Political Quotes

“The recent Federal Government shutdown was the longest in our Nation's history. It was reckless, and it was dangerous. It hurt our Nation's security, it hurt Federal workers, and it hurt our most vulnerable populations, including survivors of domestic violence and abuse. My amendment would direct the Department of Justice to report to Congress the effects of the shutdown on DOJ's efforts to disburse VAWA and VOCA funding. This funding provides services to prevent and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This amendment is in direct response to months of conversations with domestic violence shelters and agencies that serve my community in Illinois's 14th District and to the urgent need in all of our districts. I am thankful to my colleagues from Illinois and Pennsylvania for their support as cosponsors. Over the past month, we have worked to understand how the shutdown affected our ability to respond to domestic violence. Let's be clear. Everyone wants domestic violence victims to get the support they need. But that didn't happen during the shutdown, and we don't know why not. We have been told there was about a 2-week period at the beginning of the shutdown where DOJ employees who help process VAWA and VOCA grants weren't able to work.…”