opinion, where 
there is some hope. Sydney did receive justice after going through all 
this physical and mental anguish and pain that she is going through.
  Her assailant was expelled, given a no-contact order, and restricted 
from A&M property indefinitely. Is it the outcome that we would expect? 
I would hope so.
  To put it into words she said: ``The weight lifted off my shoulders 
when I heard that A&M chose to expel him . . . a weight that nearly 
smothered me for over 96 days. The fear of running into him on campus, 
the fear of seeing him around town, the fear that haunted and 
controlled my every move on campus, it was finally gone.''
  That, to me, is justice. It means being free from the fear of 
constantly being attacked. The rapist has given Sydney a life sentence 
of mental pain. When defendants--I will call them perpetrators, 
predators, whatever you want to call them--commit an act of sexual 
assault, whether they are punished, suspended, go to prison or not, 
whenever that consequence under society is over, they go on with their 
lives. The victims don't get to go on with their lives. This is the 
type of offense where they think about it almost on a daily basis.
  That is why I say that it gives them a life sentence of pain and 
anguish and turmoil. Sydney stands with her fellow Aggies, demanding 
justice for the victims of sexual assault.
  She says: ``I wouldn't be the Aggie that Texas A&M taught me to be if 
I remained silent after receiving justice for myself. I wouldn't be the 
Aggie that Texas A&M taught me to be if I didn't have the backs of 
these other Aggies, other survivors,'' these other members of the 12th 
Woman. ``Texas A&M taught me to be, if I was afraid, to stand here and 
be counted as another one of its one-in-five victims on college 
campuses'' of sexual assault.
  Because of the time, Mr. Speaker, I am going to just relate one more 
story and make some comments about what we are going to do about these 
cases.
  Kendra was a proud member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. Holding 
an executive officer title, she could not be prouder to attend the 
school and be part of this outstanding university that prides itself on 
respect for men and women in our military service.
  She was on track to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 
United States Army--that was, until the repercussions of her sexual 
assault at the hands of a fellow cadet sent her world, like the others 
that I have talked about, into an uproar.
  Texas A&M has an age-old tradition called the Aggie Ring Dunk. She 
and her fellow cadets, one by one, dropped their new class rings into 
pitchers of beer. Then they started drinking until they surfaced with 
the gold rings appearing in the foam.
  What should have been a fun night ended in tragedy. One of her fellow 
cadets, who happened to be engaged to someone else, her friend, walked 
her and her friend to the dorm room. However, he followed her into her 
room, locked the door, and began assaulting her.
  Despite being weakened from the alcohol, she told him ``no,'' pushed 
him away, did everything that a lady, a victim in this case, should do 
to get him away from her. At one point during the attack, he began 
suffocating her. She feared for her life.
  Since her assault occurred in a campus dorm room, she was told that 
there would be a crime alert email sent out to the entire campus. That 
alert never went out. No one was warned that a violent sexual assault 
on campus had been reported. Not a single A&M woman was any wiser.
  Kendra says: ``I believe Texas A&M endangered the lives of every 
single A&M student that came into contact with my rapist from the time 
the university knew'' what he had done.
  She was then told that she would meet with the commandant of the 
corps, along with both of her parents, to address the safety and her 
lack of safety. Suddenly, her parents were barred from the room, not 
allowed to provide any support for her.
  Rest assured, the general would have two assistants in the room with 
him. Three against one, the 20-year-old cadet versus three high-ranking 
military officials, to discuss rape, rape against her.
  After much debate, the meeting never occurred. Instead, the dean of 
student life met with Kendra and her parents. She described that 
meeting as that individual ``implied that my report of the assault was 
causing her

[[Page H6582]]

trouble, and I wasn't helping anyone by coming forward. . . . And then 
there were several ways that I was requesting not to see my assailant, 
because we lived in very close quarters and had common classes and 
common activities.''
  Every single one of those requests by her was denied to keep him away 
from her. They offered to move Kendra's parking spot; not the 
assailant's. They offered to change Kendra's schedule; not the 
assailant's. They offered to move Kendra's dorm to another dorm, but 
not the assailant's. A no-contact order was issued, but, you guessed 
it, it was up to Kendra to leave if the individual showed up in a 
classroom or the building.
  Throughout the entire process, she said the university said that 
lawyers slow things down and aren't necessary. But Kendra obtained a 
lawyer that night. Shortly afterward, she received justice against her 
assailant.
  As soon as her attorney met with school officials, the school quickly 
found a way to suspend the assailant until the hearing. Kendra's case 
was decided by the university's student conduct panel composed of three 
faculty members, and they found him responsible for 21 charges, 
including sexual abuse and sexual contact. And he was expelled.

