Political Quotes

“I rise today to express support for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act--VAWA. VAWA is a critical piece of legislation that protects American women from the plague of domestic violence, stalking, dating violence and sexual assault. The Violence Against Women Act is the centerpiece of the federal government's efforts to combat domestic violence and sexual assault and has transformed the response to these crimes at the local, State and federal levels. As my colleagues know, VAWA was signed into law in 1994. This body reauthorized it in 2000 and again in 2005 on an overwhelming bipartisan basis. And it is my hope that we can repeat this bipartisan cooperation with the current reauthorization bill. I applaud those on both sides of the aisle for coming together to support this legislation. The measure today has a total of 61 cosponsors, including eight Republicans. VAWA has always been bipartisan, is bipartisan today, and needs to come to a vote. During my days as the mayor of San Francisco, law enforcement officers most worried about responding to domestic abuse calls. That is where things got really rough. Tragically, I saw it happen over and over again. It was a big problem then, and it remains a big problem today.…”