Political Quotes

“I think the gentleman from Vermont raises an interesting point. We do have it in our heart. The question is whether we have the will to do the right thing. This is not a selfish question, because, in fact, while we can sympathize and empathize with the experiences of victims and can provide support and services to them, we also recognize that it is really costly to us as a society when people are experiencing violence in their homes. It impacts our workplaces; it impacts our communities; it impacts our streets. When young people witness violence--when children witness violence in their homes--it is more likely that they will either experience violence themselves or they will become perpetrators. Our prisons and jails are filled with young people, men and women, who, when you get down to the core and ask them the question about their life experiences, will repeat to you their experiences of violence. So this isn't an abstract question about whether we feel good in doing it. The impact for all of our communities and for society is really tremendous. Domestic violence spills out onto our streets and into our workplaces. It is estimated that the cost to our Nation is on the order of $8 billion in lost productivity because of domestic violence. It's attributed to productivity and to health care costs--the violence that causes 2 million injuries each year, three deaths each day, untold amounts of suffering to women and others who experience violence.…”