                              {time}  1245

  It seems to me that because she hired her own private attorney she 
got the justice that she wanted and she deserved.
  To this day, Kendra hopes university police will pursue a criminal 
case against her attacker. With the current backlog of DNA testing, it 
would take a year for her sexual assault kit to be analyzed. Until then 
she will continue to speak up, be part of the 12th Woman, and ask for 
change for her beloved university and all universities to make them 
safer for all students.
  Those are six cases, individuals, young women, who went to college 
and bad things happened to them. Their statements speak for themselves. 
In some cases they felt like the university helped them; some cases 
they don't feel like the university helped them. But to a person--I was 
starting to say to a man--but to a woman, they all want improvements on 
college campuses about what has taken place on our campuses.
  After all of these things came out in the public domain, the 12th 
Woman group met with university officials. They presented a 12th Woman 
report outlining specifically what happened and what they want changed 
on their university, and really what should be changed on other 
universities.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the report in the Record.

                           12th Woman Report

       This report outlines the information shared between the 
     12th Woman and the administration of Texas A&M including 
     Chancellor John Sharp and President Michael Young on Monday, 
     June 25, 2018.
       About 12th Woman--The 12th Woman is a group of survivors 
     and advocates dedicated to transforming Texas A&M University 
     policies for providing justice in cases of sexual assault 
     that are reported.


         Introduction to Meeting with Texas A&M Administration

       My name is Abbie Hillis, and I want to welcome everyone 
     here tonight. Thank you to the victims for being brave enough 
     to share your story and thank you to the administration and 
     President Young for making this meeting a priority.
       It is fair to say that we all know this meeting shouldn't 
     even be a meeting we are forced to have. As survivors, we 
     know the administration has had meetings like this before, 
     recently in fact, where you were forced to listen to stories 
     about how the policies and procedures at Texas A&M need to 
     change. We are here tonight because there has been complete 
     and utter failure by the leadership at Texas A&M. You all 
     have declined to make sexual assault advocacy, policy, and 
     procedure a priority. Instead, you continue to issue what are 
     titled ``messages to the community,'' in the hopes that a 
     carefully-worded statement will keep current and future 
     students satisfied. Well, we are saying no more. The constant 
     gaslighting and victim blaming must end.
       We come to you today with huge hearts for Texas A&M, but we 
     also come to you with broken hearts, because you have chosen 
     to prioritize the university's brand over justice for 
     victims. For a university that portrays itself to the public 
     as unique by priding itself on its core values, it is 
     unconscionable to hear the never-ending stories over and over 
     and over from survivors. These stories are all the same and 
     demonstrate in each and every case that the university 
     prioritizes athletes, money, and perceptions of safety over 
     providing advocates and support for victims who have been 
     sexually assaulted. Victims are silenced, shamed, and 
     encouraged not to hire an attorney. Victims go to the Student 
     Counseling Center only to be told not to report their story 
     or that the issues are far greater than the SCC can handle. 
     Victims are forced to walk on campus next to their assailant, 
     or worse, to watch their assailant compete and represent the 
     university on a global stage.
       Our stories today will illustrate the inconsistencies in 
     Texas A&M's reporting procedures for sexual assault crimes. 
     There is no uniform reporting process and no one is held 
     accountable. Current policies encourage those in charge, like 
     some of you sitting in this room today, to brush stories 
     aside and sweep victims under a rug. Texas A&M is spending 
     money on ribbons for athletes to wear for sexual assault 
     awareness but can't provide a qualified trauma counselor to 
     support sexual assault victims. The university also spends 
     money duplicating services that are already provided for free 
     through the government. But this isn't new information to any 
     of you.
       Beyond hearing our stories today, I hope you all also know 
     that we are investigating your Clery Act alerts with reports 
     of sexual assault, as we believe there are discrepancies. We 
     are aware that the university has hired Husch Blackwell LLP 
     to do a ``thorough'' review of your sexual assault 
     investigations related to Title IX. But we also know that 
     this is the exact same firm that found Michigan State 
     University compliant with Title IX prior to Larry Nassar 
     being convicted of over 200 counts of sexual assault. Maybe 
     if MSU actually hired a team of attorneys that genuinely had 
     the university's best interest at heart, they wouldn't find 
     themselves in a $500 million settlement. We are curious, is 
     this the same outcome you all want for Texas A&M? As I 
     mentioned before, none of this information is new, yet these 
     issues still come up and we get the same response from the 
     administration with no results. There is no doubt that the 
     university is proficient in providing a statement in attempt 
     to address an issue, but we all know that words only go so 
     far and actions speak so much louder, actions that you all, 
     to date, have not had the decency and respect to make a 
     priority.
       Our goal is not to spread awareness to this administration; 
     you know very well these issues exist. Instead, our goal is 
     to invoke action with the leadership of the university. Texas 
     A&M has the ability to be a leader among universities across 
     the nation. You have an opportunity to address these issues 
     and create a system that actually works to protect and 
     advocate for victims of sexual assault. We can either choose 
     to work together and create change or we will have to work 
     against each other and force change. Ultimately, it is up to 
     you, the leadership of Texas A&M, to decide which route we 
     will take. What we are asking for is simple: a commitment to 
     integrity, to ensure that all Aggies are safe to attend Texas 
     A&M University.

