{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/survivors-bill-of-rights-act-heads-to-president-s-desk", "Survivors Bill of Rights Act Heads to Presidents Desk", "2016-09-28", "2016", "2016-09", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Ann Kuster", "K000382", "kuster.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Video of Kuster\u2019s floor remarks is available\u00a0here\n(Washington, DC) \u2013 Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) welcomed final passage in the Senate of the Survivors\u2019 Bill of Rights Act, legislation cosponsored by Kuster in the House that would codify rights for sexual assault survivors, including the right to a medical forensic examination without charge. The legislation would also protect evidence, such as rape\u00a0kits, from being destroyed without notice or before the statute of limitation on a crime has lapsed. The\u00a0Survivors\u2019 Bill of Rights Act\u00a0will now head to President Obama\u2019s desk for his signature.\u00a0\n\u201cSurvivors of sexual assault face far too many obstacles without also having to worry about whether they will be supported by the criminal justice system,\u201d said Congresswoman Kuster. \u201cThe\u00a0Survivors\u2019\u00a0Bill of Rights Act\u00a0is a significant step toward ensuring that survivors are able to pursue justice without unnecessary burdens hindering their efforts, and I\u2019m pleased it will be heading to the President\u2019s desk for his signature. It\u2019s long overdue that we change the culture around sexual assault, and I know that we are on the right path to do just that.\u201d\nCongresswoman Kuster has long been a champion for victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Earlier this month,\u00a0Kuster took to the House floor\u00a0to honor the incredible courage and strength of Chessy Prout, who was sexually assaulted by an upperclassman at her boarding school when she was 15 years old. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Kuster shared her own\u00a0\u00a0personal experiences\u00a0involving sexual assault on the House floor. She also joined with 17 other Members of Congress to\u00a0read on the House floor Emily Doe\u2019s open letter\u00a0describing her attack and ensuing trial \u2013 which marked the first time a victim\u2019s statement has been read in full in the House chambers.\nA longtime cosponsor of the\u00a0Campus Accountability and Safety Act, which would require schools that receive federal funding to strengthen prevention, education, and reporting measures, Kuster is also helping to introduce new legislation\u00a0with her colleague from California, Representative Jackie Speier:\u00a0the\u00a0Safe Transfer Act, which would strengthen measures to increase transparency for students when perpetrators transfer to their campuses, and the\u00a0No Funding for Sexual Harassers Act, which would require schools found guilty of violating Title IX, a statute used in part to evaluate schools that are mishandling sexual assault cases, to report these violations to grant-making agencies, like NASA and the NSF. Both of these bills would help enhance accountability and improve transparency on college campuses.\n###", 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": ["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/survivors-bill-of-rights-act-heads-to-president-s-desk"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9227641858160496, "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"}