Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the members of the Claremont, New Hampshire, Ad Hoc Amtrak Platform Committee. The people of the Upper Valley owe a tremendous debt to the public servants and civic-minded citizens who took up the important work of this committee. Those individuals are: Jeffrey Albright, State Representative Raymond Gagnon, Mayor Charlene Lovett, Scott Magnuson, former City Councilor James Reed, Walter Stapleton, and former City Councilor Carolyn Towle. Since its formation in 2014, the committee has worked extensively to promote and improve rail transportation and access in the region. Through new signage around Claremont and effective digital marketing, the committee did an outstanding job of raising awareness of the value and opportunity the Amtrak Vermonter line had for the Claremont community, and vice versa. They spearheaded a campaign to construct a passenger shelter at the Claremont station with all-volunteer funding and labor. As a direct result of their efforts, ridership numbers have notably increased each of the last three years, and the New England Intercity Rail Initiative has decided that Claremont should remain included in future high speed rail service.

It is also important to recognize the national and international impact of the committee. Its members worked closely with my office to provide input and help advance the Promoting Travel, Commerce, and National Security Act, which I introduced in 2016. This legislation paved the way for a bilateral border security agreement that allows the United States and Canada to expand preclearance customs facilities, including rail facilities for the first time. It improves travel and trade opportunities for our northern border communities while also strengthening our national security. The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama, and in 2017 the agreement was approved by the Canadian House of Commons. I commend the committee members for all they have done to help bring this meaningful policy to fruition.

On behalf of my constituents in New Hampshire's Second Congressional District, I thank Jeffrey, Richard, Charlene, Scott, James, Walter, and Carolyn for their dedicated service and advocacy. Their achievements will continue to benefit Granite State transportation, tourism, and economic development for years to come. I am honored to recognize and congratulate them.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak candidly and directly to the American people.

There are many, many issues that we agree upon, Republicans and Democrats, coming together to solve big challenges.

In my district in New Hampshire, people are dying, and they are dying from an emergency that did not exist--a continuing resolution will not solve their problem--and that is the opioid epidemic that hits districts all across this country. People are dying, families are suffering, and our communities are hurting.

We need to come together, and we can. We have a bipartisan task force with 100 Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats. Just this week, 50 Members, Republicans and Democrats, came together to ask for funding for this emergency crisis.

We ask the President: Extend the emergency. We need to fund, and now is the time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent, please, together, Republicans and Democrats, bring up H.R. 4872, the End the Shutdown Act of 2018, a continuing resolution that would immediately reopen the government through Tuesday while we continue negotiations on a budget agreement that adheres to parity and other critical issues like this opioid epidemic. This is urgent. Please, I ask my brothers and sisters on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1266, Enhancing Veteran Care Act.

Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs can contract with qualified and accredited third-party nonprofits to investigate a VA medical center for deficiencies in its facility. Only the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, however, is directly capable of authorizing these third-party investigations.

Unfortunately, this process is needlessly cumbersome and delays the improvement of medical centers. This bill

is an important reform because it empowers Veteran Integrated Service Network directors and VA medical center directors to initiate these third-party reviews.

The Manchester VA Medical Center in my home State of New Hampshire currently faces a number of questions regarding the services it provides and the facilities it manages. While Secretary Shulkin has initiated reviews of the facility, it took a number of whistleblowers to put their reputation and jobs on the line to force action.

Legislation like the Enhancing Veteran Care Act could have streamlined this process and made both the facility and the VISN more accountable to the needs of veterans in New Hampshire. VA must be better at assessing its own shortcomings.

Ultimately, veterans in the Granite State and across the country deserve the highest standard of care.

I thank Senators Inhofe and Lankford for introducing this important legislation. I thank Senator Shaheen, one of the lead Democratic cosponsors of the bill, for helping advance this bill through the U.S. Senate and being attentive to the needs of our Granite State veterans.

I proudly support this legislation and urge all of my colleagues to support this bill and immediately send it to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Brady and the chair. I want to thank especially Congresswoman Speier and Congresswoman Comstock for their good work on this issue.

Almost 40 years ago, I worked here in the United States Congress as a member of the staff. I was 23 years old and I was sexually assaulted by a distinguished guest of the United States Congress. Neither I nor anyone in my office had received any type of sexual harassment training. I had no place to turn; I had no one to tell; and I could do nothing about it.

But today is a historic day. This is a watershed moment. Times have changed and people do make changes. This is one that we are all standing together--Republicans, Democrats, men, women, across the board--to say ``enough is enough.''