  Mr. POE of Texas. Also, the school, Texas A&M, has responded. The 
president met with the 12th Woman, the ladies in this group, and had a 
meeting with them and has issued a comprehensive statement, as they 
call it, comprehensive reviews and actions and next steps by the 
president of the university.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record what Texas A&M's response to all 
of this is.

             Comprehensive Reviews, Actions and Next Steps

                             (July 2, 2018)

       Dear Aggie Community, I would like to provide you with an 
     update regarding review plans recently announced that seek 
     ways to improve how the university addresses sexual assault 
     investigations. Since the last update, below are some of the 
     efforts underway now and in the near future:
       Robin Means-Coleman is, as reported earlier, leading the 
     internal review. She has begun the following initiatives, to 
     which she and those involved will add additional actions 
     throughout the review:
       Assemble the internal review committee. The committee is 
     comprised of a team of experts, to include: students 
     including sexual assault survivors; faculty whose scholarship 
     focuses on sexual assault; staff including student assistance 
     services; a representative from the community Sexual Assault 
     Resource Center (SARC); and others;
       Analyze related university rules and Standard 
     Administrative Procedures (SAPs);
       Examine Student Affairs Title IX processes, from intake to 
     post-process;
       Identify ways to improve communications with students 
     regarding available resources, advocates, and advisors; and
       Understand staffing allocations and needs.
       EVP and Provost Dr. Carol Fierke is, as reported, the lead 
     liaison to the third-party review firm, Husch Blackwell (HB). 
     HB will be on campus beginning this month to interview 
     students, faculty, staff, community advocates and others. HB 
     was selected because of their expertise and deep level of 
     scrutiny as it pertains to assessments of policies and, 
     importantly, challenges in implementing those policies. 
     Primary interview input, process analysis, training review 
     and benchmarking to other universities will be some of their 
     work. We will make available

[[Page H6583]]

     to HB the information and resources that they require. 
     Significantly, as is essential to any meaningful results in a 
     third-party review, we will also stay out of their way so 
     that they may do their work independently and unfettered.
       During the course of these reviews, as opportunities for 
     improvement are identified, we will take action. We will not 
     wait until conclusion of reviews to implement what we are 
     able to improve as we move along.
       Since my last message, an Aggie-led sexual assault 
     survivors group agreed to meet with our leadership team last 
     week. The Chancellor, Provost and I along with other campus 
     leaders listened carefully as individuals bravely shared 
     their experiences. We are deeply grateful for their input. We 
     will not comment on any individual case or publicly share 
     details of that private discussion, but I want to sincerely 
     thank them for their testimonies and willingness to share 
     with us directly. I reiterate our commitment to addressing 
     concerns brought forth.
       We are committed to keeping our Aggie community informed as 
     these important reviews and resulting actions progress. It is 
     important to remind you of the standing invitation for all 
     Aggies to send suggestions to [email protected], which we are 
     reading.
       I want to thank you again for your input, caring and 
     support as leaders inside and outside of the university 
     advance this important work.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Michael K. Young,
                                                        President.

