Political Quotes

“I was delighted to join with Senator DeWine during National Crime Victims Rights Week in April to introduce S. 1976, the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act. I was glad to welcome Senator Kennedy, Senator Hatch, Senator Kohl, Senator Feinstein, and Senator Abraham as cosponsors. I have been overwhelmed by the positive response and broad support that our bill has received. I have, and will include in the record, a letter of support signed by over 50 groups, including the National Association of Developmental Disabilities Council's the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the National Center of Hearing Disabilities, the American Association of Health and Disability, and many, many others. In order to move this bill through the Judiciary Committee, Senator DeWine and I are agreeing to a substitute amendment to the Crime Victims With Disabilities Awareness Act. The substitute eliminates the specific authorization for the research funding and would, instead, leave it up to the Department of Justice to allocate money for this research. Although I preferred our original bill and regret having to eliminate the specific authorization that was at the heart of our original proposal, I was prepared to accept the amendment in order to achieve progress on this important front in our efforts better to assist and serve victims of crime.”