I support this resolution as an important first step so that every Member of Congress and every member of the staff on Capitol Hill understand that we are drawing the line. We have had enough. We need to address sexual harassment and assault in the workplaces, on college campuses, in our military, and communities. The Halls of Congress can be no exception.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Amanda Grady Sexton, the Director of Public Affairs for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, for receiving the 2017 Sandra Matheson Award for Exemplary Commitment to Victims of Crime.

Amanda is incredibly deserving of this recognition; having worked tirelessly at the New Hampshire Coalition for 15 years to ensure protections for survivors of sexual assault in the Granite State. She led the effort in the state legislature to pass legislation that strengthens New Hampshire's Rape Shield Law and established critical protections for survivors of sexual violence. She has also supported other initiatives to extend the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse and criminalized acts of human trafficking and domestic violence in state law.

Though Amanda's voice is essential in New Hampshire, her advocacy extends beyond the Granite State. She regularly advises me and other members of the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation, and assisted Congress with the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and the passage of the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act.

Through her incredible work, Amanda has given hope and a voice to countless victims of crime in New Hampshire and nationwide, and has helped reduce the stigma associated with sexual assault.

On behalf of New Hampshire's Second Congressional District and all those who have benefitted from Amanda's work, I thank her for everything she has done and will continue to do for our state, and congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition. I look forward to our continued work together to make New Hampshire be an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the need for tax policy that benefits hardworking families in New Hampshire and all across this country.

We are long overdue for real tax reform, but, unfortunately, the plan unveiled by my Republican colleagues is more of a giveaway to millionaires, billionaires, and corporate special interests.

In fact, consider this: 80 percent of the tax breaks in their bill go to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. This is while cutting $500 billion from Medicare and $1 trillion from Medicaid. That trade is, frankly, unconscionable. This bill is a bad deal for Granite Staters and a bad deal for the American people.

The Republican tax plan eliminates important deductions for hardworking middle class families. It caps property tax deductions, eliminates student loan interest deductions and the medical deduction tax credit. The plan even ends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit that encourages employers to hire veterans.

House Democrats are offering a better deal. I urge my Republican colleagues to work with us to support working families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Nancy and Gary Stewart, the owners of Sandwich Depot in my hometown of Concord, New Hampshire. Through hard work and dedication, Nancy and Gary, along with their employees, created a truly special place in our community.

Sandwich Depot opened for business over 28 years ago. In the time since, they have turned an inconspicuous building on the side of Hall Street into one of the best sandwich shops in the state. Over the years, a lot has changed in Concord, but one thing has remained the same: if you want a world-class breakfast or lunch, you can find it at the Sandwich Depot. Gary has an uncanny ability to remember customers' names, and his warm smile and humor make any visitor feel welcome. Nancy cooks and assembles sandwiches that leave everyone full and satisfied. The shop is covered in historic pictures of Concord and local antique signs, which add to the sense that the Depot is a uniquely Concord institution.

My family, friends, and staff--as well as everyone in the Concord community--will all miss the Sandwich Depot, but we are confident that Nancy and Gary will continue to make wonderful contributions to the Concord area in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following:

My name is Dr. Daniel Swinton and I am honored to be here

today. I serve as Vice President of the Association of Title

IX Administrators (ATIXA) and am here representing over 3,500

members at schools and colleges nationwide. I am also

Managing Partner of a law and consulting firm that advises

thousands of K through 12 and higher education

administrators, teachers, faculty and students on issues of

sexual violence, consent in sexual interactions, harassment

and discrimination in all its forms, as well as critical

issues of mental health and well-being, behavioral

intervention, and alcohol and drugs.

Over the last six years, the Department of Education has

given significant time and attention to sexual violence at

colleges and universities, but has largely failed to give

needed time and attention to sexual violence and consent-

based issues in K through 12 education. Sexual violence has

been called an ``epidemic'' at colleges, and universities and

our members indicate that such a label is both accurate and

reflective of the immediate needs to prevent and address

sexual violence on their campuses. If higher education is

facing an ``epidemic,'' then K through 12 is facing an even

more serious, plague-like level of sexual violence, that

continues largely unabated. The lack of legal and regulatory

attention given to the matter is both startling and

frustrating, as many of the issues involve abuse of minors

and children. Further, K through 12 remains well behind

higher education in educating its administrators, teachers

and students about sexual violence and the many related

issues of consent, substance abuse, and healthy

relationships. As one member told me last week, K through 12

needs something like Clery and Section 304 of the Violence

Against Women Act to ensure appropriate training, prevention,

response and accountability are present.