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Texas A&M is not alone in the fight to 
provide victims a voice. As stated in one of the victim's statements 
that I read into the Record, the National Sexual Violence Resource 
Center reports that each year one in five women will be assaulted while 
in college. One in five, 20 percent, in those 4 or 5 years. To me that 
is a staggering statistic.
  According to End Rape on Campus, an American woman who attends 
college is more likely to be a victim of sexual assault than a woman 
who does not go to college. That means whatever you think it means--one 
in five.
  Mr. Speaker, most of us in the House are parents. I am blessed to 
have three daughters and a son, and I have 12 grandkids, eight of which 
are girls. Parents need to be aware of these statistics. One in five 
will be assaulted while in college as a student.
  So what we want to do and what the 12th Woman wants to do is to stop 
these statistics and bring them down. I understand that at Texas A&M, 
the statistics--and I may be wrong--the statistics show that 1 in 14 
are assaulted. At the same time, institutions of higher education 
across the country, to me, do not have an incentive to acknowledge the 
problem publicly, to address it.
  We can understand why universities don't really talk a lot about what 
is happening with crimes on campus. They just don't. It is about the 
image of the university and other things. But it is not being talked 
about, I think, enough so that people are on notice that there is a 
problem.
  Here are some solutions to the chances of having an assault committed 
on campus and what we can do about it as public, Members of Congress, 
and what universities can do about it. Some of those solutions are 
presented in the president's report at Texas A&M. Many of the solutions 
are presented in what these victims, the 12th Woman, tell us about.
  The current oversight--because there are Federal laws that talk about 
reporting all crimes, including assault--seems to affect encouraging 
colleges to underreport sexual assaults.
  I certainly applaud these young women for having the courage to come 
forward and tell their stories to the world. This 12th Woman group, as 
I said, are here today, and they are advocating for change on the 
national level. It has nothing to do with Texas A&M. It has everything 
to with changing all of our universities. It is a call to action. The 
12th Woman is dedicated to bringing change to the way universities 
address sexual assault, not just at A&M, but across the country.
  I will stand with the 12th Woman, Mr. Speaker, for their coming 
forward and telling their stories. These stories that you heard are not 
unique to one university. They happen all over the country.
  So what are we doing about it?
  Hopefully, I have shown part of the problem. Now it is up to us. I am 
talking about Congress. Victims of crime on college campuses--or really 
any other place--sexual assault victims don't have high-dollar lawyers 
from New York City to represent them. Whether it is in a university 
setting or whether it is in a courtroom, they don't. Some of them do, 
but most of them don't. As stated in these cases, most of them are 
alone when they are trying to resolve this problem before officials at 
the school.
  The United States Congress must be their voice.
  How do we become their voice? We make sure there is the right 
legislation filed to protect our daughters and our sons when they go to 
our universities. We have some legislation. The Clery Act is one of 
these. We are going to try to improve it.
  So I am talking about three pieces of legislation. These are pieces 
of legislation that are bipartisan. I will repeat that. It is 
bipartisan. So it may not get a whole lot of notoriety because we are 
not fussing, fighting, and feuding with each other. Both sides agree. I 
want to thank Carolyn Maloney from New York and Jackie Speier from 
California--bipartisan--for working on these pieces of legislation.
  They will help combat sexual assault on campus, provide victims with 
a clear path to reporting to the universities, make sure victim 
advocates are ready and available to all students nationwide, and make 
sure that victims are able to access a qualified nurse examiner, a 
forensic examiner.
  Let me mention the first one. It is called the Megan Act. It is 
bipartisan. Megan Rondini lived in Austin, Texas. She went to school at 
the University of Alabama. While she was a sophomore there, she was at 
a local hangout, a bar, and came in contact with a former student. She 
was taken to his place. She was sexually assaulted, jumped out of the 
second story window at his place, and then the whole system seemed to 
fall apart.
  She went to the hospital, but the person at the hospital didn't 
really understand what the responsibility was of that medical test. The 
rape kit was taken, but nobody knows where it is. It is gone. The 
police interrogated her, I think, because they knew who the accused 
was. The parents were important people at the university. They didn't 
have anything to do with the case and even talked about filing charges 
on her.
  Then she went to the university and talked to a counselor. The 
counselor said:

       Well, I know the accused, and I am not qualified to talk to 
     you about it.

