Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlelady, and thank her also for her leadership and commitment to all those who experience violence. And I think the message here tonight is that clearly we need to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. I think we agree about that. But the question is, what do we do that actually expands the protections of a really vital piece of legislation for women all across this country, however they're situated? Unfortunately, H.R. 4970 simply doesn't do that. It eliminates protections for crime victims that are offered by the U visa, as our colleagues have pointed out. It deters immigrant victims from reporting crimes by denying nearly all U visa recipients the protections offered by lawful permanent resident status. If anyone has ever held the hand of an immigrant woman whose status is in question and whose abuser has known that and uses that as part of the instrument of violence against her, you could not be possibly for legislation that would, in fact, roll back the protections that she deserves. I've held that woman's hand. There's no reason, in this great country, that we should not have protections for those who've come here, for those whose legal status is actually under threat only because they're a victim of violence. Now, there are some who suggest that somehow there's great fraud going on, and that principally, women are saying that they are experiencing violence so that they can receive protections.…”