To be fair, K through 12 administrators face a litany of

demands on their time and a host of unrelated legal and

regulatory requirements such that, absent a crisis, a law or

a regulation, sexual violence prevention and response

receives little, if any attention. The result is that K

through 12 administrators largely lack the training necessary

to appropriately and fairly address issues of sexual violence

in their schools and districts. Further, school-based

instruction of K through 12 students about consent in sexual

interactions is rare, leaving the students to learn about

sexual interactions, consent and the impact of alcohol and

drugs from peers, the Internet and other media. Certainly,

parents play a role in educating their children, but in our

members' experience, few parents discuss the nuances of sex,

alcohol and consent with their children prior to college. We

are seeing significant issues of sexual violence at all

levels of K through 12, but especially in middle and high

school. Any discussion also needs to recognize the role that

technology plays in increasing the number and complexity of

issues our members are seeing in their schools.

Training and prevention efforts lag, policies and

procedures remain inadequate, and prevention is reserved to

basic training on how to report child abuse. I want to stress

that the current state is not for lack of desire, but, given

the nature, complexity and decentralized nature of K through

12 education, stems largely from lack of guidance, funding or

grants, legal requirements and accountability.

Our members are anxious to give these critical matters time

and attention, but buy-in and resources tend to follow only

once Congress makes it mandatory. Thank you for your time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following:

On behalf of the more than 170,000 bipartisan members and

supporters, over 1,000 branches, and almost 800 college and

university partners of the American Association of University

Women (AAUW), I want to thank you for inviting me to testify

at today's roundtable on the topic of ``Promoting Healthy

Relationships in K-12 Education and Preventing and Responding

to Sexual Violence on College Campuses.''

AAUW is the nation's leading voice promoting equity and

education for women and girls. Since our founding in 1881,

AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the

fundamental issues of the day--educational, social, economic,

and political. As early as 1945, AAUW was studying the impact

of sex discrimination on college campuses. In 1972, we were

instrumental not only in winning passage of Title IX but also

in securing the subsequent regulations to aid compliance with

the law. Today AAUW continues to fight for gender equity in

education through research, legal case support, fellowships

and grants, and advocacy.

When education environments are hostile due to sexual

harassment, assault, or violence, students cannot learn and

end up missing out on true educational opportunities. AAUW's

own research reveals that two-thirds of college students

experience sexual harassment and nearly half of students in

grades 7 through 12 face sexual harassment. In addition, many

studies have found that around 20 percent of women are

targets of attempted or completed sexual assault while they

are college students.

Recently, AAUW has taken a look at what information schools

collect and report regarding the number of incidents

experienced by students. We have concerns about the continued

underreporting of sexual harassment and violence reveled in

our analyses and what this tells us about the lack of

progress educational institutions have made in removing

barriers for survivors to come forward.

With regards to higher education, AAUW has examined the

data required by the Clery Act. Our findings indicate that

the annual statistics collected by colleges and universities

still do not tell the full story of sexual violence on

campus. Eighty-nine percent of college campuses disclosed

zero reported incidences of rape in 2015. With about 11,000

campuses providing annual crime data, an overwhelming

majority of campuses certified that in 2015 they did not

receive a single report of rape. In addition, for 2015 about

9 percent of campuses disclosed a reported incident of

domestic violence, around 10 percent disclosed a reported

incident of dating violence, and about 13 percent of campuses

disclosed a reported incident of stalking. So in each of

these categories as well, most campuses did not disclose any

reported incidents in 2015. Among the main or primary

campuses of colleges and universities with enrollment of at

least 250 students, 73 percent disclosed zero rape reports in

2015.

A similar trend is present in K-12 schools. Just this week

AAUW released additional analysis of the 2013-14 data from

the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) to get a picture of

where sexual harassment in public schools is being reported.

In our analysis we specifically examined public schools whose

students include those enrolled in grades 7 through 12. In

analyzing the CRDC data we found that nationally, 79 percent

of these schools disclosed zero reported incidents of sexual

harassment. The rate of reporting varied across states, from

Florida and Hawaii, where 98 percent of schools reported zero

incidents of sexual harassment, to Vermont, where only 46

percent of schools reported zero incidents.

Contrast that to findings from AAUW's groundbreaking study,

Crossing the Line, which found that nearly half (48 percent)

of students surveyed had experienced some form of sexual

harassment in the past school year, with nearly 9 in 10 (87

percent) saying it had had a negative impact on them. The

extraordinarily high number of zeros at both the K through 12

and higher education levels suggests that some students

continue to feel uncomfortable coming forward to report such

incidents. This should be a cause for concern for all

schools. Our educational institutions must take an honest

look at their processes: Do they facilitate accurate data

collection, welcome reporting, and provide resources and

training to support survivors? Respond fairly and promptly to

incidents and prevent their recurrence? If not, reforms must

be made.

