[0:02]Okay. All right. Good morning everyone. Thank you all for joining us joining us today on um a history making day. It's an honor to stand here with incredible
[0:12]leaders and me too founders world without exploitation the Boston area rape crisis center and our survivor community whose partnership
[0:23]made this legislation possible. They have been my uh co-authors and advisers every step of the way whose advocacy and fighting for survivors healing is
[0:33]essential. We stand here today for every person who understands the deep pain and hardship it is to endure the trauma of
[0:42]sexual violence. For survivors of sexual violence, physical and emotional trauma is a lifetime sentence.
[0:53]I know that personally. But in addition to the physical and emotional trauma, it is a heavy financial burden. The mental and
[1:04]physical weight of this trauma may leave you needing to take time away from work. Maybe for days, maybe for weeks, months, or maybe you'll just need to leave your
[1:12]job entirely. You may lose a source of income that can lead to losing a safe and stable place to call home. You may have medical bills piled up from doctors
[1:23]and surgeries to mend your physical wounds. Or you may be in medical debt from years of therapy and mental health support.
[1:33]As a survivor of campus sexual assault, I remember that there were so many days that I could not get out of bed and face the world because I was physically
[1:44]afraid of being proximate to my abuser. You're talking about missing days,
[1:51]weeks, months of your life. It is nearly impossible to resume any sort of normaly. like a member of our Massachusetts
[2:03]survivor community who when seeking support from the Boston area Rape Crisis Center shared of their layered financial challenges that she faced following an assault that left her physically
[2:14]impaired and unable to work without the ability to work and while paying for physical therapy. She fell behind on rent in the home she shared with her abuser. She lost her housing
[2:26]and spent time living in her car. She eventually found her way to rapid rehousing where she faced a new barrier in her landlord requiring proof of
[2:36]income. She was pushed back into work before she was ready physically and emotionally simply because she needed a place to call home. By no choice of our
[2:46]own, survivors can incur debilitating costs as they navigate their trauma. And for too many survivors, the trauma
[2:55]is compounded by another profound injustice and violation. The very system that was supposed to deliver accountability
[3:06]fails them has failed us. Nearly two decades ago, federal prosecutors had built a serious case against Jeffrey
[3:16]Epstein. Instead of pursuing federal prosecution, the government entered into a non prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to completely avoid federal
[3:27]charges in exchange for pleading guilty to state offenses. It was a sweetheart deal for a wealthy and powerful abuser
[3:37]and a shameful institutional betrayal for the survivors who had every right to expect that their government would stand with them.
[3:48]The Crime Victim's Rights Act gives survivors fundamental rights to be heard, to be treated with dignity, to receive timely notice of plea agreements,
[4:00]and to receive restitution where provided by law. But in the Epstein case and others, those rights were not
[4:10]adequately honored. Today we are unveiling the Survivors Rights Restitution Act to change that, to bring
[4:19]lifechanging financial relief to survivors of sexual violence. Our bill would create a historic investment to support survivors of sexual violence,
[4:31]including all of the Epstein survivors and hold the federal government accountable when it fails to protect survivors rights under the Crime
[4:41]Victim's Rights Act. Survivors deserve restitution for the failures of our government. Our bill would establish a survivor's rights restitution program
[4:52]and fund to provide this vital compensation to survivors. Because when the government violates a survivor's rights,
[5:01]there must be a remedy. There must be accountability and there must be a pathway toward healing.
