Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 146, the TAKE IT DOWN Act. I echo the sentiments of Representative Dean and my friend Representative Salazar. I appreciate the comments that they just made. I thank Congresswoman Dingell and Senator Cruz for their determination in combating this crisis of malicious, deepfake pornography. Last month, I joined a bipartisan group convened by the First Lady. We heard from young survivors and their parents who were targeted by those abhorrent practices. I thank the First Lady for her leadership and for shining a light on this dark and destructive crisis. I am sad to say that this issue struck close to home with the heartbreaking death of my constituent, 16-year-old Elijah Heacock. He tragically fell victim to an online extortion scheme, showing my community the dangers of predators targeting our kids online. I sat with his mom, his dad, and his brother just this last week. We talked about the tragedy that happened in his life and their determination to see that we move forward in this Congress, not only on this bill but others to make sure that it doesn't happen to other families like theirs. We are all praying for that dear family. Mr. Speaker, the heart-wrenching stories we have heard tell us all we need to know. It is time to send the TAKE IT DOWN Act to the President's desk so we can give survivors and law enforcement the tools they need to combat this crisis. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.”