Prevention is Critical

First and foremost it is important that schools commit to

preventing sexual harassment and violence before it occurs.

As the CDC recommends, a comprehensive approach to prevention

focuses on several strategies that together have an impact.

These strategies include, ``promoting social norms that

protect against violence; teaching skills to prevent SV;

providing opportunities, both economic and social, to empower

and support girls and women; creating protective

environments; and supporting victims/survivors to lessen

harms.'' Several evidence-based programs support this

approach and can be utilized in schools.

School Response

Schools must also work to end sexual harassment violence by

implementing a prompt and fair response to incidents, as

required by federal law. Doing this can help contribute to

the change necessary to end sexual harassment and violence in

schools. Several federal laws play an important role in

shaping schools' responses to incidents.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the federal

law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. This

includes protecting all students from sexual harassment and

sexual violence regardless of who the harasser may be. And

Title IX applies to all education programs, including both K-

12 schools and institutions of higher education. Title IX has

long required schools to evaluate their current practices,

adopt and publish a policy against sex discrimination, and

implement grievance procedures providing for prompt and

equitable resolution of student and employee discrimination

complaints. Under Title IX, schools are required to eliminate

sexual harassment and sexual violence, prevent its

recurrence, and address its effects.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and

Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) requires colleges and

universities who participate in federal financial aid

programs to disclose campus crime statistics and security

information. Every school provides this information publicly.

Thanks to updates to the Clery Act in the Violence Against

Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, schools are now required

to report crime statistics (on rape, domestic violence,

dating violence, and stalking), update procedures following

an incident of sexual violence, and provide prevention and

bystander intervention training to all students and

employees. These new requirements are separate and apart from

the long-standing obligations that schools have under Title

IX. These laws can work together to ensure that students have

the information they need regarding campus safety, as well as

a clear course of action when sexual violence occurs.

While Title IX remains the law of the land and students

continue to have protection from sexual harassment and

violence in schools, AAUW is disappointed that the Department

of Education has recently withdrawn the 2011 Dear Colleague

Letter on Sexual Violence as well as the 2014 Questions and

Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence. Both were critical

guidance tools schools requested to clarify their

responsibilities under Title IX when responding to sexual

violence. In their place, a new, less robust Questions and

Answers guidance document is to be used. This is a blatant

rollback from the strong and much-needed guidance that was in

place. This ever-changing landscape could potentially sow

confusion for schools, administrators and staff, students,

parents, and communities. The new interim guidance was also

issued following an open comment period where the Department

of Education heard from thousands of stakeholder including

more than 10,000 AAUW advocates urging the protection of

Title IX. The department's willingness to ignore the

overwhelming support for Title IX, its regulations, and prior

guidance is proof that the agenda was not to listen and take

into account input from the community but rather to move

forward with a predetermined plan of action.

AAUW looks forward to weighing in as the Department of

Education engages in its stated rulemaking process. In the

meantime we continue to work with schools to ensure that

students' civil rights are upheld. Congress also has the

opportunity to continue to drive progress on the important

issue of ending sexual harassment and violence in schools.

AAUW urges Representatives to support legislation including,

but not limited to, the Gender Equity in Education Act, the

Title IX Protection Act, the Hold Accountable and Lend

Transparency Act, the Safe Schools Improvement Act, and the

Student Non-Discrimination Act. In addition, Congress should

fund prevention education through the Rape Prevention &

Education Program (RPE), administered by the CDC Injury

Center, at the Senate approved levels for FY18. Increase

funding for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment

Grants, administered by the Department of Education. Congress

should also continue to support the Civil Rights Data

Collection and Clery Act data collection so that students,

parents, administrators, and community members can continue

to monitor the prevalence of sexual harassment and violence

in schools.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in today's

roundtable discussion. AAUW looks forward to working with the

Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence on these

critical issues.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following:

Dear Representatives Kuster, Meehan, Speier, Joyce, and

honorable members of the Task Force to End Sexual Violence,

My name is Joe Cohn, and I am the Legislative and Policy

Director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in

Education, or as we are better known, FIRE. I thank you for

the opportunity to discuss this critical issue.

One of the core constitutional rights that FIRE defends is

due process. Universities are both morally and legally

obligated to respond to known instances of sexual misconduct.

