Political Quotes

“I rise today to join my colleague from Arizona, Senator Sinema, in introducing legislation to support the operation of a national child abuse hotline. Of all the major national help hotlines, the crisis line for child abuse and neglect, which is currently operated by a national nonprofit, is the only one without a federal authorization and dedicated federal funding. Our bill, the National Child Abuse Help Hotline Act of 2020, would give the Administration for Children and Families the authority to award a grant to a national nonprofit to support a hotline dedicated to the prevention and intervention of child abuse and neglect. The child abuse and neglect crisis happening across the United States has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. On average, five children die every day from child abuse and neglect. According to the Department of Health and Human Services' Child Maltreatment Report, which was published in January 2020 and reflects 2018 figures, 678,000 children were victims of maltreatment in 2018 and a heartbreaking 1,770 children died--including three in Maine. These statistics reflect an unfortunate increase in both child fatalities and victims of maltreatment, and is the first increase for the number of victims who suffered maltreatment since 2015. Access to prevention and intervention services nationwide has only become more critical in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.…”