  But they didn't furnish her with somebody else.
  So she didn't get help from the university, didn't get help at the 
hospital, and didn't get help from the police department. She had a lot 
of emotional problems and decided to transfer. So she transferred from 
the University of Alabama to SMU in Dallas, Texas.
  Shortly after she transferred, Mr. Speaker, she committed suicide. 
She couldn't handle it, all of these things going on in her mind. So 
she paid; she got the death penalty for what happened to her. Megan 
Rondini could have been anybody's daughter.
  So we have filed the Megan Rondini Act. What does it do? It does one 
thing specifically. It says universities and colleges must provide a 
SANE or a SAFE, sexual assault forensic examiner, to victims of sexual 
assault, or have one available for them nearby so that when they go to 
report this trauma medically they get treatment from an expert. It is 
bipartisan legislation. We ought to pass this legislation, get it on 
the House floor and pass it to make our universities better.

  I will say this about the University of Alabama, because of this 
thing that happened at their school, they changed a lot of things. Good 
for them that they changed a lot of their procedures.
  I would ask the Speaker how much time I have remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. ESTES of Kansas). The gentleman has 17 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Okay. I will talk a little faster. I am from Texas. 
We talk slower. I would like to get more than 17 minutes, but I 
understand.
  Jackie Speier and I have filed a bill called the HALT Act, HALT 
Campus Sexual Violence Act. I will give as many details as I can, Mr. 
Speaker.
  The National Institute of Justice estimates that 63 percent of 
universities shirk their already legal responsibility when reporting 
sexual assault violent crimes. They are already supposed to report it; 
they don't. This bill will make sure that they do report it.

[[Page H6584]]

  It allows the Department of Education to issue financial penalties to 
people who don't comply with Title IX. It increases the penalties up to 
$100,000. It allows a private right of action by the victim on campus, 
and it requires public disclosure of a list of colleges and 
universities under investigation in violation of Title IX and the Clery 
Act. It increases funding so that universities can do this. The HALT 
Act is a good piece of legislation.
  The third piece of legislation by Carolyn Maloney of New York and 
me--it is pretty bipartisan. Carolyn Maloney from New York is a 
progressive, liberal Democrat. Ted Poe is kind of a conservative guy 
from Texas. We are joining together to sponsor the Campus 
Accountability and Safety Act.
  What does it do? It provides, specifically, victim advocates in 
sexual assault cases to victims of sexual assault on campus. It does a 
lot of other things, too. I hope we can get both of these on the House 
floor soon. It also requires that there is one reporting mechanism.
  In other words, if you are complaining of sexual assault by a 
student, there is one avenue on campuses. Other campuses, such as the 
ones that have the Corps of Cadets, you go through the Corps of Cadets. 
If it is against a faculty member, for example, you go that route. If 
it is against an athlete, you go a different route. So we need to 
combine all of those in all of our reporting systems so that students 
know and are put on notice that they can go through one specific route. 
These legislations do a lot of other specific things, too.
  Recently I was at Rice University. I had Members of Congress down 
there. We did a sexual assault forum on campus. What happened? Rice 
University is doing a lot of good things. One of the things they do is 
just make it real obvious that there are things that students can do.
  Mr. Speaker, I include this poster in the Record.

                           You Are Not Alone

       Rice University has supportive and caring faculty, staff, 
     and students who are here to help you.
       If you have experienced any kind of sexual assault, sexual 
     harassment, relationship violence and/or stalking, it is not 
     your fault and you have options.
       Rice University's Sexual Misconduct Policy prohibits 
     relationship violence, stalking, and sexual misconduct. These 
     behaviors include physical and verbal abuse, sexual assault, 
     unwanted sexual contact, and sexual harassment.
       For emergency assistance, call:
       RUPD/REMS.
       For confidential counseling, call (24/7):
       Rice Counseling Center
       Houston Area Women's Center
       the Montrose Center
       Students can learn about their options at Rice by 
     contacting:
       Title IX Coordinator
       Student Wellbeing and Title IX Support
       To learn more or to find a STRIVE Liaison:
       Visit safe.rice.edu
       Email TitleIXS[email protected]

  Mr. POE of Texas. They post these posters throughout the university 
and restrooms telling them basically you are not alone and here is what 
you can do to educate and what you can do if a crime is committed 
against you.
  It is a good idea. They have a protocol that I think many 
universities ought to look at. They have designed a student-based--
really?--a program that all students are required to take when they are 
an incoming freshman. It is not just a 1-hour course. It is several 
weeks long. They educate students on how to deal with other people--
relationships--that a lot of them have never been trained in doing.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been talking about, I think, a very serious thing 
that happens. Here in Congress, we spend a lot of time talking. Right 
before I talked, you heard a lot of talking on both sides. But we spend 
a lot of time talking about our national defense, and we spend a lot of 
money on airplanes, aircraft carriers, and our military. I'm not saying 
that we shouldn't. But it is defense spending to make us safe from 
foreign countries.
  Should we not be as concerned about the safety of Americans in 
America and maybe refocus on their safety?
  I think we can and we should. We need to make sure we get our 
priorities straight.

