Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act -- Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, October--next month--is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It is not expected that the Senate will be in session next month and I would like to use this opportunity to visit just a moment about domestic violence in an effort to create a greater awareness and to work to eliminate this plight among many families and many individuals across the country.

Domestic violence is an issue that impacts way too many Americans. In fact, it affects so many homes, and yet it is something that is rarely spoken about publicly. Right now, because of actions of professional athletes, domestic violence is in the news and it is on our minds. But this attention needs to continue when the sports writers quit writing and when the news reporters and camera crews quit covering and they move on to the next story.

Many Americans assume domestic violence doesn't occur in their neighborhood, it doesn't occur among their friends, but unfortunately that is not the case. Domestic violence does not discriminate by race, gender, age group, education or social status. We can't stereotype, the way we often do, about domestic violence. In fact, it is not just a problem for women; it is also a problem for children and men who are often victims.

In large communities, in small communities across the country and across, unfortunately, my State of Kansas, too many Americans, too many Kansans find themselves placed in danger by the very people who are supposed to love and care for and protect them. Each year, more than 2 million women are victims of domestic violence across the country. In Kansas alone, it is estimated that 1 in 10 adult women will suffer from domestic abuse this year. These are damning statistics that make clear, whether we realize it, someone we know is enduring physical and psychological abuse today, tomorrow, this week. We have a responsibility to help the hopeless--those who are often too afraid to speak out for themselves. I rise tonight to try to give voice to those who are victims and to acknowledge professionals and volunteers who provide care and the services those victims need.

On a single day last year, shelters and organizations in Kansas served more than 720 victims, and similar organizations around the country served more than 66,000 victims each day.

I visited one of those organizations last year, the Kansas SAFEHOME. It is a tremendous organization that serves the greater Kansas City area. SAFEHOME provides more than just a shelter for those needing a place to live or to escape from abuse. They provide no-cost advocacy, counseling, an inhouse attorney, and assistance in finding employment. The agency also provides education in the community to prevent abuse.

Each year SAFEHOME helps thousands of women and children reestablish their lives without violence. The employees and volunteers there are making huge differences in the lives of many. I have often said on the Senate floor that what happens in Washington, DC, matters, but I know we change the world one person, one soul at a time, and in this setting and in settings similar to it across Kansas and around the country, lives are being changed and improved.

Despite the important and the honorable and noble work that organizations such as SAFEHOME are performing, they are often faced with uncertainty regarding the Federal support they will receive. The good news is that last year Congress was able to move past politics and pass legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

I sponsored and voted for that legislation and in my view it provides crucial, critical resources for victims of domestic violence and empowers our justice system to act on their behalf. Just as crucial, it works to prevent abuse from occurring in the first place.

This legislation is having a real impact on the lives of Kansans because survivors now have access, for example, to legal services, through the Legal Assistance to Victims grant project, established in 2012 by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

One survivor expressed how grateful she was for the program because, as she said, ``I didn't know what I would have done without it.'' Without the assistance of this program, she may have had to go to court without legal representation, knowing that her perpetrator already had an attorney representing him. With that legal representation, her perpetrator was held accountable for his actions.

Throughout our country, more than one in three women still suffer from abuse during their lifetime, and domestic violence brings fear and hopelessness and depression into the lives of every victim. We should work not only to end this violent crime, but we must also care for those who are victims. By volunteering at a local shelter, speaking out when we become aware of domestic violence or making a donation to an organization that helps in those circumstances, every citizen--as I said, we could change the world one person at a time, and every citizen can find a way to get involved and make a difference.

Now and throughout the year--not just now, not just next month, October is Domestic Violence Month--let us be mindful of the victims of domestic violence and each of us do our part to break the cycle and bring hope to those who suffer and are in despair. Let us also use the conversations taking place now in the print in the papers and on the view of the television as an opportunity to speak out against any and all types of domestic abuse. Let's raise the awareness of this silent and devastating crime and bring about an end to all domestic violence.

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source