[5:11]Let me be clear, the harm of sexual violence is incalculable. It is impossible to truly quantify the
[5:21]lived harm and lifetime impa impact. But we have a moral obligation as
[5:30]people, as humans, and as policy makers to help free survivors from the bounds of their trauma. and financial relief
[5:42]which does not get nearly the attention and the focus that it deserves is an essential piece of that puzzle. So that's why I'm proud to put forward and
[5:52]I do want to acknowledge the labor of a member of my legislative team uh who has uh moved on uh to a new chapter um but put his blood, sweat, and tears into
[6:04]this. I want to thank Bailey Connors for working so closely with the survivor community and my legislative director Demarcoin Johnson uh for believing in
[6:13]the necessity of this bill. But um so I'm so proud to put forward this urgent, timely, and first of its kind bill to Epstein survivors and all
[6:23]survivors of sexual violence. We see you. We haven't forgotten you. And we won't stop fighting for you. This bill is for every survivor who has paid the
[6:34]price for a harm they ne never should have experienced in the first place. It is for the survivors who were failed by a system that too often protects the rich and powerful before it protects the
[6:44]vulnerable. And it is recognition that accountability cannot simply mean putting an abuser behind bars. It doesn't mean just releasing all of the
[6:54]Epstein files, which we will continue fighting for. Accountability must also mean healing and helping survivors to
[7:03]reclaim their lives. And we can start by delivering the financial restitution that they demand and that they deserve. And now we'll hear from uh one of uh my
[7:20]teachers, a sister in the movement, a visionary founder, co-founder and chief
[7:27]vision officer of me too, Toronto Burke. Well, good morning everybody. I'm
[7:39]Toronto Burke, as was stated, founder of the Me Too Movement and co-founder of Me Too International, which is the organization that functions as a container for the movement. Oh, I should
[7:51]probably take this off. I am excited to be standing here this moment for this occasion because I understand how monumental this bill is because I know
[8:01]how many lives are impacted by the public health crisis that is sexual and gender- based violence. Let me start by thanking Congresswoman, Congresswoman Presley. First, I count
[8:12]the congresswoman as a friend and ally in this work. And once again, she has shown up for survivors, as she has done throughout her tenure at in public office. She saw what a lot of people
[8:24]still refuse to look at. And rather than study it to death, she moved. That is foresight, leadership, and decisive action. And we survivors
[8:35]always take notice of those in power who managed to see us inside of their work. Thank you. That doesn't always happen in this
[8:44]country. That made us a promise. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But how do we lead full, active, thriving lives when we carry burdens we
[8:56]didn't create and that no one will answer for? What liberty is there when we are locked in a prison of trauma? And how do we pursue happiness when we have
[9:06]we can't even pursue healing? Survivors of sexual and gender-based violence have never been allowed to collect on that promise because we are this country's last thought and its
[9:18]least concern. And still, when the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Gelain Maxwell stood before the nation and told the truth about the worst days of their lives at the hands
[9:30]of some of the most powerful men in this country, they showed us what an American hero looks like. So, I'll ask what this moment demands.
[9:41]What are they owed? What are we owed? At Me Too International, we firmly believe that sexual and gender-based
[9:50]violence is a solvable issue, but we can't get to the solutions without survivors. And survivors don't owe us solutions without restitution.
[10:01]I've worked alongside thousands of survivors, and the thing I understand better than almost anything is that violent, the violence itself is not the
[10:10]whole story. Many tend to stop there at the moment of harm because one terrible encounter is easier to sit with than
[10:20]everything that comes after it. But the trauma doesn't stop at the point of violence. It arrives on its own schedule in shapes and manifestations that we can
[10:30]never predict. >> Sometimes years down the line and it asks us to survive it again and again with very little help. I call that the
[10:40]life cycle of survival. And most people move through it alone. And while it may make some people uncomfortable to say out loud, I've long since made my peace with the fact that
[10:52]survival costs money, real dollars, sitting on top of the physical and emotional and mental toll that everybody already understands.
[11:02]The CDC studied this in 2017. Their researchers put a lifetime cost of sexual assault at $122,461 per survivor.
[11:14]Once you adjust that for inflation 10 years later, it lands at roughly $164,000 today. That number belongs on every fact sheet
[11:24]of every politician in this country. But it also needs an asterid because $164,000 assumes you can afford you can afford
[11:36]the therapy and the medical care and the time away from work and the safe place to live. Most survivors can't. Black women, girls, and fems account for 40%
[11:47]of all sexual sex trafficking victims in the United States. And the average income of young black women between 18 and 29 is $21,400.
