Ayanna Pressley: “I not only rise in strong support of this amendment proposed by my colleague, Congresswoman Speier, but I rise today as…”

“I not only rise in strong support of this amendment proposed by my colleague, Congresswoman Speier, but I rise today as a survivor of sexual violence. Let me be clear: Every single survivor of sexual assault and sexual violence deserves justice and deserves healing. For far too long, we have made excuses about a culture that tolerates violence, discredits survivors, and looks the other way. Justice has been delayed. Today, we are fighting to change that. We are speaking up. We are standing up. We are speaking out, demanding that we end tolerance of rape culture. The CDC's Rape Prevention and Education program has been woefully ignored and underfunded. Our amendment increases critical funding and puts us one step closer to treating sexual assault as the public health crisis that it is. Using a public health frame to tackle this systemic issue can have a transformative impact on the lives of the women, men, and nonbinary individuals affected by sexual violence. Our prevention approaches must be grounded in data and the lived experiences of our constituents. We must teach consent, promote understanding, and reshape the status quo in our workplaces, our households, and our schools. To my survivor tribe, we hear you. We see you. We are fighting for you. This one is for you. I thank the gentlewoman from California for her partnership on this issue, and I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro). Ms. DeLAURO.…”