And for more than 50 years, courts have repeatedly held that

the Constitution requires public universities to provide

meaningful due process to accused students.

The stakes are extremely high for everybody in campus

disciplinary proceedings. When a college sweeps an allegation

of sexual misconduct under the rug, it has not only behaved

immorally, it is in clear violation of Title IX. It is

similarly unethical and unlawful when an institution punishes

a student for alleged sexual misconduct without a truly fair

and impartial process. We must not concede that either

situation is acceptable.

The attention focused on this issue in recent years by

student activists and the Department of Education has shed

important light and opened the door for a much needed

examination of whether institutions have been adequately

addressing sexual violence.

Unfortunately, however, some of the particular strategies

implemented have had a pernicious effect. We have too often

seen a disregard for the rights of victims of sexual violence

replaced by a disregard for the rights of the accused. Two

wrongs do not make a right.

Addressing campus sexual misconduct must continue to be a

priority. We believe that by working together, we can--and

indeed, must--do a better job of protecting the rights of

victims and accused students alike. That is why we are

pleased that the Department of Education has committed itself

to engaging in formal notice and comment to craft a new

policy with both of those goals in mind.

So, today, I'd like to set forth a few principles that we

hope will guide you and the Department of Education in your

collective efforts to ensure that campuses are free from sex

discrimination. First, we must not, under any circumstances,

return to the days when allegations of sexual violence on

campus were brushed aside and concealed. At a minimum this

will require insisting that institutions have clear,

accessible policies, and that they make efforts to inform the

campus community of them and enforce them fairly but

unequivocally when necessary.

Second, we must recognize that government actors and

institutions cannot solve this problem alone. We will all

need to work in partnership with each other and many

committed activists, practitioners, and experts not now in

this room. Today you are undertaking the necessary work of

listening to a broader range of stakeholders affected by

campus sexual assault. If we want our nation's colleges to

employ clear, equitable, and fair procedures in which

everyone can trust--and I believe we all do--we must hear

from everyone affected and everyone committed to addressing

these issues.

That is why FIRE is adamant that at the regulatory level,

government agencies engage in formal notice and comment

rulemaking to hear insight from all parties.

Through this process, the Department of Education can

combine institutional knowledge, professional expertise, and

the experiences of students to create a workable, fair, and

effective set of Title IX regulations. Crafting a policy on

campus sexual assault without hearing from complainants, the

accused, the institutions themselves, medical professionals,

victim's rights advocates, civil rights advocates, parents,

and the many law enforcement professionals who have dedicated

their careers to ending sexual violence, is bound to be

inadequate.

Third, our national policy must be careful to assign only

those responsibilities to institutions that we are confident

they can perform well. Consulting with professional experts

only goes so far if the resulting policy delegates tasks that

require particular expertise to those without the sufficient

background, training, and tools to perform those functions

properly.

Colleges and universities have a vital role to play in

addressing campus sexual assault. They cannot simply refer

complainants to law enforcement and wash their hands of the

problem. Likewise, we must not allow ourselves to continue

under the dubious assumption that with a few hours of annual

training colleges are equipped to handle these challenging

investigations and adjudications. They are not well suited to

adjudicating these complex cases. This gap between what we

demand of institutions and what they are well-suited to

perform has been one of the significant causes of the

injustices--which flow in both directions--with which we are

all too familiar.

The final broad principle is that the only way our

solutions will be sustainable is if they are mindful of the

rights of all students. No one benefits from a system that

does not have the public's trust--not victims, not accused

students, not institutions, and not the public.

FIRE wants every institution to know how to assist when a

student calls for help in the middle of the night. We want

institutions to dedicate enough resources to ensure that the

well-being of victims is a top priority. We want every

student to know that their case will be handled fairly.

Due process--equal justice under law--is not an abstract

principle; it is the foundation of any system of justice

worthy of the name, whether on campus or off. We agree with

the Secretary that we must ensure that every student's case

is handled with the care that we would expect if one of our

loved ones were a party, regardless of which side of the

table they are sitting on.

The status quo is unacceptable. It isn't working for

anyone. It isn't working for victims. It isn't working for

institutions of higher education. And it isn't working for

accused students. We must protect students. We must make sure

hearings are fair and accurate. We must help institutions get

it right. And we must continue to hold them accountable when

they do not.

I thank you for the opportunity to address you today, and

look forward to working with you on this important mission.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following:

Thank you Co-Chairs Joyce, Kuster, Meehan, Speier and

members of the Task Force for the opportunity to join you

today. I'd like to thank this Task Force for your dedication

to ending sexual violence in all aspects of our society. For

the last six months, I've had the honor to serve as the

Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S.

