III 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 373 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 16, 2006 Mr. Biden (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Specter) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Senate should continue to support the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a critical national resource that saves lives each day, and commemorate its 10th anniversary.

Whereas 2006 marks the 10th year that the Hotline has been answering calls and saving lives; Whereas, 10 years ago this month, the Hotline answered its first call; Whereas the Hotline is a project of the Texas Council on Family Violence headquartered in Austin, Texas, and provides crisis intervention, information, and referral to victims of domestic violence, their friends, and their families; Whereas the Hotline operates 24 hours a day and 365 days a year; Whereas the Hotline provides its users with anonymous assistance in more than 140 different languages, and a telecommunications device for the deaf, deaf-blind, and hard of hearing; Whereas the Hotline was created by Congress in the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–322; 108 Stat. 1902); Whereas Congress continues its commitment to families of the United States by strengthening and renewing this important legislation in 2000 and most recently in December, 2005; Whereas, since taking its first call in 1996, the Hotline has answered over 1,500,000 calls; Whereas, since its inception, the Hotline has become a vital link to safety for victims of domestic violence and their families; Whereas today, Hotline advocates answer as many as 600 calls per day and an average of 16,500 calls per month from women, men, and children from across the United States; Whereas, as public awareness grows about domestic violence, the Hotline has seen a significant increase in call volume, with calls to the Hotline increasing by 200 percent over the last 10 years; Whereas, because no victim should ever get a busy signal, the Hotline recently unveiled cutting edge technology that will allow more victims to connect to life saving services; and Whereas the 10th anniversary of the Hotline marks a true partnership between the Federal Government and private businesses as each has come together in a collaborative effort to save lives: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate should— (1)continue to support the National Domestic Violence Hotline; and (2)commemorate the 10th anniversary of this critical national resource that saves lives each day.