Political Quotes

“It is with great pleasure to rise today in support of the Violence Against Women Act. In doing so, I am reminded of an old Samoan belief that the female siblings are the ``tama sa'' or sacred child in the family. They are to be treated with respect, care and love--offenders of this ancient taboo often faced extreme consequences. Madam Speaker, I am in full support of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). While I fully support reauthorization of an Act of Congress that since 1994 has been an essential tool to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence, I do however have some major concerns with H.R. 4970, legislation before us today. Unlike the Senate reauthorization bill, S. 1925, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Crapo and was passed by the Senate last month with strong bipartisan support, H.R. 4970 introduced by my colleague Ms. Sandy Adams, will effectively bring more harm than protect victims of domestic violence. Madam Speaker, unlike S. 1925, H.R. 4970 offers no protection for Indian spouses abused on tribal land. Under a 1978 Supreme Court decision, non-Indians cannot be prosecuted by tribal courts for crimes committed on tribal land. Last July, the Justice Department recommended that Congress give tribes local authority to prosecute non-Indians in misdemeanor domestic and dating violence cases. Madam Speaker, the Senate reauthorization bill, S. 1925, will do just that.…”