Political Quotes

“Let me thank Congressman Al Green and Congressman Poe for convening us today on such a very important topic that includes the issue of domestic violence in this Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, it's been my privilege, sadly, however, to have worked on the Violence Against Women Act for a very long time and be an original cosponsor and author of the reauthorization of that bill some years ago. My initial premise on this day that we express our concern is that the laws need to be stronger. I simply want to acknowledge, as we have worked on these issues, that domestic violence has not decreased in spite of the hardworking advocacy groups and places of refuge for the women in our community. I want to acknowledge the Houston Area Women's Center, of which I served as a member of the board for a number of years, and the great work that they do, along with many other organizations in the Houston area that are refuges for women. But let me cite these numbers to you: The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 85 percent of all domestic violence victims are women. I do want to acknowledge that men suffer domestic violence as well. We are sympathetic and want to include them in fighting against this dastardly deed. It is disturbing that every 9 seconds a woman in the United States is assaulted or beaten. More often than not, she knows her abuser. The numbers are alarming.…”