Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I heard some of my friends on the other side of the aisle say no one wants this legislation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The survivors of sexual assault and harassment want this, and we should listen to them. H.R. 4445 would restore access to justice for victims of sexual assault or harassment who are currently locked out of the court system due to forced arbitration clauses. These clauses are everywhere. They block survivors from making their stories known, having their day in court, and prevents them from holding their abusers accountable. Some of the stories we heard during this hearing were horrific of the kind of abuse and assault and demeaning behavior, and those predators knew that they were protected from being held accountable because there were forced arbitration clauses often accompanied with provisions that kept those proceedings private. So this private system forces survivors into a process, this forced arbitration, that is not like a court system. There is no discovery. There is no judge or jury. There are no requirements that they follow laws passed by the Congress or the State. And when you, as I said, combine that with nondisclosure agreements, it silences the survivors of sexual harassment and assault. Plain and simple. This bill will end it. Predators rely on that silence.…”