Senator Hutchison Introduces Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), joined by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (T-TX), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Bob Corker (R-TN), has introduced S. 2338, which would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

"I support reauthorization of this important legislation to protect victims of domestic abuse and violence. It's important to note that the last reauthorization of VAWA passed the Senate by unanimous consent," said Sen. Hutchison. "The reauthorization reported by the Judiciary Committee contains a handful of problematic provisions that undermine the goal of continued bipartisan support. The strong, credible bill we've introduced earlier this week parallels the committee-reported bill in most respects, including funding authorization. But we've added provisions that will update and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act in several important ways that can be supported by both Republicans and Democrats. Our bill will help victims of domestic violence, toughen criminal penalties, and shore up problems with Justice Department oversight of VAWA programs. Our bill also responds to controversial provisions of the committee-reported bill with common-sense help for Native Americans, immigrants, and others who are victims of domestic violence."

"I care deeply about these issues," added Sen. Hutchison. "When I was in the Texas legislature, I learned there was a serious problem with the reporting and prosecution of rape. The state statute at that time discouraged reporting because of embarrassment to the victim and the difficulty in obtaining a conviction. In 1975, I led the effort to strengthen victim protections, which included limiting leading questions asked by law enforcement officials and attorneys, and redefining the meaning of consent, all of which enhanced the privacy rights of victims. My bill became the model other states used to strengthen victim protections throughout the country."

"Moreover, the Hutchison bill created the National AMBER Alert system, through which more than 550 abducted children have been reunited with their parents. I've also been a strong supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a critical national resource that saves lives each day. And I also helped to write the first federal anti-stalking law - and one of the most important similarities between S. 1925 and my VAWA bill is inclusion of the updated cyber-stalking legislation that Senator Klobuchar and I introduced earlier in this Congress."

S. 2338 has been endorsed by:

* Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
* National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
* Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)
* Shared Hope International
* PROTECT (pro-child and anti-crime organization)

Among the key provisions of the bill:

Protecting Victims

* Increases the percentage of STOP grants that must be targeted to sexual assault to 30%. S. 1925 requires only 20% of grants to be used to target sexual assault.
* Requires that 70% of rape kit funding be used to reduce the backlog in testing rape kits. S.1925 allocates 40% of funding for rape kits testing.
* Creates a 10-year mandatory minimum for federal convictions for forcible rape, bringing the minimum more in line with federal guidelines. S.1925 contains only a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence.
* Creates a 1-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of child pornography in which the victim depicted is under 12 years of age. There is no corresponding provision in S.1925.
* Creates a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence for the crime of aggravated sexual assault through the use of drugs or by otherwise rendering the victim unconscious. S.1925 lacks this provision.
* Creates a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence for the crime of interstate domestic violence that results in the death of the victim. S.1925 lacks this provision.
* Grants administrative subpoena power to the U.S. Marshals Service to help them discharge their duty of tracking and apprehending unregistered sex offenders. There is no corresponding provision in S.1925.
* Inserts gender-neutral language in all relevant provisions. S. 1925 seeks to categorize, rather than ensure equal access to VAWA services for all victims.
* Contains a bipartisan-supported cyber-stalking bill, S. 1928, the Stalkers Act. This is identical language to S. 1925.

Fiscal Responsibility

* Funds the VAWA program at $682.5 million per year, which is the same funding level contained in S. 1925.
* Does not increase the federal deficit. S. 1925 would add $105 million to the budget deficit.
* Addresses recurring problems reported by the Inspector General with lax grant administration and oversight by the Department of Justice. Our bill addresses these IG concerns by including an annual requirement that 10% of grantees be audited, and a limit of 7.5% of appropriated funds on administrative costs.

Immigrant Status

* Maintains the current U visa program at a maximum of 10,000 visas per year. S. 1925 authorizes unused U visas from previous years to be used in future years. (This provision is the principle cause of the CBO's calculation that S. 1925 will add $105 million to the budget deficit.)

Native Americans

* Allows tribal councils to seek protective orders in federal court on behalf of affected Native American women. S. 1925 does not have a parallel provision.
* S. 1925 includes a provision that would extend tribal court criminal jurisdiction to non-Indian members. The Congressional Research Service has released a memo that outlines a number of constitutional concerns regarding the approach taken in S. 1925.

Senator Hutchison has compiled an extraordinary record on behalf of America's women, including:

Marriage Tax Penalty: The 2001 tax reduction bill included provisions sponsored by Senator Hutchison to repeal the marriage penalty, and the 2003 tax cuts expedited that relief. Congress took another important step with the passage of H.R. 1308, the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, which protects married couples by providing full relief through 2010. The broad tax agreement enacted last December (P.L. 111-312, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010) extended relief for this through December 31, 2012. In the 112th Congress, Sen. Hutchison introduced S. 11, which provides for permanent relief.

Homemaker IRA: Beginning in 1997, Congress authorized the Homemaker IRA. This legislation allowed homemakers who are non-wage earners to make equal, fully deductible contributions to individual retirement accounts. Women have traditionally been at a disadvantage in saving for retirement because they spend time in and out of the workforce. Contributions of $5,000 for each spouse are allowed in 2011 ($5,000 in 2012 as well) if the couple's wages or self-employment earnings are $10,000 or more.

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