[11:57]For so many, there isn't enough to get even to half of $164,000. But the costs arrive anyway. So they end up paying in other ways with their
[12:08]health and their jobs and their stability and whatever piece they have managed to hold on to. That extra therapy comes out of pocket. the care
[12:18]insurance won't touch goes onto a credit card. The days that you were too unwell to go to work that no one reimbured. Those are hidden costs and they are almost never counted.
[12:30]And our government already owes survivors something here. Whether it cares to admit it or not. When a survivor of a federal crime comes forward, the Crime Victim's Rights Act
[12:41]promises them real protections, including the right to accurate and timely notice when their abuser is released. That is already the law. But the Jeffrey Epstein Sweetheart deal
[12:53]showed this whole country how easily that law gets broken and how little happens to anybody when it does. survivors rights were violated and there was no remedy, no relief, and no
[13:04]accountability of any kind. That is the failure that Congresswoman Presley's bill was written to correct. The Survivors Rights Restitution Act is
[13:15]the first of its kind. It creates a real restitution program for survivors in the moments the federal government fails to protect the rights it already guaranteed them. It stands up an independent office
[13:26]to review those claims through a process built to be traumainformed and nonadversarial so that a survivor is not forced to relive the worst the worst of it simply
[13:37]to be supported. And it pays for that relief out of the forfeited proceeds of the very trafficked and exploitation trafficking and exploitation that caused the harm to begin with. Which means
[13:49]accountability and healing are finally written into the same piece of law. I want to say directly to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Gelain Maxwell, you have had some of the darkest
[14:00]chapters of your lives put on display for this entire country and you told the truth anyway over and over when going quiet would have been much easier. You
[14:12]are American heroes and the reason the rest of us get to stand here today is because you refuse to disappear. And to every survivor within the sound
[14:22]of my voice, you ne you need to know that you never have to say those two words. You don't have to raise your hand to be counted and you don't have to lift
[14:33]your voice to belong to this fight. You have an army whether you ever say a word or not. >> You are not alone. We are in this
[14:42]together. So, let's get this bill passed and let's treat survivors healing like the serious and worthy thing that it has always been. Thank you. Sorry. Um, next we'll have Liz Speakman,
[14:59]executive director of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Thank you. >> Good morning. I'm here representing the
[15:13]Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, which was founded over 50 years ago with the mission of supporting survivors in healing and promoting social justice.
[15:24]When our organization was founded in 1973, marital rape was legal and defense attorneys routinely question survivors on the stand about their past sexual
[15:35]history as though having sex at some point in your life meant they must have consented this time. Some would say we've come a long way since then. And we
[15:46]have, but we have a lot farther to go. When we think of what a sexual assault survivor needs, we often think about counseling, legal advocacy, and uh
[15:57]justice through the law enforcement system. And while those critical components to healing, a major factor is often overlooked, which this bill seeks
[16:07]to help remedy. A recent study indicates that sexual assault cost a survivor an average of $160 to $170,000
[16:17]over the course of their lifetime. Through our case management program, we see survivors every day who are paying an additional price for their assault
[16:28]through lost income and missing work, paying for transportation related to court, medical bills piling up, needing to relocate or invest in security
[16:39]cameras, and the list goes on. For example, one survivor with whom we worked was a delivery driver and a passenger assaulted her so severely she
[16:50]was airlifted to the hospital unconscious. She spent weeks in medical care and months more recovering from injuries that reshaped her daily life physically
[17:02]and mentally. She had been earning close to $4,000 a month and was the main income earnner for her family. several years later and she still has
[17:13]not been able to have a full return to work. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center is grateful to Congresswoman Presley for introducing this legislation.
[17:24]This bill would establish the survivors rights restitution program to provide compensation to eligible victims for harm and losses associated with the
[17:35]assault and the violation of their rights by the federal government. Survivors have been paying the price for their assault for far too long.
[17:45]We support this legislation. We know that money is not what heals trauma, but it goes a long way to providing the space, time, and resources
[17:56]to make that path just a little easier. Next up, Dalia Lockach, policy and education manager from World Without
[18:07]Exploitation. Good morning.
