[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 22071]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                       FIGHTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay special tribute to the 
General Federation of Women's Clubs and their recent work to fight 
domestic violence. The organization is a gem among our midst. Founded 
in April 1890, it is one of the world's oldest and largest women's 
volunteer organizations. More than 150,000 women members in 5,000 local 
and 20 international clubs volunteer over 13 million hours and 
contribute approximately $35 million through more than 160,000 club 
projects. I can't underestimate how powerful and influential this corps 
of volunteers is to the health of our Nation.
  I am particularly proud that this year the international president, 
Jacqueline Pierce, has adopted ``Domestic Violence Awareness and 
Prevention'' as her President's Special Project for 2006-2008. Nannette 
White, a member from Louisiana, serves as the national chairperson of 
the President's Special Project, and with the support of a national 
committee of women, promotes participation in this project. All across 
the Nation, local women's clubs are adopting battered women's shelters 
and donating needed goods such as food, linens, health care items, and 
more. In Nevada, members sponsored a public service campaign on radio 
stations to promote important messages about violence prevention. In 
Mississippi, members distributed 2,000 fliers with information on the 
National Domestic Violence Hotline and helped raise funds for the 
Mississippi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. This is just a 
small sampling of the good works being done.
  As part of this special project, the General Federation of Women's 
Clubs forged a historic collaboration with the Family Violence 
Prevention Fund, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National 
Network to End Domestic Violence and domestic violence organizations in 
communities throughout the United States. Innovative partnerships 
between the public and private sector, new relationships between 
organizations--these are the pathways to solutions to our Nation's most 
pressing problems.
  I have spent almost 34 years of my life in Congress and witnessed the 
transformative impact of powerful Federal legislation. For instance, 
the Violence Against Women Act improved Federal and State criminal laws 
and enacted programs that encourage prosecution of abusers, create 
battered women's shelters and sponsor educational campaigns. Over the 
past decade, the act's programs have distributed over $4 billion to 
States, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Yet despite 
this extraordinary success, I am convinced that Federal Government 
action alone cannot end domestic violence. We desperately need the 
individual attention and dedication of volunteers. Change happens one 
woman at a time and one volunteer at a time. The volunteer work done by 
club members fills an invaluable role. As my mother would say, these 
are the people who do God's work.
  I commend Madam President Pierce for her leadership and commitment to 
airing our Nation's ``dirty little secret,'' domestic violence. She has 
brought a whole new legion of women warriors to help battered women and 
their children. On behalf of the entire Senate, I thank them for their 
tireless volunteerism to end domestic violence and giving women what 
they haven't had before--hope.

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