Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011--Continued

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I want to briefly comment on an issue that has been raised by some with respect to the stalking provisions in the bill.

Some outside observers have questioned whether the language in the bill would chill free speech or even criminalize constitutionally protected speech. Obviously, that was not the intent of the language and I do not believe that would be the impact.

In fact, a statute cannot criminalize constitutionally protected speech. If it is protected under the Constitution, then it is protected, plain and simple.

The stalking provision is intended to make our anti-stalking laws more effective. The problem with current law is that we require a victim to actually suffer from substantial emotional distress in order for the perpetrator to be prosecuted.

But sometimes victims are not even aware that they are being stalked, especially if the stalker is using electronic surveillance, video surveillance, or other technology that is specifically designed for spying.

So a stalker who is using technology to stalk his victim can escape prosecution simply because he goes undetected by the victim. That does not make sense to me.

With the provision in the bill, we allow law enforcement and prosecutors to focus on the stalker's actions, and not just the victim's emotions.

This will allow prosecutions if the perpetrator is caught before the victim has suffered the necessary level of emotional distress. Under current law, law enforcement has to wait until that harm has occurred, even though the stalker has already committed terrible invasions of the victim's privacy.

But I understand the concerns of those who are worried about free speech. I am willing to work with them to address their concerns as we move forward.

I have no desire to inhibit free speech. This is not about speech, it is about video surveillance, tracking devices, and other secretive methods of stalking. It is about truly dangerous and despicable behavior.

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. I thank Senator Cornyn and Senator Hutchison for their words and their work. I rise to discuss my amendment that would respond to the problems we are seeing with rape kit backlogs, which Senator Cornyn has identified, while also reforming what we know is working well on this issue.

This amendment would amend the Debbie Smith Act, which, similar to the Violence Against Women Act, has a history of bipartisan support. The Debbie Smith Act, as you know, was enacted in 2004. It was named after a courageous survivor of sexual assault.

What this amendment does is to basically increase the percentage of Debbie Smith grant funds that are available for use in testing the backlog of rape kits. We raise the current percentage of 40 percent up to 70 percent. So it is a significant change.

The amendment also asks the National Institute of Justice to develop protocols to help law enforcement with sexual assault cases and to provide technical assistance and training to law enforcement and local governments. The amendment also allows funds to be used for auditing rape kit backlogs, which is one of the important issues Senator Cornyn's amendment addresses.

The difference between Senator Cornyn's amendment and my amendment is that mine does not mandate that a minimum percentage of funds be used for audit. Senator Cornyn's amendment also has provisions such as subpoena authority for U.S. marshals who are tracking fugitive sex offenders that I have supported in the past and I will continue to support in the future. I will be glad to work with Senator Cornyn and Chairman Leahy and others to get this done and to look for an appropriate vehicle to address this issue.

But today is about passing VAWA without delay. We have worked on the Judiciary Committee for 1 month with every group that wanted to have a say in the reauthorization of VAWA, and we have worked closely with all on the committee. As you know, Senator Crapo has been the long-time Republican coauthor of this bill. We have a number of Republican supporters. I wish to end with the words of Paul Wellstone, who once served in the Senate on behalf of the State of the Minnesota, who was a fierce advocate for the Violence Against Women Act.

He said this:

What are we waiting for? Too many have spoken with their voices and with their lives, and this violence must end.

Let's get the Violence Against Women Act done.

I yield the floor.

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