Honoring the Center for Victims of Torture's 30th Birthday

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Center for
Victims of Torture (CVT), torture survivors and CVT staff and
volunteers on the occasion of the organization's 30th anniversary.
Since its inception in 1985, CVT has become a global leader in treating
victims of torture here in the U.S. and around the world. CVT has
provided life-saving mental health services and rehabilitative
treatment to thousands of torture survivors from the Bosnian War in
Sarajevo in Eastern Europe to the Continent of Africa from Liberia to
Sierra Leone.

CVT represents the best of the United States to our planet's most
vulnerable citizens, and is one of only three healing treatment centers
in the world. The professionals who care for torture survivors
represent hope and dignity for thousands of people from more than 60
countries around the globe.

In 1985, CVT set forth on a mission to extend interdisciplinary care
to torture survivors in Minnesota, and over the years expanded those
services to countries around the world, with healing centers today in
Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya and Uganda. The work has grown to include
training professionals in the United States and international locations
in the specialized rehabilitation skills needed for people suffering
the post-traumatic effects of torture, and also to advocating for human
rights and put an end to torture practices.

For the past three decades, CVT has helped more than 30,000 survivors
reclaim their lives. Through combined direct services, capacity
building and policy advocacy work, CVT has touched the lives of more
than 50,000 survivors and approximately 100,000 of their family
members.

CVT was instrumental in helping Congress to pass the original Torture
Victims Relief Act in 1998, which authorizes federal funding for
torture survivor rehabilitation programs in the U.S. and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, on May 14, 2015, the Center for Victims of Torture
commemorates 30 years of helping torture survivors rebuild their lives
and restore their hope. It is a great honor to work with CVT and its
dedicated staff and volunteers. Please join me in paying tribute to the
Center for Victims of Torture and its distinguished commitment to
providing healing and hope to those who most need it.

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