Department of Education. We at the Department are dedicated

to the mission of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to ensure

equal access to education and to promote educational

excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement

of civil rights.

Like too many of us, I bring with me to this work personal

experiences surviving sexual violence. Being raped at age

twenty jeopardized the trajectory of my life and nearly

prevented me from graduating law school. It took years to try

and shake the remnants of shame, humiliation, and pain that

sexual assault inflicted. In my work at OCR, I've been deeply

moved by talking and working with students and their

advocates, hearing story after story of how their educations

have been derailed and their lives imperiled by sexual

violence. All students in our nation's schools have the right

to feel safe and secure at school. All students should know

that their school fosters an environment that decreases the

risk that any student will suffer sexual harassment or

assault. All students have a right to expect their school to

respond promptly and fairly to incidents of sexual violence.

At OCR we are charged by Congress, among other things, with

the critical responsibility for enforcing Title IX, which

prohibits sex discrimination by any school receiving federal

funds. It's our duty to enforce legal requirements concerning

how a school must respond to incidents of sexual violence.

OCR investigates and resolves complaints over how schools

respond to sexual violence, resulting in changes to schools'

policies and procedures to better ensure that schools provide

the ``prompt and equitable'' response to sexual harassment

and violence that federal regulations require. Our role as an

enforcement agency is crucial. We can and will continue to

fulfill that role.

OCR currently has 353 sexual violence cases open with

colleges and universities, and 149 cases open with K through

12 school districts. Twenty-five percent of the higher

education sexual violence complaints, and twenty-eight

percent of the K through 12 cases resulted from complaints

filed during the current Administration. We believe this

continued influx of complaints reflects an improving culture

where survivors feel supported coming forward both to their

schools and to OCR. At the same time, the high number of

sexual violence complaints shows that too many students are

not yet experiencing school-level procedures that are prompt

and equitable. The Department therefore recently issued

interim guidance to encourage schools to ensure their

procedures are both supportive to survivors and fair to all

involved parties. The Department will undergo a transparent

notice-and-comment rulemaking process to solicit perspectives

from all stakeholders to ensure that Title IX regulations

result in school procedures that best serve Title IX's

critical purpose.

It is helpful that this Task Force called this Roundtable

together to discuss promoting healthy relationships in K

through 12 schools. One of themes I hear over and over is

that by the time many young people arrive at college, their

approach to interpersonal relations and their basic

understanding (or lack of understanding) of what it means to

respect themselves and each other has already been formed

throughout their K through 12 years. Waiting to address these

interpersonal issues until college is problematic.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share with you the

work being done at the Office for Civil Rights, and look

forward to continuing this dialogue with this Task Force.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following:

Good morning Congresspersons Kuster, Speier, Meehan and

Joyce. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this

important roundtable before the Bipartisan Task Force to End

Sexual Violence. My name is Amy Sanchez and I am the CEO of

Break the Cycle, a national nonprofit that engages, educates

and empowers youth to build lives and communities free from

domestic and dating violence. Break the Cycle believes that

everyone deserves a healthy relationship and since 1996 has

worked to end dating abuse, domestic violence, sexual

assault, and stalking in the lives of young people ages 12 to

24 across the U.S. Thank you for holding this roundtable

today to address the steps Congress can take to support the

implementation of K through 12 healthy relationships and

consent education, and to thank you each for being champions

for ending sexual violence.

Dating abuse and sexual violence are public health

epidemics with severe impacts for young victims:

One in three high school students experience either

physical or sexual violence, or both, perpetrated by someone

they are dating or going out with.

Nearly 30 percent of adult victims of interpersonal

violence homicides from 2003 to 2014 were young women between

the ages of 18 and 29. (Unfortunately this CDC study did not

address girls younger than 18.)

In Texas alone, 8 young women 19 and younger were murdered

by an intimate partner in 2016.

More than half of women (69.5 percent) and men (53.6

percent) who have been physically or sexually abused, or

stalked by a dating partner, first experienced abuse between

the ages of 11 and 24.

Among male high school students who have experienced sexual

and physical abuse by a dating partner, more than 1 in 4 have

seriously contemplated suicide, and almost as many have

attempted suicide.

Among female high school students who have experienced

sexual and physical abuse by a dating partner, nearly half

have seriously contemplated suicide, and more than 1 in 4

have attempted suicide.

We also know that raising awareness early is essential to

ending this epidemic because:

More than half (58 percent) of college students do not know

how to help someone who is experiencing dating abuse; and

Nearly all college students (89 percent) are not confident

in their ability to recognize the warning signs of dating

violence.

