{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://trott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/unanimous-trotts-legislation-increasing-federal-penalty-female-genital", "UNANIMOUS: Trott's Legislation Increasing Federal Penalty for Female Genital Mutilation Passes U.S. House", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "MI", "Dave Trott", "T000475", "trott.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative Dave Trott (MI-11) issued the following statement after the Stopping Abusive Female Exploitation (SAFE) Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced that would increase the federal penalty for female genital mutilation to 15 years in prison and implore states to implement reporting requirements for suspected genital mutilation, passed the House of Representatives unanimously:\n\n\n\"The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 500,000 females in the United States have undergone or are at risk for genital mutilation. Just one victim is too many, and our federal laws must reflect this principle. This appalling and brutal practice has no place in Southeast Michigan, or the United States, and today we made it clear to Americans and the rest of the world that this heinous practice will not be tolerated. This is gender violence and oppression and it's time for the federal government to penalize it as such. I'm proud my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have come together to take this critical step forward in eradicating this merciless practice.\"\n\n\n\n\"It is deeply troubling that many women and young girls in the United States are at risk of female genital mutilation. This barbaric practice violates basic human rights in a horrific way, and we must ensure our laws appropriately deter and punish those seeking to harm women. The SAFE Act contains new tools to fight this human rights abuse, and I thank Congressman Trott for his efforts to protect young girls and women from this heinous crime. I applaud the House for approving this bill and call on the Senate to pass it without delay,\" said Committee on Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte.\n\n\nUnder current federal law, female genital mutilation is punishable by 5 years in prison. The Stopping Abusive Female Exploitation (SAFE) Act increases the punishment to 15 years imprisonment. Additionally, it implores states to enact into law reporting requirements for suspected female genital mutilation.\n\n\nIn stark contrast to other developed countries, the United States' 5-year penalty for perpetrators of female genital mutilation is significantly weaker. For example, the penalty in the United Kingdom is up to 14 years imprisonment and in France up to 20 years imprisonment.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://trott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/unanimous-trotts-legislation-increasing-federal-penalty-female-genital"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3765799812972546, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}