Political Quotes

“I really do thank the chairman and ranking member of this committee. This is a difficult hurdle and a difficult task, but I do believe that this is an amendment that can draw bipartisan concern. {time} 2220 And I say that because all of us have daughters, wives, and sisters. This amendment deals with the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant program that my colleague from New York sponsored and many of us cosponsored and saw authorized through the Judiciary Committee. The amendment seeks to restore $34 million to the backlog of rape kit tests that are plaguing the justice system across America. If we go back more than a decade, New York City reported having 17,000 untested rape kits. In 2004, the Department of Justice indicated there was a backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested DNA kits. This is the only way that law enforcement can ensure that the cases are prosecuted and the right person is prosecuted. This is the only way women who have been violated and sexually abused can have their day in court. As someone having dealt with a victim of rape, having sat on the board of one of our community women's centers, I know the stories that they've told. We have seen rape increase among our younger women, teenagers, even though during the Bush administration--and we supported it--there was an influx of dollars to the Advancing Justice account. We have still seen thousands of backlog cases.…”