                              {time}  1300

  I have known a lot of sexual assault victims in my career at the 
courthouse for 30-plus years. I still keep in contact with them on a 
periodic basis. Sometimes they just call me to check in. I have known 
sexual assault victims who, even after the trial and the person went 
off to the Texas penitentiary, committed suicide.
  Mr. Speaker, rape, sexual assault is a different type of crime than 
your car being stolen or your house being burglarized. It affects the 
individual in the deepest part of their soul. Sometimes the offender 
tries to steal the identity, the soul, the self-worth of the victim. 
Many of them feel that way for a long time.
  We in the House of Representatives have the responsibility to be the 
voice of sexual assault victims in our country and do what we can to 
make sure that they have due process, that the same Constitution that 
protects the rights of offenders--and I totally believe in those 
rights--protects the rights of people who are victims of crime.
  Due process and justice must balance both of those so that we get the 
right decision for the right reason when these things happen to, 
primarily, our female athletes or female students throughout our 
universities.
  I admire these women who have come forward, being bold to make public 
what happened to them--bad things--and our response should be: We are 
on your side. We are in it together. We are going to do what we can to 
make our great universities even greater and protect our young men and 
women on college campuses.
  The 12th Woman. I would say, Mr. Speaker, don't mess with the 12th 
Woman. These are relentless, tenacious young women who want to take 
what happened to them and turn it around and make it something that we 
can prevent, make it a positive thing.
  My grandmother, who was the most influential person in my life--and I 
will close with this, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the time--lived to 
a ripe old age of 99. She was the most influential person in my life, 
even more than both my parents, who are both alive. They are 93 now. 
She told me that there is nothing more powerful than a woman who has 
made up her mind.
  I think these women have made up their mind, and we need to join them 
and be together in our calls to stop sexual assault on campuses and 
tell our universities and help our universities make those places safer 
because our American children and children from other countries that go 
to our universities are worth fighting for. It is our job to do so, Mr. 
Speaker.
  And that is just the way it is.


                             General Leave

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. 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 topic of my Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my colleague 
Congressman Ted Poe holding this important Special Order Hour to honor 
survivors of sexual violence on our college campuses, and in particular 
the brave members of the 12th Woman, a group of survivors from Texas 
A&M University who are speaking truth to power about their experiences. 
Judge Poe has been unwavering in his pursuit of justice for victims of 
sexual violence on the bench and in Congress. I applaud his strong 
advocacy and tireless dedication to this incredibly important cause. He 
is a true ally and his legacy on this issue will continue to help 
countless victims and survivors move forward.
  When parents drop off their children for their first year of college, 
we expect our institutions of higher learning to keep them safe. But 
that's not the reality for 20 percent of young women and six percent of 
young men who are destined to become victims of sexual assault on 
campus. To make matters worse, survivors are constantly told that they 
are responsible for their assault--from being penalized for so-called 
`code of ethics' violations, like drinking at parties or going into 
other students' dorm rooms, to being blamed for not fighting back.
  That includes a brave survivor at Texas A&M who had the wherewithal 
to alert her school that her rapist was allowed back on the swim team 
after being suspended for only one semester and not being subject to 
criminal charges. The school's response speaks volumes--``I regret your 
displeasure with the perceived impact, and I wish you all the best as

[[Page H6585]]

you continue to seek healing''. The school's failure to protect the 
survivor and other potential victims is unacceptable.
  They are not alone. Universities continue to inadequately deal with 
perpetrators across the country--from expulsions after graduation, to 
honor code violations that carry less of a penalty than plagiarism, to 
allowing perpetrators to directly cross-examine their victims about 
their past sexual history during the so-called investigative process. 
This kind of antiquated victim-blaming and -shaming must end.
  That is why I am introducing the bipartisan Hold Accountable and Lend 
Transparency or HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act with my colleagues 
Congressmen Ted Poe and Brian Fitzpatrick to ensure that our colleges 
and universities do everything they can to hold perpetrators 
accountable and to provide the support survivors need and deserve.

                          ____________________