Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as many in this Chamber know, I am very proud of the many ways my home State of Washington is leading the way. Our State is an economic leader. We are home to the American aerospace industry, we have a thriving agricultural sector, and dozens of companies creating new products and new jobs with cutting-edge technology. We are a leader in protecting the environment and educating our children. Washington State is also the place that tens of thousands of servicemembers and veterans call home.

Last, but not least, I could not be more proud of our State's history of protecting the rights of all of our citizens, including members of the LGBT community. We know in Washington State that it is wrong to discriminate against people. We know that a person's race, religion, or gender have nothing to do with their worth as a human being, and we know that actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity don't either. We get that in my home State of Washington, but we can't stop working until the same is true in all 50 States, and that is why I have come to the Senate floor today.

I want to share with everyone a story about a young man by the name of Kris. Kris will be the first to tell you he has not led the easiest of lives. After turning 18 years old and aging out of the foster care system in Texas, Kris found himself homeless at 18 years old in Houston and sleeping on whatever park bench or apartment roof was available to him that evening.

As luck would have it, one night while Kris was searching for a public restroom to use, he stumbled on an admissions fair for the University of Houston's downtown campus. Kris had always had ambitions to go to college, but because of his very unstable childhood and minimal income, pursuing higher education was never a priority. Once he learned that night that tuition for the school was waived for foster system alumni, this dream seemed more like a reality so Kris decided to enroll.

He went to school, declared his major in social work, and settled into college life. He made friends and participated in extracurricular activities on campus.

In fact, Kris got so involved that one of his good friends, Isaac, invited him to be his running mate for the upcoming student government election. Kris was very excited about that idea and realized it was his opportunity to make a real difference for many of the students on campus who had been through some of the same trying experiences he had.

Kris and Isaac kicked off their campaign and pursued elective office. Then 1 day--in fact 1 year ago this month--Kris was called into the dean of students office. Kris sat down and the dean reached into his briefcase and pulled out a stack of fliers with Kris's photo on each and every one of them with a big X across his picture. In big, bold letters across the top of the flier, it read: ``WANT AIDS?'' Across the bottom of that flier it read: ``Don't Support the Isaac and Kris Homosexual Agenda.'' On the back of the flier--unbelievably--was a copy of Kris's official private medical record displaying in plain view that Kris was HIV positive. Stunning. I am sure every one of you are as stunned as I was.

The dean then informed Kris that these had been found all over the campus. As if the situation couldn't get any worse, the dean told Kris that there is nothing the university or the administration could do about it--nothing.

At one point Kris said the administration even accused him of being responsible for these acts. Kris was told the administration's sole responsibility was to simply inform him this was going on and nothing more. They just had to make sure he knew about it.

Kris was told that words such as homosexual or AIDS were proper terms, protected speech, and not grounds for punishment.

As you can imagine, Kris was devastated. He didn't attend class for weeks after that. His friends, family, and loved ones started to seriously worry about his well-being.

In the meantime, the word of this and Kris's status as HIV positive, as you can imagine, spread like wildfire across the campus. While Kris had been out to a small group of friends, there was no going back once the local paper picked up on the story which eventually circulated in the national media.

Thankfully, there is a happy ending to this heartbreaking story. In yet another example of how the younger generation in our country is swiftly helping to turn the tide against intolerance, Kris and Isaac won that election, and Kris served a term as the student body vice president. Kris has now moved on to serve in a different but somewhat similar capacity, and that is as a congressional intern here in my office in Washington, DC. I am proud to say that Kris is here with us on the floor today. And just like the fate he found that one night in search of a public restroom, Kris now has another chance to be part of a life-changing experience because today I have come to the floor to reintroduce the Tyler Clemente Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2014.

As many of you may remember, this legislation is named after Tyler Clemente. He was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University. Back in 2010, without his knowledge, Tyler's roommate streamed video footage on the Internet of Tyler in his dorm room being intimate with another male. After his roommate and another student invaded his privacy in such a serious way and continued to harass him over the Internet, Tyler leapt off the George Washington Bridge and sadly took his own life.

When I sat down and spoke with Kris about this recently, he told me how his story was very close to ending just like Tyler's story. He didn't have anyone on campus to turn to. Since the administration said they were unable to do anything about this hate crime, Kris felt he had no opportunity for closure.

Kris told me:

For most young people, when things like that happen, we have got to have people who are going to be proactive in helping them. And not someone telling them there's nothing we can do to help you.

Quite shockingly, despite statistics telling us that LGBT students are nearly twice as likely to experience harassment when compared to their heterosexual peers, there is no Federal requirement that colleges and universities have policies to protect their students from harassment.

That is why I feel so strongly about this legislation.

The legislation I am introducing will require colleges and universities that receive Federal aid to establish anti-harassment policies for students no matter who they are or what they identify with, and they will be required to have the language of those policies easily accessible. It will recognize cyber bullying of all kinds as serious means of harassment. Finally, the Tyler Clementi act authorizes competitive grants for schools to initiate or expand programs to prevent these kinds of things from happening, to provide counseling for victims of the accused, and to train everyone on campus about how to prevent this in the future.

When I was back home last week in Spokane, I told Kris's story, just as I did today, and talked about the desperate need for these kinds of protections. I am sure, as with many of those listening, most of my constituents were pretty surprised to learn these policies aren't already in place at all of our institutions of higher learning. I couldn't agree more. Why aren't colleges and universities across our country all being proactive in establishing these programs and points of contact for students such as Tyler or Kris who have experienced or could experience such a life-changing event?

While many schools currently have successful prevention and counseling programs in place, students shouldn't have to take their health and safety into account when they decide where they are going to study in this country.

Kris recounted for me how each day during this horrible experience he would awaken, and there were 5 or 6 seconds where he would feel normal again, as if nothing had happened. But then reality would set in, and it felt as though a ton of bricks had fallen on top of him. Fortunately for Kris, he was able to lean on the campus LGBT community for support during this very trying time. But he said:

If I hadn't reached out to the community, I probably wouldn't be here today. Every day going to school felt like a battlefield.

Unfortunately, there are others similar to Kris who don't have that point of contact on campus--a supportive parent or a tight-knit group of friends who help them get through these kinds of experiences.

I am very proud to be here today, with the support of my outstanding cosponsor, Senator Baldwin, to take a major step to change this.

I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to pay tribute to my friend Senator Frank Lautenberg and his staff for their tireless work to craft this original bill which serves as a tremendous honor to the life of Tyler Clementi. No student, whether they are gay or straight or Black or White or Christian or Muslim, should have to face discrimination and harassment in pursuit of their education. While I know it is impossible to eradicate all bad behavior from our society, we have to arm our campuses with the tools and resources necessary to not only efficiently and effectively support the victims but also to take action against those who have perpetrated such senseless crimes.

That is why I am here today. I am very proud to introduce this legislation.

I wish to thank Kris for his courage in speaking out and his ability to be here today to make sure no other student in our country ever has to go through what he did.

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