[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5118]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   A SAFEPLACE FOR AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES PROVIDING MUCH-NEEDED 
                                SERVICES

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, for over 25 years, a concerned group of 
Austinites now operating as SafePlace have delivered invaluable 
services to victims of domestic violence. Special thanks go to Kelly 
White for her leadership and to Laura Wolf for her development work 
during these tough economic times.
  I joined them yesterday here in the Capitol to hear the moving words 
of Kimberley Wisseman and announce the involvement of SafePlace with 
the Office for Victims of Crimes in expanding services across the 
country at 10 different sites, from Tucson to Worcester, to assist 
individuals with disabilities, who have about twice the rate of 
victimization from domestic violence as those who are without 
disabilities.
  Despite our concerted efforts to address domestic violence, the 
Department of Justice reported just last week that there were almost 
600,000 cases of violence against women in America during 2001. Of 
these, at least one in five involve domestic violence. That is why it 
is so very important that we here in Congress act to provide full 
federal funding under the Violence Against Women Act to support local 
efforts like SafePlace, to give them the resources to both counsel and 
assist those who are victims of domestic violence, but, equally 
important, to prevent it in the future.

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