Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2017

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I want to echo all the concerns that my colleagues have expressed with the underlying bill here today. This bill would add unnecessary obstacles to inhibit the ability of the Federal Government to protect the health, the safety, and the security of the American people.

I understand that Democrats and Republicans have traditionally disagreed on the values of those protections, even though the public overwhelmingly supports them, whether it is keeping our air and our water clean, guarding workers against exploitation, or so many other things. But I would hope that one area where we can agree on is that this Congress, this government, should do everything possible to protect the safety of our children and those most vulnerable without adding unnecessary burdens like those mandated in this bill.

Let me connect the dots for the public to know. As it stands, Mr. Speaker, this bill would just add more hoops for Federal agencies to jump through and, actually, would make them less responsive to addressing problems like sexual assault and domestic violence.

The amendment contained in this motion would fix this problem by exempting from the bill's additional requirements any agency action that is meant to, and I want to be real clear:

One, protect students and children from someone who has been convicted of a sexual offense against a minor. We have far too many cases before us.

Two, prevent domestic violence against a family member or an intimate partner. Mr. Speaker, I have counseled far too many women who have been abused.

Three, prevent rape or sexual assault.

Four, require criminal backgrounds checks for school or other employees.

Since the last time this Chamber considered this bill, we have seen a reckoning in this country when it comes to sexual assault, with the rise of the Me Too movement, millions of women, or a half million women right here in Washington, D.C., on our Capitol Grounds marching. This issue is in the forefront of national discussion, and for good reasons, Mr. Speaker.

No aspect of our society, including this very Congress, has been immune. As the dialog on this issue continues, we should not hamstring Federal efforts to address what is so clearly a systemic problem in this country.

This amendment would also cover the issue of human trafficking. I am very proud of my bipartisan work that I have done on trafficking, and some of my most stalwart partners on this issue come from the other side of the aisle. I would hope that they, too, would recognize that we need the ability to institute the strongest possible protections.

Earlier this year, Mr. Speaker, the House overwhelmingly passed a new law that has had an immediate impact on stemming online trafficking. As successful as the law has been, traffickers continue to adapt and find ways to exploit our children and the most at risk. This bill will make it harder for Federal agencies to respond to these new realities.

There is no cost-benefit analysis that can properly weigh the importance of protecting children who have been trafficked, who have been sexually assaulted or abused. There is no congressionally mandated report or stakeholder consultation that could reach any conclusion other than we should do everything possible to prevent domestic violence.

On behalf of all of those who have been victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, or for those who we can prevent from becoming victims, I urge, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues today to support this amendment.

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