[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 160 (Thursday, September 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1316-E1317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 6157, 
     DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019; PROVIDING FOR 
   CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 1071, RECOGNIZING THAT ALLOWING ILLEGAL 
  IMMIRGRANTS THE RIGHT TO VOTE DIMINISHES THE VOTING POWER OF UNITED 
STATES CITIZENS; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND 
                               THE RULES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 26, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule 
governing debate for H.R. 6157, the ``DOD and Labor HHS Appropriations 
Act for FY 2019.''
  I must oppose this rule and urge the defeat the previous question, 
not because we do not support the troops or our children, but because 
defeating the previous question will enable this House to consider and 
pass H.R. 6545, the ``Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 
2018.''
  This is an opportunity we do not want to squander.
  The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a landmark piece of 
legislation passed in 1994 following the Anita Hill moment that opened 
our eyes to the then overwhelming problems faced by victims of domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
  By passing the VAWA, we can stop the re-victimizing, re-traumatizing 
and stigmatizing of sexual assault survivors.
  Enough is Enough.
  Science tells us that trauma severely impacts recall. So let us do 
our jobs and help them.
  Women deserve to be respected, protected and NEVER neglected.
  As we all know very clearly, VAWA is set to expire this week and 
millions of innocent lives are counting on us to get this right and 
reauthorize VAWA now.
  Help women, men and children everywhere throughout our great country 
that have, are and will suffer at the hands of perpetrators that commit 
these violent and abusive crimes.
  Clearly these victims deserve more than a mere 3 month expedient 
extension or piecemeal product to combat these challenges of monumental 
proportion.

[[Page E1317]]

  What will we say to them?
  The current climate of the MeToo movement is a wakeup call to the 
Nation. Let's not make this a partisan issue, because crimes of 
violence against anyone must be addressed.
  Therefore, when we ignore an extraordinary movement such as the MeToo 
movement by not reauthorizing a strengthened and improved VAWA that 
meets today's challenges, then we have failed women.
  If we do not defeat this previous question we are telling all of our 
constituents that rely heavily on VAWA and all of those that care about 
protecting women, men and children's rights against violence that we do 
not care.
  On July 26, 2018, I introduced H.R. 6545, VAWA 2018, which is a 
compromise version with modest improvements, because I am committed to 
passing a bipartisan Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 
that is tailored to appeal to Members of Congress across the political 
spectrum.
  We should all be committed to do the same in order to respond to the 
desperate pleas of our sisters and brothers in dire need of our help.
  Colleagues, this is your moment to do the right thing for the right 
reasons and help bring H.R. 6545 to the floor for a vote.
  This has always been a bipartisan effort. Let's not let the current 
times and background noise sway us away from our pivotal duties. Let's 
show the American people that we care about victims of domestic 
violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault and sexual 
harassment, which I have added in VAWA 2018.
  H.R. 6545 has received the support of the National Task Force to End 
Sexual and Domestic Violence, which is a national collaboration 
comprising a large and diverse group of national, tribal, state, 
territorial and local organizations, advocates, and individuals that 
focuses on the development, passage and implementation of effective 
public policy to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, and stalking (``the four crimes'').
  These modest, yet vital updates we have made to the existing Violence 
Against Women Act (``VAWA'') are based on the needs identified by 
direct service providers who work daily with victims and survivors of 
the four crimes.
  H.R. 6545 makes the following improvements and more:
  It makes important investments in prevention, a key priority 
identified not only by people who work with victims and survivors 
daily, but also by our very own bipartisan Women's Caucus.
  It provides resources to implement evidence-based prevention 
programming, which will make our communities safer and, ultimately, 
saves taxpayers money.
  It also safeguards important protections that ensure all victims and 
survivors have access to safety and justice and provides a mechanism to 
hold predators who prey on Native women accountable.
  Moreover, it provides law enforcement with new tools to protect their 
communities.
  It offers protections for survivors in federal public, subsidized, 
and assisted housing.
  It supports victims and survivors who need assistance rebuilding 
financially.
  It addresses the needs of underserved communities, and improves the 
healthcare response to the four crimes.
  It closes many of the loopholes found in dating violence.
  And in response to the overwhelming victims in the MeToo movement, it 
adds sexual harassment as part of the applicable crimes of violence.
  In short, the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act of 
2018 is a narrow bill with a wide impact.
  Let's not play politics with people's lives. Let's not short-change 
them by slashing funding in half. Let's not kick the can down the road 
while omitting funding. Let's not dismiss their cries and pleas. And 
certainly, let's not punish them mercifully because #THEY DID NOT 
REPORT.

                          ____________________