Both intervention and prevention are keys to stopping

dating abuse and sexual assault among young people. To that

end, Break the Cycle's work focuses on three: 1) direct legal

representation to young victims ages 12 to 24 in Washington,

DC, in restraining order, Title IX, and victim witness

advocacy cases; 2) supporting youth leadership on dating

abuse issues in schools and communities; and 3) providing

education programs to schools and other youth-serving

entities on supporting young people to prevent dating abuse

and sexual assault. My remaining remarks will address the

third element of this work--prevention education--and how we

can ensure that every K through 12 student in the U.S. has

access to developmentally appropriate programming.

Break the Cycle's prevention programming takes many forms,

including Healthy Relationships workshops, Resource Manuals

for schoolteachers and administrators, and Real Talks. The

goal is always to create a space for youth to engage in open

and honest conversations about healthy and unhealthy

relationship behaviors in order to:

decrease the isolation that young victims so often feel;

enable young people to lead conversations about the good,

the bad, and the normal in dating and relationships today;

teach young people how best to provide support to each

other since we know they often do not report dating/sexual

abuse to an adult;

allow young people to talk without fear of being judged or

influenced by adults;

educate young people about dating abuse, including its

warning signs; and

build on the lived realities of young people to develop

effective engagement strategies to end dating violence and

create a culture without abuse.

To prevent dating abuse and sexual violence among young

people, Congress must fund primary prevention in every

school. The funded approaches should meet the best practices

standards set by the CDC, including that the education be:

comprehensive; offered in sufficient dosage; socio-culturally

relevant; evidence-based; offered by well-trained

implementers; include outcome evaluations; and employ varied

teaching methods.

One cannot check social media or news outlets today without

reading about another sexual assault case, including on our

school campuses. School districts are waking up to the fact

that primary prevention programs are needed to teach young

people about healthy and unhealthy relationship patterns and

what consent means. Many states, including Virginia, Florida,

Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, and Rhode

Island, are leading the way by requiring that schools include

consent and healthy relationships education within their

sexual education curricula.

Budget choices are policy choices, and Congress has the

opportunity to support these state efforts through adequate

funding. One such avenue is the $5 million increase for Rape

Prevention Education in the Senate Appropriations Bill--the

Task Force should champion this increase in RPE in the House

as a concrete step towards ending dating abuse and sexual

assault.

I want to close with some words from the sister of a dating

abuse survivor who Break the Cycle assisted. She wrote BTC:

``I had not thought about the need for interventions for

young people. But then when my sister needed help, you were

there for her. I will never be able to thank you enough for

what you did for her. She has since met an amazing man and

will be getting married soon. I doubt she will tell you, but

you will be there nonetheless--in the form of a safe and

whole bride walking into the arms of a man who loves and

respects her.'' Through adequate funding and mandates for

healthy relationships and consent education in K through 12

schools, Congress can be instrumental in preventing dating

violence and sexual assault and ensuring that love and

respect are the touchstones of relationships that young

people form throughout their lives.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following:

Good morning Congresswoman Kuster and co-chairs Meehan,

Speier and Joyce.

My name is Jane Stapleton and along with Dr. Sharyn Potter,

I am the Director of Prevention Innovations Research Center

at the University of New Hampshire. It is an honor to provide

testimony on campus sexual violence and promoting healthy

relationships and consent education in K through 12 schools

to the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence.

Prevention Innovations is made up of researchers and

practitioners who work together to create, evaluate and

disseminate evidence-based prevention and responses to sexual

and relationship violence. We work to build practitioners'

capacities to respond to survivors, prevent violence and

navigate the changing landscape of federal laws and mandates.

We believe that to truly end the problems of sexual and

relationship violence in K through 12 schools and post-

secondary education, we must understand what works in

prevention and response and then implement evidence-based and

research informed prevention strategies.

Together, my colleagues and I have developed, evaluated and

implemented prevention strategies to engage community members

as bystanders who take responsibility to create safe and

respectful learning and living environments. Prevention

Innovations' evidence-based prevention strategies include:

Bringing in the Bystander, an in-person prevention program

with high school and adult versions

Know Your Power bystander intervention social marketing

campaign

uSafeUS, a mobile app that puts trauma informed responses

and evidence-based prevention strategies in the hands of

survivors and their allies

Still in development: a Bystander Intervention Video Game

Increased attention to sexual and relationship violence in

schools has led to exponential growth in the number of

vendors offering solutions to these pervasive public health

problems. Vendors sell products that guarantee compliance and

prevention, oftentimes with little to no scientific evidence

to suggest that they are effective. Prevention Innovations

has recently published a white paper on choosing prevention

products. It seems appropriate to share this guidance with

the Bipartisan Task Force.

