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---
title: Congress Will Read Stanford Sexual-Assault Victim&#x27;s Letter
description: U.S. Representative Jackie Speier will lead a bipartisan exercise in reading the Stanford sexual assault victim&#x27;s statement aloud
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author: Daniel White
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article:published_time: 2016-06-09T23:43:38.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:30:45.565Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: Congress Will Read the Stanford Sexual-Assault Victim&#x27;s Letter Aloud
og:description: The statement will be entered into congressional record
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twitter:description: The statement will be entered into congressional record
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# Congress Will Read Stanford Sexual-Assault Victim's Letter Aloud

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by 

[Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/)


## Daniel White


Jun 9, 2016 11:43 PM UTC

![Women's Health Presser](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86041a5e06e8de67/69889732ab6d77ae356aa019/jackie-speier.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

California Representative Jackie Speier attends a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2016

California Representative Jackie Speier attends a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2016 Tom Williams—AP

by 

[Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/)


## Daniel White


Jun 9, 2016 11:43 PM UTC

Members of Congress will [read the letter](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stanford-sexual-assault-victim-letter-congress%5Fus%5F5758d597e4b00f97fba74969?section=politics) from the woman who was sexually assaulted by a former Stanford University student on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Next week, California Representative Jackie Speier will sponsor a special order, according to the Huffington Post, where fellow members will read from [the statement](http://motto.time.com/4357618/stanford-sexual-assault-victim-letter/) over the course of an hour. It is expected to be a bipartisan exercise.

Speier and Texas Representative Ted Poe read excerpts from the victims letter on the House floor Thursday, putting the word’s of the woman into the congressional record.

[Brock Turner](http://motto.time.com/4361069/stanford-victim-explains-staying-anonymous-for-now-i-am-every-woman/), then a member of the Stanford swim team, was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman in January 2015 and the trial — [especially Turner’s sentencing](http://time.com/4363538/brock-turner-stanford-sexual-assault-swimmer/), which critics have said is too lenient — has attracted national attention. The victim in the case read her statement aloud in court and published it online last week, where it went viral.

Vice President Joe Biden [penned an open letter in response to the statement earlier Thursday](http://time.com/4363084/joe-biden-standford-sexual-assault/), noting that her words and bravery meant something to victims of sexual assault across the world.

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