[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 590 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 590

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness 
  Month and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
  Congress should raise awareness of domestic violence in the United 
    States and its devastating effects on families and communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2007

 Mr. Poe (for himself, Mr. Costa, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mrs. McCarthy 
of New York, Mr. Markey, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. 
   Holden, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
 Jefferson, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Ellison, Mrs. Drake, 
Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, Mr. Allen, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Michaud, 
  Mrs. Biggert, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Berman, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Bishop of 
 Georgia, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Nadler, 
 Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. Carney, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Wynn, Mrs. 
     Christensen, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of 
 California, Mr. Ruppersberger, and Mr. Shays) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness 
  Month and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
  Congress should raise awareness of domestic violence in the United 
    States and its devastating effects on families and communities.

Whereas one in four women will experience domestic violence sometime in her 
        life;
Whereas domestic violence affects people of all ages, racial, ethnic, economic, 
        and religious backgrounds;
Whereas women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rates, per capita, of 
        intimate partner violence;
Whereas 13 percent of teenage girls who have been in a relationship report being 
        hit or hurt by their partners and one in four teenage girls has been in 
        a relationship in which she was pressured into performing sexual acts by 
        her partner;
Whereas there is a need for middle schools, secondary schools, and post-
        secondary schools to educate students about the issues of domestic 
        violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking;
Whereas the annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is 
        estimated as $727,800,000 with over $7,900,000 paid workdays lost per 
        year;
Whereas homicides were the second leading cause of death on the job for women, 
        with 15 percent of the 119 workplace homicides of women in 2003 
        attributed to a current or former husband or boyfriend;
Whereas landlords frequently deny housing to victims of domestic violence who 
        have protection orders or evict victims of domestic violence for seeking 
        help, such as by calling 911, after a domestic violence incident or who 
        have other indications that they are domestic violence victims;
Whereas 92 percent of homeless women experience severe physical or sexual abuse 
        at some point in their lifetimes;
Whereas Americans suffer 2,200,000 medically treated injuries due to 
        interpersonal violence annually, at a cost of $37,000,000,000 
        ($33,000,000,000 in productivity losses, $4,000,000,000 in medical 
        treatment);
Whereas people aged 15 to 44 years comprise 44 percent of the population, but 
        account for nearly 75 percent of injuries and 83 percent of costs due to 
        interpersonal violence;
Whereas 40 to 60 percent of men who abuse women also abuse children;
Whereas male children exposed to domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse 
        their own partners;
Whereas children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to attempt 
        suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home, and engage in 
        teenage prostitution;
Whereas adolescent girls who reported dating violence were 60 percent more 
        likely to report one or more suicide attempts in the past year;
Whereas 13.7 percent of the victims of murder-suicide cases were the children of 
        the perpetrator and 74.6 percent were female while 91.9 percent of the 
        perpetrators were male; in 30 percent of those cases the male 
        perpetrator also committed suicide;
Whereas a 2001 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 
        homicide among intimate partners found that female intimate partners are 
        more likely to be murdered with a firearm than all other means combined;
Whereas according to one study, during court ordered visitation, five percent of 
        abusive fathers threaten to kill their spouses, 34 percent of abusive 
        fathers threaten to kidnap their children, and 25 percent of abusive 
        fathers threaten to physically hurt their children;
Whereas homicide is the third leading cause of death for Native American women 
        and 75 percent of Native American women who are killed are killed by a 
        family member or an acquaintance;
Whereas 88 percent of men think that our society should do more to respect women 
        and girls;
Whereas men say that the entertainment industry, government leaders and elected 
        officials, the sports industry, schools, colleges and universities, the 
        news media and employers should be doing more to prevent intimate 
        partner violence;
Whereas there is a need to increase funding for programs carried out under the 
        Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 
        2005 (VAWA 2005), Public Law 109-162, aimed at intervening and 
        preventing domestic violence in the United States; and
Whereas individuals and organizations that are dedicated to preventing and 
        ending domestic violence should be recognized: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Domestic 
        Violence Awareness Month; and
            (2) expresses the sense of the House of Representatives 
        that Congress should continue to raise awareness of domestic 
        violence in the United States and its devastating effects on 
        families and communities.
                                 <all>