Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, as a cochairman of the Crime Victims Caucus, along with our good friend and colleague Congressman Ted Poe, our caucus wants to join in this effort to say ``no more.'' The Crime Victims Caucus is active in a host of different areas, and this is one that deserves our attention.

As we mark the National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we must remember that every day millions are struggling with the aftermath of sexual assault. We remember the survivors, and we honor the advocates who support them.

Awareness and action can help end the cycle of sexual assault and domestic violence. One in five women in this country, sadly, are raped over the course of their lifetime, and half of all women will experience some type of sexual assault. These are horrific, horrific numbers. These are our sisters, our mothers, and our wives.

We must act. Millions of victims are not receiving the assistance they need, and Congress must act. A national survey in 2013 showed that 75 percent of the rape crisis centers have lost funding, resulting in layoffs and reduced services and program closures when, in fact, we need 24/7 service for this very, very important matter. Those numbers mean communities with

shuttered emergency shelters that could have helped women and men find safe haven are no longer available. We must do better.

That is why, I along with many of my colleagues here today, are fighting to raise the cap on the Crime Victims Fund that is one of the top priorities of the Victims' Rights Caucus. More than 80 Members of Congress signed our bipartisan legislation. Congressman Ted Poe and I carried a letter to the Appropriations Committee urging them to raise the cap to $1.5 billion from its current level of $745 million. This fund is oversubscribed.

The fact of the matter is this fund does not contain one ounce of taxpayer dollars. It is, in fact, ill-gotten gains by criminals of all kinds in which those ill-gotten gains are confiscated and placed in this restitution fund that President Reagan signed into law in 1981 with then a Democratic-controlled Congress. So we must raise these funds.

The Crime Victims Fund provides money for our domestic violence shelters that provide shelter for families and women and children who are victims of domestic violence. It funds rape crisis centers and child abuse treatment centers and programs.

We must fund the rape prevention and education fund that provides moneys to our States in order to support this very important issue of rape prevention and education programs conducted by these rape crisis centers, sexual assault coalitions, and other nonprofit organizations that are attempting to educate to help to assist and to be there when these victims are violated by this most horrific crime.

Awareness, education, and empowerment, we all have a role to play in combating the sexual assault. That is why we are honoring those this month. Until we eliminate sexual assault and domestic violence and rape, we must continue to educate people on where to seek help when tragedy strikes. Survivors must know that they are not alone, and it is not their fault, and that there is help and that we care so that they can come out of the shadows and live a productive life.

In closing, it is our job and solemn promise here in Congress to guarantee that there is help for every victim in our country. ``No more'' to sexual assault.

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