[18:18]>> Thank you to Congresswoman Presley for convening us today and for leading on the Survivor Rights Restitution Act. My name is Dalia Edin Lockach and I am the policy and education manager at World
[18:28]Without Exploitation, the largest national anti-ex trafficking coalition in the country. We work with survivor leaders, advocates, and organizations across the United States to end sexual exploitation and sex trafficking and to
[18:40]ensure that public policy reflects survivors lived experiences. The impacts of sexual violence and trafficking on survivors lasts a lifetime. And these impacts are not
[18:50]abstract. They can be emotionally and physically debilitating, but also extremely expensive, bearing costs that are too often expected to be borne by
[19:00]the survivor themsel. medical care, mental health support, lost income and employment, housing bias, legal expenses to refute the never appropriate charge
[19:09]of prostitution. And all of this as if they were being punished for their own abuse. Survivors should never have to foot the bill for their own exploitation.
[19:21]And this is why survivor justice is fundamentally economic justice. When we ask survivors to bear the financial consequences of exploitation, we are asking them to bear the cost of a crime
[19:31]committed against them. How backwards is that? While sex buyers and traffickers must be held accountable for the harm that they cause, they are not the only perpetrators of harm against sex
[19:42]trafficking and sexual abuse survivors. Too often, it is our own government who perpetuates further harm, enables abuse to continue, and drives the retraumatization of victims.
[19:53]When a survivor reports a federal crime, the Crime Victim Rights Act guarantees them specific protections. They have the right to be informed, to be heard, to timely and accurate notice of an accused
[20:03]person's release. These are not favors. They are not aspirational promises. They are rights under federal law aimed to prevent further harm to survivors.
[20:14]The Jeffrey Epstein Sweetheart deal is a stark example of what happens when those rights are not enforced. Many survivors were not informed of advancements in the case, nor of Epstein's 2009 release,
[20:26]where he continued to abuse young women and girls. That was preventable. Sex trafficking and abuse is preventable. Larry Nasser's case showed us this.
[20:36]Countless military sexual assaults told us this. Victim's rights legislation is prevention. Enabling survivors to be active participants in their cases and holding institutions accountable when
[20:48]they fail to do so is prevention. While the Epstein case has brought public attention to these failures, the need for a remedy reaches far beyond it.
[20:58]Survivors of federal sexual offenses need to know that the rights promised to them by law actually means something. And yet, our federal government has routinely violated these rights, putting
[21:09]survivors directly in harm's way and adding to the already long list of costs associated with being exploited. What is it that survivors are told over
[21:19]and over and over again? Speak up. Share your story. Report it. But how dare we ask survivors to upend their lives, put themselves at risk, and subject
[21:30]themselves to scrutiny, and then fail to give them recourse when the government does not uphold its own obligations to them. In cases of sex trafficking, coming forward can mean reporting a
[21:41]father, an uncle, a community leader, or an exceptionally powerful individual. It can mean losing housing, financial support, family, or your entire community. Coming forward is an act of
[21:53]extraordinary bravery. It can protect other people from being exploited by that same trafficker or sex buyer. It can expose a system of abuse that might otherwise continue unchecked. So, how
[22:04]can we ask a survivor to take that step? How can we ask them to trust this justice system and then give them no remedy when that system fails them? That is a gap that the survivors rights
[22:15]restitution act would address. This legislation would create a restitution program for eligible survivors whose rights under the Crime Victim's Rights Acts were violated by the federal government. I want to end by saying this
[22:26]and I want to be very pointed. If the last few months have shown us anything, it is that perpetrators have no political party. We strongly urge
[22:37]Congress to make this bill fiercely bipartisan. >> Our justice system has lost the trust of survivors. There is no better time than right now
[22:47]to start earning it back. The law promised survivors rights. Now we need to give those rights teeth. Let's pass the Survivors Rights Restitution Act. Thank you. And now it is my pleasure to invite up
[23:02]Danny Benky uh sharing a survivor perspective. You want me to hold this? Um sure. Gosh.
