Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 47, the Senate-passed version of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. I want to thank the Speaker for bringing this bill to the floor for debate.

In a time when we must resolve some real disagreements on how to move our country forward, I'm pleased that we're taking this important step towards the shared goal of reauthorizing the landmark Violence Against Women Act. However, I cannot support the House substitute amendment, because it fails to include critical improvements passed by a large bipartisan margin in the Senate that would strengthen our efforts to combat violence against women.

I'm particularly disappointed that this amendment omits provisions that would enable tribes to address domestic violence in Indian country. This is an issue that's critical in my district. The Lummi Nation, for example, which I visited just last week in Bellingham, Washington, has seen significant increases in violence against women over the past several years. The House substitute would continue to allow for disparate treatment of Indian and non-Indian offenders, while the bipartisan Senate bill includes key provisions that fill this legal gap.

There are many other ways in which the House substitute amendment unfortunately falls short.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to oppose the substitute amendment and support the Senate-passed reauthorization bill.

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