[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           ART FROM THE HEART

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I thought I would use this time, before 
we go forward in the Senate with some additional votes, to speak on two 
matters. I am actually waiting for a few visuals, or pictures, I want 
to show regarding what I am going to say.
  First of all, let me thank a pretty amazing group of young people 
from my State of Minnesota for coming all the way here to Washington, 
DC. These are high school students, and they have brought, if you will, 
art that is from the heart. It is an art display that will be on 
exhibit in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building.
  This month of October is an awareness of domestic violence month. 
People in the country should understand, if they don't already, that 
about every 13 seconds, a woman is battered in her home--about every 13 
seconds.
  A home should be a safe place for women and children. What these 
students have done is--and I first saw their display at the Harriet 
Tubman Center back home in Minnesota--they have presented some art 
that, as I say, is really from the heart. This artwork, in the most 
powerful way, deals with the devastating impact of violence in homes, 
not only on women and adults but on children as well.
  Quite often, we have debates out here on the floor of the Senate 
about the negative impact of television violence, or violence in 
movies, on children. The fact is that for too many children--maybe as 
many as 5 million children in our country--they don't need to turn on 
the TV or go to a movie to see the violence; they see the violence in 
their homes.
  We will have this really marvelous display of art by these students 
from Minnesota, and it will be in the Russell rotunda on display this 
week. Tonight, for other Senators, at 6:30, there will be a reception 
for these students. They should be honored for their fine work.
  Mr. President, I commend Mr. Dionne. His words speak eloquently to 
the emotions and feelings of many of us. Again, I respect the Governor 
of Minnesota in expressing his views, but we certainly have an 
obligation to express ours. E.J. Dionne has expressed them well with 
this Member of the Senate.
  I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

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