[23:11]Thank you. Hello there. First off, I'd like to say it is an absolute privilege and an honor to stand here with such fierce and brave, tremendous advocates, and I would
[23:21]like to thank Congresswoman Presley for her tireless efforts on this bill. She's been incredible working with survivors in tandem to create this, and we're just incredibly grateful. My name is Danny
[23:33]Bensky. I'm a 2004 and 2005 Epstein survivor. Surviving sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation leaves a lasting scar on victims. Exposure to
[23:44]prolonged revictimization is like having a deep cut that can never heal. There is an incessant digging and reopening of the wound through unconscionable
[23:53]exposures and egregious negligence. Our government is responsible for the deep cut remaining unsealed. When survivors aren't granted the opportunity to look forward, but are
[24:05]instead caged in a neverending haunting of their past, there are serious repercussions. Mental health deteriorates, reputational harm can prohibit job opportunities or inv or
[24:16]advancement. There are time, financial, and emotional costs incurred in order to address these very serious disclosures. In the case of Epstein, we have
[24:28]witnessed decades of government failures and clear violations of the Crime Victim's Rights Act. It began as far back as 1996 when the FBI failed to
[24:38]adequately follow up on Maria Farmer's report. Fast forward to 2008, federal prosecutors negotiated the Aosta plea deal behind closed doors and concealed
[24:47]the agreement from survivors, denying us the opportunity to exercise our rights and challenge what was happening in our very own case. And now, decades later,
[24:58]we are facing yet another violation. The exposure and dissemination of our identities and deeply personal information under Todd Blanch's DOJ.
[25:07]Three decades of institutional failure. Three decades of survivors being asked to carry the consequences of decisions made by the very government that was
[25:18]supposed to protect us. As an Epstein survivor, I speak to our case. However, this is so much bigger than Epstein. When our government fails to protect one group of survivors, it sends a message
[25:29]to every survivor of sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation. Our privacy can be sacrificed. Our trauma can be mishandled. But guess who's left to carry the consequences? Those
[25:41]consequences can ex extend across generations. The failures of the DOJ and FBI can create a new layer of generational trauma when our most
[25:51]painful experiences are accessible to our children, families, and communities. Those profound failures don't just affect the survivor, but have very real impact on loved ones that we work
[26:01]tirelessly to protect. For survivors who have been outed by their government, the damage is not a theory. It is an everyday reality. Restitution should not come decades after the damage has
[26:13]compounded. Healing requires resources. Healing requires privacy. Healing requires dignity. And healing requires that survivors be allowed to look
[26:23]forward instead of continually being dragged into the past. This bill offers us a way forward. The Survivors Rights Restitution Act offers a vision that begins with a simple principle. When
[26:35]government institutions cause additional harm to any survivor, survivors deserve meaningful remedy. The bill would create a panel of adjudicators serving
[26:45]four-year terms, including four licensed mental health professionals with clinical expertise. And importantly, it would make payments available quickly so survivors can access the help that they
[26:55]need to recover and address the consequences of trauma and compensate the lost income caused during this unhealed trauma. That really matters. We
[27:06]cannot undo what happened to us, but we can decide what happens next. We can demand accountability from the institutions entrusted with protecting
[27:15]us. We can protect survivors identities. We can enforce the rights that Congress has already written into law. And we can create meaningful restitution when government failure causes additional
[27:26]harm. The goal is not to erase the past. The goal is to close the wound and ensure that future generations don't have to bear their mother's scars. Survivors deserve more than sympathy. We
[27:37]all deserve accountability, truth, and justice. And above all, we all deserve the opportunity to heal. >> Thank you. Thank you. I would like to um
[27:48]bring up uh Toronto Burke. >> Oh, nope. Sorry. Just kidding. We already did that. That's it. It's just me. Thank you. And pass it back to Congresswoman Presley. Thank you so much.
