Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise today in strong support of Congresswoman Kuster's bipartisan amendment that calls on key Federal agencies to harmonize their sexual violence surveys and reporting systems. This amendment was inspired by a Government Accountability Office study that found Federal agencies engaged in collecting data on sexual violence are using different terminology for the same types of sex crimes, and these crimes are being categorized in dissimilar ways. As one example, an act some Federal surveys identified as rape is considered ``nonconsensual sex acts'' or ``sexual coercion'' in others. For another survey, attempted nonconsensual sex acts are not specifically included in the definition of ``nonconsensual sex acts'' in the survey, even though they are counted in overarching measurement of this behavior. These surveys and reporting systems are important, but their ambiguities and inconsistencies are very problematic and need to be corrected. Ms. Kuster's amendment requires four Federal agencies that conduct eight critical sexual violence surveys to form a working group to help improve coordination and develop clearer sexual violence terminology and categorization. This working group will then complete a report identifying the internal steps and congressional action that can be taken to address this issue. I know Ms.…”