Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, the Violence Against Women Act has saved lives, reducing domestic violence by half. Our colleagues in the Senate have embraced this fact and passed a bipartisan reauthorization bill that makes sense. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about H.R. 4970.

My Republican friends have good intentions. I believe they want to protect victims of domestic violence just as much as I do, but to be effective, however, our legislation has to address the problems as they exist. H.R. 4970 does not. The bill makes reporting abuse more difficult, forces shelters and counselors to spend more of their precious resources on unnecessary paperwork, and fails to extend protection to the LGBT Americans. One of the most striking deficiencies is its failure to protect immigrant victims of abuse.

Because of their status, immigrants are often scared to report crimes of violence. This fear results in more damage to their communities as the violence escalates. But law enforcement has the powerful tool to combat these crimes--the U visa program, which protects immigrants if they report abuse.

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