[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 77 (Thursday, May 8, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H1926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1130
                            SUPPORTING CASA

  (Mr. MRVAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. MRVAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the 
Court-Appointed Special Advocates program, also known as the CASA 
program, through the Department of Justice.
  As a prior township trustee in northwest Indiana, I was involved in a 
program that went into the schools to assist children who experienced 
abuse and sexual harm. For survivors, having someone with CASA in their 
corner became their lifeline through that painful experience.
  A family friend became a survivor at just 4 years old. Today, as a 
college student, she volunteers for CASA, driven by the advocates who 
once stood by her. She is proof that hope creates change. She asked me 
to fight.
  It is a painful truth that the administration has moved to eliminate 
funding for this critical program. As a member of the House 
Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice, I 
believe that our Nation's values and policies are shown by how we 
direct funds. Turning our backs on children survivors in order to 
justify massive tax cuts for the wealthy is both shameful and bad 
policy.
  Madam Speaker, I stand ready to work with all of my colleagues to 
ensure that children and survivors in northwest Indiana and across our 
Nation have access to resources and trusted advocates they need to lead 
their best lives.

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