E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 No. 159 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was Mr. Speaker, approximately one in 3 hours for somebody to arrive. This is called to order by the Speaker pro tem- five women are sexually assaulted in unacceptable, and it is sad. pore (Mr. WOODALL). college. That is one out of every five of It is estimated that less than 25 per- f our daughters, sisters, and friends. cent of victims of rape report their This shocking statistic would lead crimes. They fear this exact scenario, DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO most people to assume that colleges that they will be turned away, dis- TEMPORE have extensive protections to support missed, ignored, or not believed. The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- those people on campus who may be To address this problem I have intro- fore the House the following commu- sexually assaulted. This is just not the duced legislation that would require a nication from the Speaker: case. hospital to provide access to a sexual WASHINGTON, DC, Last year one of these victims pub- assault forensic examiner or have a October 4, 2017. lished an anonymous op-ed at Harvard plan in place to quickly get a victim to I hereby appoint the Honorable ROB about her attack. The title of her arti- a nearby hospital that can provide fo- WOODALL to act as Speaker pro tempore on cle was, ‘‘It’s Me, One of Your Statis- rensic services. this day. tics.’’ She described the night of her at- This bill is named for Megan Rondini. PAUL D. RYAN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. tack. It is called the Megan Rondini Act, in A friend invited her to his dorm room honor of a 21-year-old sexual assault f to study for an upcoming science mid- victim who was denied proper post-rape MORNING-HOUR DEBATE term test. She thought nothing of it, treatment at a hospital in Alabama. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- but when she started to become uncom- This bill will ensure victims can access ant to the order of the House of Janu- fortable, she decided it was important the care that they need. ary 3, 2017, the Chair will now recog- for her to leave. But he did not let her Megan’s hospital didn’t have a sexual nize Members from lists submitted by leave. He sexually assaulted her. assault nurse examiner on staff either, the majority and minority leaders for After the attack, she ran to a friend’s so when she reported the rape to the morning-hour debate. room for help. She refused to shower, authorities, the authorities did not be- The Chair will alternate recognition knowing that she had to immediately lieve her. Anguished, Megan returned between the parties. All time shall be get a rape kit done. Assuming the uni- to Texas, despondent, and tragically equally allocated between the parties, versity would be able to help her, she took her own life. The only thing she and in no event shall debate continue called their health services depart- knew for certain in her case was that beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other ment, but the news she received from she was failed by the university, the than the majority and minority leaders them shocked her. Harvard University hospital, and the law enforcement and the minority whip, shall be limited Health Services didn’t provide rape agencies. to 5 minutes. kits. They didn’t provide any post-rape Universities should have a sexual as- f care whatsoever. There was nothing sault victim advocate on staff—all uni- they would or could do for her. The versities. A SAFE should be available HARVARD RAPE VICTIM university essentially threw up their for victims at a nearby hospital, and The SPEAKER pro tempore. The hands and just turned her away. law enforcement must quickly analyze Chair recognizes the gentleman from She was forced to call an Uber and sexual assault kits because there are Texas (Mr. POE) for 5 minutes. paid someone to drive her to the hos- hundreds sitting on the shelves all over Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, grad- pital across town. But once she arrived, the country that have never been test- uating from high school and going to there was no staff at the hospital ed. college is an important goal for many, trained to deal with sexual assault vic- Mr. Speaker, sexual assault victims many American teenagers. College of- tims or trained to collect forensic evi- are people. They are mainly young peo- fers the promise of an education, new dence. ple at universities. As the Harvard stu- friends, and new experiences. Sexual assault forensic examiners, or dent said, they are not just statistics When parents drop their children off SAFEs as they are called, are specifi- on a hospital spreadsheet. Society can at their new dorms, they are entrust- cally trained to properly collect foren- no longer ignore the silent, painful ing those universities with the well- sic evidence from victims and provide cries for help of victims of rape on our being of their kids. The dark reality is the victim with care and support that college campuses anymore. These days that, in many cases, this trust is woe- is sensitive to the trauma that they need to end. fully misplaced. have experienced. She had to wait over And that is just the way it is. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H7753 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Oct 04, 2017 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04OC7.000 H04OCPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with HOUSE H7754 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 4, 2017 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. VIRGINIA Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentle- He also stocked his store with basic KIMBROUGH woman from North Carolina (Ms. groceries to keep the elderly people The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. ADAMS), who is from the 12th District who lived near his store from having to BARTON). The Chair recognizes the gen- of North Carolina. make a long walk to the grocery store. tleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise Aside from being passionate about his profession, Mr. Hamilton watched, BUTTERFIELD) for 5 minutes. today to honor the phenomenal Dr. Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I Virginia K. Newell, a mathematician, with his children, his beloved Georgia rise today to recognize a great Amer- author, civil rights activist, teacher, Bulldogs play almost every Saturday. ican, Dr. Virginia Kimbrough Newell, elected official, mentor, and my Alpha I thank Mr. Hamilton for his dedica- who will celebrate her 100th birthday Kappa Alpha soror. tion to the Savannah community and on Saturday, October 7. Dr. Newell has Dr. Newell is an asset to North Caro- the profession of pharmacy. He will spent her entire lifetime in service to lina. We celebrate her 100th birthday truly be missed. others as a civil rights activist, elected today and honor her legacy as a voice REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF MR. HERMON BUTLER official, mentor, and friend. for the voiceless. Dr. Newell was born in Advance, A native of the triad, Dr. Newell Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speak- North Carolina, to William and Dinah graduated from Atkins High School in er, I rise today to recognize the life of Kimbrough. She graduated from his- Winston-Salem before attending Mr. Hermon Butler, Sr., who passed away on August 21, 2017, at 81 years. toric Atkins High School in Winston- Talladega College in Alabama. She Mr. Butler was a man who wore many Salem and received a degree in mathe- earned her master’s degree from NYU hats in the Pembroke, Georgia, com- matics from Talladega College in and her doctorate of education from the University of Sarasota. munity. He worked at a barber shop for Talladega, Alabama. She received her many years before serving as a Bryan master’s degree from New York Univer- As an educator, she touched the lives of countless students at Washington County probate judge. sity and a doctorate in education from During his judgeship, he hosted three and Ligon High Schools in Raleigh, the University of Sarasota in Sarasota, or four city-famous roadside feasts a Yale Summer High School, Shaw Uni- Florida. year, where he cooked quail, venison, versity, and Winston-Salem State Uni- After receiving her doctorate, Dr. chicken, barbecued pork, and low coun- versity. As chairwoman of the mathe- Newell returned to her beloved North try boil on the courthouse grounds. His matics department at WSSU for 20 Carolina and taught mathematics at events became extremely popular and years and later as professor emeritus, Washington High School and J.W. eventually garnered the title of Cafe, Dr. Newell is credited with bringing Ligon High School in Raleigh. Dr. New- more specifically, the Road Kill Cafe, ell later joined the faculty at Shaw computers to that campus. because of the large amount of choices In Winston-Salem, Dr. Newell sought University in Raleigh as an associate he served. He served not only court- to make the greatest difference she professor of mathematics. house staff and law enforcement, but could. She was elected as city alder- In 1965, Mr.