[28:00]>> Perfect. Perfect. [laughter] >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um, I know I I have to get to committee uh imminently here. So, um, but I'm grateful for you all being here
[28:10]and happy to answer any uh on topic questions. >> Yeah, I'm wondering what's going to take this bill. Do you
[28:21]think it has the support right now? What do you need to do to get the support? >> Yeah. will um you know whether we're talking about uh the ERRA or reparations
[28:32]or uh cancelling student debt, I like to do hard things. Um and so um but I I am very uh heartened by um our jump start here. Uh very grateful for the support
[28:44]of our ranking member on oversight, uh Robert Gar, Congressman Robert Garcia, um also Terresa Laser Fernandez, um from the Democratic Women's Caucus, our chair, um and also Congresswoman Deborah
[28:55]Ross. So we have as lead co-sponsors on this uh great uh geographic um and even ideological uh diversity. Um and we have
[29:05]u you know 40 um co-sponsors and growing um it's just a matter of getting in front of as many people as possible uh and then you know making the case. This
[29:17]is not a partisan issue. Um with the Epstein survivors, we have been able to successfully reach across the aisle uh and enlist the partnership of people of conscience uh in the work of survivors
[29:29]uh healing, justice and and accountability uh for uh all who have abused them. So I think the same will be true here. >> Sexual violence unfortunately is a
[29:40]universal experience. Every community has been impacted by sexual violence. for black survivors, especially black women, but also black children, black men, black queer and trans people, their
[29:51]stories are often further into the margins. Why is it important to also highlight those survivors? And how can standing in solidarity with those survivors sort of push the country uh
[30:02]forward when we know that this country often divided by issues of race, gender, and sexuality? Yeah, I do think it's [clears throat] important to continue to that our mo to showcase that this is a
[30:14]movement that is intersectional and inclusive and representative of of all people uh that have been harmed and uh as you said there's great diversity there. Uh unfortunately this is not a
[30:25]crime that discriminates. Uh and we'll continue to be very intentional in our storytelling so that people understand that the face of this uh moral failing
[30:36]uh this humanitarian uh crisis of these crimes is every type of person from every walk of life. Um and we'll continue to be uh intentional in in
[30:47]showing that story, telling that story and showcasing that. >> And I wonder do you want to say something more about that? >> Yeah. about the need to have diverse person. [laughter] Thank you.
[30:58]>> Yeah, I think um as I said in my comments, you know, um black women, girls, and fems make up 40% of all sex trafficking victims in this country. And
[31:08]so I think it is important to keep the people who are most affected by this. And that's that's, you know, not to talk about not to leave out Latino and indigenous folks who also make up a high
[31:19]percentage in relation to their population in this country. And so at Me Too, we definitely center the most marginalized um people, but that that ensures that everybody gets what they
[31:31]need. And so to answer your question, why it's important to keep black women and fems and girls and indigenous folks and that's, you know, uh other folks of color who are disproportionately
[31:42]affected by sexual violence at the center is because when you start with the people who have the least, [music] you make sure everybody gets what they need. And that's what the congresswoman has always been committed to. She's one of our disruptors and our disruptors
[31:53]council and that's what we're committed to at me too and and the movement and I know the other folks who work on this feel the same way. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Quote her.
[32:03]>> Okay. [laughter] Go ahead. >> Attorney General Todd Blanch is hosting today's White House press briefing considering uh your concerns and many members of Congress concerns around the
[32:15]handling of the files. What is your message to him? >> [laughter] >> I I don't want to give a message to him.
[32:26]I mean, I think, you know, the the the abusers, the obstructionists, the predators, the white supremacists, you know, they get enough oxygen. You know, today is really about um the survivors.
[32:35]Um you know, history will will judge him um harshly. Um, and I I would also say it's why uh we're working so hard uh to
[32:46]return as the governing majority um so that we can uh particularly in my role in the oversight committee uh wield that power of subpoena and hold all abusers
[32:56]uh accountable who have evaded um evaded justice, obstructed uh accountability. Uh and so I'm I'm looking forward to that.
[33:07]>> Yeah. Okay. Anything else? Yes. On the House oversight committee. >> Absolutely.
[33:22]Yeah. We will absolutely hold him in in in criminal contempt. Um and um you know, he's another one that has uh you know, been obstructing. He's been openly
[33:33]defiant of our two congressional subpoenas. Uh we continue to move on a bipartisan basis to hold him in criminal contempt of Congress.
[33:43]Okay. Thank you. All right.