Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as we speak, the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault's 24-hour hotline that allows folks to seek assistance--their numbers are ringing. This evening, 363 Alaskans will spend the night in an emergency domestic violence shelter or in transitional housing provided by an Alaskan domestic violence program, programs such as the Lee Shore Center in Kenai, the Safe Shelter in Dillingham, the WISH shelter in Ketchikan, and the AWAIC shelter in Anchorage. The number of Alaskans seeking shelter is rising on the order of over 5 percent per year. These programs and the Alaskans who benefit from them are all supported by the Violence Against Women Act. As we debate and deliberate on the reauthorization of VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act, we express our respect for the volunteers and the professionals who support and who constantly advocate on behalf of these victims. These are Alaskans such as Peggy Brown and Katie TePas, who lead the effort across my State, and others like them throughout Alaskan communities. It is important that as we again reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, we do so as a tangible display of our support for their very important work. Let me share some statistics with you, as others have shared from their respective States. In Alaska, somewhere between 25 and 40 percent of all domestic violence assaults are witnessed by children.…”