E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 110 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 153 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, MAY 21, 2007 No. 83 House of Representatives The House met at 10:30 a.m. and was report being physically or sexually protects the bottom line of business, called to order by the Speaker pro tem- abused by a husband or boyfriend at and it improves the quality of life of pore (Mr. SALAZAR of Colorado). some point in their lives. our American society. The physical and psychological con- f Mr. Speaker, I thank the many advo- sequences of domestic violence are ex- cacy groups for their support of the DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO acerbated by the less obvious economic SAFE Act and for the work they do TEMPORE consequences. For example, one of the every day to end domestic and sexual The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- key reasons survivors stay in or return violence in our country. fore the House the following commu- to an abusive environment is because And I sincerely thank Representative nication from the Speaker: they are financially dependent upon POE for his cosponsorship, and I look their abuser to provide for them and WASHINGTON, DC, forward to working with him and my May 21, 2007. their children. As a result of the abuse, colleagues in Congress to pass the I hereby appoint the Honorable JOHN T. employed women often lose their jobs SAFE Act and empower women against SALAZAR to act as Speaker pro tempore on due to frequent tardiness or absentee- the violence in their life. ism or because their abuser stalks and this day. f NANCY PELOSI, harasses them at work. Speaker of the House of Representatives. To help break this cycle of violence, FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE f I have introduced the SAFE Act with The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- representative TED POE. ant to the order of the House of Janu- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE The SAFE Act would provide em- ary 4, 2007, the gentleman from Massa- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- ployed survivors of domestic violence chusetts (Mr. MCGOVERN) is recognized ant to the order of the House of Janu- with greater employment protections during morning-hour debate for 5 min- ary 4, 2007, the Chair will now recog- and increased economic stability. utes. Specifically, the SAFE Act would en- nize Members from lists submitted by Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today the majority and minority leaders for able the survivors of domestic violence is my final day on the Food Stamp morning-hour debate. The Chair will to pursue legal assistance, medical Challenge, an initiative where public care and meet other immediate needs alternate recognition between the par- officials eat for 1 week on a food stamp associated with violence in their lives ties, with each party limited to not to budget, $21 for the week. That is $3 a without the fear of losing their job. exceed 30 minutes, and each Member, day, or $1 per meal. This amount re- except the majority leader, the minor- If survivors of abuse are fired or forced to leave their job as a result of flects the national average of the food ity leader, or the minority whip, lim- stamp benefit. ited to not to exceed 5 minutes. the abuse, the SAFE Act makes them eligible for unemployment benefits. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Food The Chair recognizes the gentle- The SAFE Act also helps employers ad- Stamp Challenge is to raise awareness woman from California (Ms. ROYBAL- dress the negative impact of domestic of the crucial role the food stamp pro- ALLARD) for 5 minutes. violence in the workplace. gram serves in the lives of 26 million f While it is true that domestic vio- Americans each month, including over 450,000 in my State of Massachusetts. SAFE ACT RE-INTRODUCTION lence is a personal tragedy, it is also true that it has costly negative con- Three of my esteemed colleagues, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, sequences to employers who pay an es- Representatives JO ANN EMERSON, JAN to help address domestic violence in timated $3–13 billion a year in sick SCHAKOWSKY and TIM RYAN, joined me our country, I rise to announce the re- leave, absenteeism and lost produc- in taking the challenge over the past introduction of the Security and Fi- tivity. week. And although we may be less en- nancial Empowerment Act, or as it is The SAFE Act helps businesses save ergetic and perhaps crankier than better known, the SAFE Act. Domestic money by helping to reduce absentee- when we started the challenge nearly a violence is a personal and social trag- ism and lost productivity and by ena- week ago, each of us has learned a edy that negatively impacts all of our bling businesses to retain valuable and great deal. society. experienced employees, thereby avoid- Certainly my wife, Lisa, and I have On average, every day in our country, ing the high cost associated with train- gained valuable insights from our expe- more than three women are murdered ing new staff. rience on a very tight budget. We have by their husband or boyfriend, and In summary, the SAFE Act empow- much more sympathy over how the nearly one-third of American women ers survivors of domestic violence. It lack of energy and the hard choices of 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. H5475 . VerDate Aug 31 2005 01:04 May 22, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21MY7.000 H21MYPT1 bajohnson on PRODPC74 with HOUSE H5476 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 21, 2007 how to stretch the budget and put food recognized during morning-hour debate b 1200 on the table might also stretch one’s for 5 minutes. AFTER RECESS patience and stress a marriage. We can Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, this imagine the worry and pain of parents morning as we stand here in our Na- The recess having expired, the House if we had to feed our children on this tion’s Capitol, family and friends in was called to order by the Speaker pro kind of budget. Colorado are gathered together to cele- tempore (Mr. CLEAVER) at noon. These are just a few of our reflections brate the life of a truly great Amer- f over the past week. Yet truly our most ican, a wonderful human being. The PRAYER valuable lesson came from the scores of child of Mexican immigrants, Eva Baca The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. individuals who reached out to us to was born on January 1, 1929 in Pueblo, Coughlin, offered the following prayer: share their personal experiences strug- Colorado. She graduated from Pueblo On this day, May 21, 1944, Judge gling to put food on the table for their Central High School and attended Colo- Learned Hand gave a speech at ‘‘I Am families. Whether they posted com- rado State College. Ms. Baca, as a an American Day’’ in Central Park, ments on our blog or called my office member of the first graduating class in New York. In it he expressed his faith and spoke with my staff, these individ- 1965. As a widowed mother of two, she in You, O Lord, and Your designs for uals taught Lisa and me about how balanced motherhood and her studies this country. He said, ‘‘Liberty lies in hardworking Americans manage to while attending Adams State College, the hearts of men and women; when it provide for themselves and their fami- receiving her master’s in education in dies, there is no constitution, no law, lies in spite of inadequate food stamp 1968. no court can even do much to help it. benefit levels. Upon graduation, Ms. Baca taught at While it lies there it needs no constitu- They talked about having to make Lakeview and Hellbeck Elementary tion, no law, no court to save it. tough trade-offs between paying utility Schools. She went on to get her prin- ‘‘What then is the spirit of liberty?’’ bills, buying clothes for their children, cipal’s certificate, and in 1972 she took he asked rhetorically in 1944. addressing medical needs and pur- her first administrative position at the ‘‘I cannot define it,’’ he said. chasing food. They also described the new Eastwood Heights Elementary ‘‘I can only tell you my own faith. trade-off between eating to be healthy School. There she instituted new read- The spirit of liberty is the spirit which or eating to be full. These kinds of ing programs for children from low-in- is not too sure that it is right . ’’ trade-offs are unfair and unacceptable. come families. But he went on: ‘‘In the spirit of that Mr. Speaker, America can and should Eva Baca was a strong advocate for America for which our young men and do more for low-income individuals and the community in which she lived and women are at this moment fighting families working hard to survive each worked to provide opportunities and and dying; in that spirit of liberty and and every day. One way we can do that increased accessibility to Pueblo’s iso- of America, I ask you to rise with me is through the Feeding America’s Fam- lated, east side neighborhood. In 1983, and pledge our faith in the glorious ilies Act, a bill that I introduced ear- Eva Baca was named director of Title I destiny of our beloved country.’’ lier this month with my colleague, programs for Pueblo School District Lord, to this kind of act of faith we Congresswoman JO ANN EMERSON.