Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act-- Resumed

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Madam President. I appreciate the courtesy of my colleague from Illinois, and I also will follow on Senator Boxer's comments on the importance of this highway transportation bill.

I think we recognize that, while far from being perfect--I am not convinced we develop any perfect legislation around here--it is an extraordinarily good-faith effort, a very strong bipartisan demonstration in this body, and deserves to have this support. I applaud Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe for their work on that.

Madam President, just very briefly, I wanted to take a few minutes this morning to speak about an event that just happened outside on the lawn of the Capitol. About maybe 50 or 60 Alaskans and some wannabe Alaskans gathered in a rally, a march that we have entitled ``Choose Respect.''

This is an effort that has stemmed from the actions of our Governor in Alaska to shine the spotlight on domestic violence and sexual assault and to come together as communities, as a State, to speak up and to turn around the statistics that are so devastating in our State when it comes to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Over the past few years, the Governor has led the charge in organizing rallies in the State of Alaska during the last week of March. This morning in our State there will be 120 different rallies going on in communities such as Anchorage and Fairbanks, our larger communities, but also in smaller villages such as Kooskia and Tanana, communities where the numbers are small but the passions on the issues I think are very strong and robust. The Governor has commissioners in Barrow, in Tanana, in Cordova, in Nome, and in Galena, all leading the march to stand up and speak out about domestic violence. I wish to acknowledge what the Governor has done in his effort to spotlight this and to work to reduce the rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse through this ``Choose Respect'' initiative. We have great Alaskans standing together and, again, a real commitment to make a difference.

Unfortunately, my colleagues have heard me say this before, that in a State such as Alaska where I think we have unparalleled beauty, we also have an ugly side to our State that is manifested in statistics we see with violence against women and particularly violence against Native women. Violence against Native women has reached epidemic proportions. We are at a point where Native women experience domestic violence and sexual assault at rates 2 1/2 times higher than other races. In the lower 48, women on reservations are 10 times more likely to be murdered. Systematic legal barriers and ineffectual or deficient law enforcement mechanisms result in women, children, and families living in fear. In Alaska, nearly one in two women has experienced partner violence and close to one in three has experienced sexual violence. Overall, nearly 6 in 10 Alaska women have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. This is absolutely unacceptable. That is the reality we are living with as a State now, and it is absolutely unacceptable.

Alaska's rate of forcible rape between 2003 and 2009 was 2.6 times higher than the national rate. Tragically, about 9 percent of Alaska mothers reported physical abuse by their husband or their partner during pregnancy or in the 12 months prior to pregnancy. These are horrifying statistics.

These statistics bring me to the issue of violence against women and the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, the bill we have been talking about and hopefully will be bringing to the floor soon. A measure such as this I think is incredibly important as a vehicle for us to stand behind women and men. It doesn't make any difference if one is from a rural part of the country or an urban part of the country; it is an issue that I think we know rips at the heart of who we are.

In so many of the Alaskan villages, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault face some pretty unique challenges and therefore horrific challenges. It may be that there is no full-time law enforcement presence, there is no local justice infrastructure. In many situations villages are landlocked. There are no roads in. The only way in and out is by airplane. So we have a situation where we can have an individual who has been victimized, with no law enforcement presence in the community whatsoever. It may take State troopers days--days--to be able to respond to an incident, depending on weather conditions. Imagine yourself in that situation. You have been a victim of domestic violence. You seek help. There is none in the village and no way away from your perpetrator.

I think we recognize that one thing we can and must do is make sure there is a safety net available to address the immediate survival needs of the victim and the survival needs of their children in the short term. Only with this level of confidence can one gather the courage to leave an abusive situation.

One final comment on VAWA, and then I will yield to my colleague who has given me the courtesy of the floor right now. I think we recognize in Alaska that the Violence Against Women Act does offer a ray of hope, if you will, for those who are not only the victims but for those who help assist the victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in our villages. It will provide for some increased resources to our rural and to our very isolated communities. It will help to establish a framework for the Alaskan Rural Justice Commission which has been a great venue to make sure we are all understanding what the tools are and how we adapt to those tools. It also recognizes Alaska's Village Public Safety Officer Program as law enforcement so that VAWA funds can be directed to providing a full-time law enforcement presence in places that have none.

We have a lot of issues we need to work through. We believe the reauthorization of VAWA will help us with that. So as we join with other Alaskans in the State and those here in Washington, DC, to choose respect for all women, for all in our communities, I think it is important that there are some tools we can put in place to help not only the people of my State but victims of domestic violence wherever they may be.

With that, I thank my colleague from Illinois for yielding, and I yield the floor.

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