Political Quotes

“I strongly urge that the Violence Against Women Act come up on the floor so we can look at the issues and debate them in an open and public forum. If people have amendments to either add or subtract from the bill or improve the bill, let's do it because this is a compelling situation. I have been here since we passed the first bill in 1994. The original architect of it was Senator Joe Biden, who is now our Vice President. Why did we do it? It is a compelling need. One in four women will be the victim of domestic violence; 16 million children are exposed to domestic violence each year; 23 million will be a victim of physical or sexual violence--20,000 in my State of Maryland. Since we created the legislation in 1994, the national hotline has received over 1 million calls when women felt they were in danger. So those 1 million people had a chance of being rescued. Who has the biggest request for passing the Violence Against Women Act? It is not only the women of America; it is also local police. One out of four police officers killed in the line of duty is responding to domestic violence calls. When they go to a home, they have a checklist to determine how dangerous the situation is. Is it simply a spat or a dispute or are they in a danger zone? We debate big issues--war and peace, the deficit, and all these are important--but we have to remember our communities and our families.…”