It is essential to know whether prevention products have

been thoroughly evaluated with scientific research methods.

Prevention products should have stated, measurable learning

objectives that can be evaluated. Ongoing evaluation and

utilization of the best available evidence should also inform

the product's evolution over time.

Sexual and relationship violence are nuanced issues, so it

is vital that prevention efforts are developed by people with

expertise. The best interventions adhere to the principles

for effective prevention.

Effective prevention strategies are informed by theories

that have been developed and validated through rigorous

scientific scrutiny. Effective prevention products should be

grounded in theories that foster change.

Prevention efforts are most effective when they use

multiple modalities such as text, video, audio, case studies,

interactive exercises, gaming principles, and skills

practice. Products should be developmentally and culturally

appropriate to your audience and well-suited to the method of

dissemination.

It is critical that all efforts promote a campus culture

that supports survivors. It is important to consider the

impact of prevention products and programs on members of the

community who are survivors and secondary survivors, and to

ensure they are trauma-informed products.

The product should be informed by those for whom it was

intended. A prevention strategy developed for a college

student is most likely not appropriate for a high school

student and definitely not for a middle school student.

Prevention efforts require sufficient dosage to be

effective. Cutting down the prevention dosage could lead to

inadequate or no effect or could potentially cause harm. One-

time programs are tempting, and vendors may claim that they

``check all the prevention boxes,'' but a solo packaged

program or a single annual event will not change campus

culture.

It is vital that prevention messages are socioculturally

relevant and reflect a community's diversity. For prevention

efforts to be effective, members of the community need to see

situations and people like those they would regularly

encounter.

While we know a lot about prevention, there is still so

much we do not know, such as the impact of consent education

on reducing sexual assault perpetration; and the

effectiveness of on-line prevention modules, community and

societal level interventions. The best way to proceed in our

efforts is to continue to develop scientifically evaluated

prevention strategies and implement these evidence-based and

research informed prevention tools in a comprehensive plan

that engages all members of the social ecology.

On behalf of Prevention Innovations Research Center, I

would like to thank the Bipartisan Task Force for your

careful consideration of our suggestions for the most

effective elements of prevention in K through 12 and

colleges. I welcome your questions and the opportunity to

provide additional information.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lorraine Merrill as she retires after a decade of service as Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture. The people of the Granite

State owe a tremendous debt to Commissioner Merrill. She has been an excellent steward of the Agriculture Department, guiding our state through the economic recession of 2008 and a devastating drought in 2016--two of the greatest challenges our agriculture community has faced. She has been a tireless supporter and advocate for farmers, producers, and foresters in New Hampshire. From dairy and produce to ornamental horticulture and maple syrup, ours is an incredibly diverse state for agriculture and she has represented everyone so well.

Lorraine's service as commissioner was only the latest in a remarkable career of service both to agriculture and her community. She has been a teacher, author, founding member of the New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture, director of the New England Dairy and Food Council, and chair of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency State Committee. She continues to own and run a dairy farm with her family in Stratham, New Hampshire, where they have been honored by the American Farmland Trust for their leadership in conservation and environmental management best practices.

On behalf of my constituents in New Hampshire's Second Congressional District, I thank Lorraine for her many years of dedicated service to the Granite State. Her achievements will continue to benefit our state and agricultural industry. I am honored to recognize and congratulate Lorraine on her retirement and wish her the best of luck in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Patricia Clark as she retires after more than five decades of service to the Federal Aviation Administration at the Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center in Nashua. The people of the Granite State and throughout New England owe a debt of gratitude to Patty for ensuring the safety of pilots and fliers, as well as continuing the efficiency of our transportation system. Further, it should be noted that Patty has maintained perfect attendance throughout her decades of service, never using vacation leave or a sick day.

In 2013, during my first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, I was honored to have introduced legislation, H.R. 1092, that became law renaming the Nashua facility the ``Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center.'' Renaming this facility after Patty was the very least that could be done to honor her accomplishments to the air traffic control industry here in New England. I am honored to be able to recognize Patty once again on the occasion of her retirement from federal service.

On behalf of my constituents across New Hampshire's Second Congressional District, I thank Patricia Clark for more than half a century of dedicated service to the Granite State. Her achievements will continue to benefit our state and industry. I am honored to recognize and congratulate Patty on her retirement and wish her the best of luck in the years ahead.