[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 25793]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL STALKING AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now 
proceed to S. Con. Res. 10.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 10) raising awareness 
     and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing 
     January 2006 as ``National Stalking Awareness Month''.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be 
agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 10) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 10

       Whereas an estimated 1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are 
     stalked annually in the United States and, in the majority of 
     such cases, the person is stalked by someone who is not a 
     stranger;
       Whereas 81 percent of women who are stalked by an intimate 
     partner are also physically assaulted by that partner, and 76 
     percent of women who are killed by an intimate partner were 
     also stalked by that intimate partner;
       Whereas 26 percent of stalking victims lose time from work 
     as a result of their victimization and 7 percent never return 
     to work;
       Whereas stalking victims are forced to take drastic 
     measures to protect themselves, such as relocating, changing 
     their addresses, changing their identities, changing jobs, 
     and obtaining protection orders;
       Whereas stalking is a crime that cuts across race, culture, 
     gender, age, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, 
     and economic status;
       Whereas stalking is a crime under Federal law and under the 
     laws of all 50 States and the District of Columbia;
       Whereas rapid advancements in technology have made cyber-
     surveillance the new frontier in stalking;
       Whereas there are national organizations, local victim 
     service organizations, prosecutors' offices, and police 
     departments that stand ready to assist stalking victims and 
     who are working diligently to craft competent, thorough, and 
     innovative responses to stalking;
       Whereas there is a need to enhance the criminal justice 
     system's response to stalking and stalking victims, including 
     aggressive investigation and prosecution; and
       Whereas Congress urges the establishment of January, 2006 
     as National Stalking Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That--
       (1) it is the sense of Congress that--
       (A) National Stalking Awareness Month provides an 
     opportunity to educate the people of the United States about 
     stalking;
       (B) all Americans should applaud the efforts of the many 
     victim service providers, police, prosecutors, national and 
     community organizations, and private sector supporters for 
     their efforts in promoting awareness about stalking; and
       (C) policymakers, criminal justice officials, victim 
     service and human service agencies, nonprofits, and others 
     should recognize the need to increase awareness of stalking 
     and availability of services for stalking victims; and
       (2) Congress urges national and community organizations, 
     businesses in the private sector, and the media to promote, 
     through National Stalking Awareness Month, awareness of the 
     crime of stalking.

                          ____________________