[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6034 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6034

   To criminalize stalking using an unauthorized geotracking device, 
  modify the 10-year marriage rule relating to spouse's and surviving 
spouse's insurance benefits in cases of domestic violence, ensure that 
healthcare providers can assist survivors of domestic violence, provide 
additional housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 24, 2023

                Mrs. Sykes introduced the following bill

                            October 25, 2023

  Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
 Committees on Ways and Means, and Financial Services, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To criminalize stalking using an unauthorized geotracking device, 
  modify the 10-year marriage rule relating to spouse's and surviving 
spouse's insurance benefits in cases of domestic violence, ensure that 
healthcare providers can assist survivors of domestic violence, provide 
additional housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safer Homes and Families Act''.

SEC. 2. STALKING PENALTY.

    Section 2261A of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Whoever'' and inserting ``(a) In 
        General.--Whoever'';
            (2) by inserting after ``uses the mail,'' the following: 
        ``uses an unauthorized geotracking device''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `geotracking device' means an electronic or 
        mechanical device that permits a person to remotely determine 
        or track the position and movement of another person.
            ``(2) The term `unauthorized' means, with respect to a 
        geotracking device, that the person on whom the geotracking 
        device is being used has not consented to such use or otherwise 
        revoked consent to such use.''.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF 10-YEAR MARRIAGE RULE IN CASES OF DOMESTIC 
              VIOLENCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 216(d) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 416(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9)(A) In the case of a divorced woman described in 
        paragraph (1) or (2) or a divorced man described in paragraph 
        (4) or (5) who provides to the Commissioner of Social Security 
        a finding made by a court of law that the divorced woman or 
        divorced man was the victim of domestic violence committed by 
        the spouse during the course of the marriage, such paragraph as 
        may be applicable with respect to such divorced woman or 
        divorced man shall be applied for purposes of this title by 
        substituting `5 years' for `10 years'.
            ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `domestic 
        violence' has the meaning given such term in section 40002(a) 
        of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.''.
    (b) Termination of Wife's Insurance Benefits.--Section 202(b) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(b)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(5) In the case of any divorced wife who provides to the 
Commissioner of Social Security a finding made by a court of law that 
the divorced wife was the victim of domestic violence (as defined in 
section 216(d)(9)(B)) committed by the spouse during the course of the 
marriage, clause (ii) of paragraph (1)(G) shall be applied by 
substituting `5 years' for `10 years'.''.
    (c) Termination of Husband's Insurance Benefits.--Section 202(c) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(c)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(5) In the case of any divorced husband who provides to the 
Commissioner of Social Security a finding made by a court of law that 
the divorced husband was the victim of domestic violence (as defined in 
section 216(d)(9)(B)) committed by the spouse, clause (ii) of paragraph 
(1)(G) shall be applied by substituting `5 years' for `10 years'.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to monthly insurance benefits for months beginning 
at least 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON TRAUMA-INFORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED 
              TRAINING FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle Q of title IV of the Violent Crime 
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12513 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 41702. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON TRAUMA-INFORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED 
              TRAINING FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `Attorney General' means the Attorney 
        General, acting through the Director of the Office on Violence 
        Against Women;
            ``(2) the term `Secretary'? means the Secretary of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services;
            ``(3) the term `covered individual' means an individual who 
        interfaces with victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
        sexual assault, and stalking, including--
                    ``(A) an individual working for or on behalf of an 
                eligible entity;
                    ``(B) an administrator or personnel of a school, 
                university, or other educational program or activity 
                (including a campus police officer or a school resource 
                officer); and
                    ``(C) an emergency services employee;
            ``(4) the term `eligible entity' means a facility as 
        described in paragraph (1), (2), (4), (5), or (6) of section 
        1624 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300s-3); and
            ``(5) the term `mandatory partner' means a national, 
        regional, or local victim services organization or agency 
        working in collaboration with a facility described in paragraph 
        (4).
    ``(b) Grants Authorized.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
        with the Secretary, shall award grants on a competitive basis 
        to eligible entities to collaborate with their mandatory 
        partners to carry out the demonstration program under this 
        section by implementing evidence-based or promising 
        investigative policies and practices to incorporate trauma-
        informed, victim-centered techniques designed to--
                    ``(A) prevent re-traumatization of the victim;
                    ``(B) ensure that covered individuals use evidence-
                based practices to identify, respond to, and treat 
                cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
                assault, and stalking;
                    ``(C) increase collaboration among stakeholders who 
                are part of the coordinated community response to 
                domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
                stalking; and
                    ``(D) evaluate the effectiveness of the training 
                process and content.
            ``(2) Award basis.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
        with the Secretary, shall award grants under this section to 
        multiple eligible entities for use in a variety of settings and 
        communities, including--
                    ``(A) urban, suburban, Tribal, remote, and rural 
                areas;
                    ``(B) college campuses; or
                    ``(C) traditionally underserved communities.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use the grant to--
            ``(1) train covered individuals associated with the 
        eligible entity to use evidence-based, trauma-informed, and 
        victim-centered techniques to identify and treat individuals 
        who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
        assault, or stalking, including by--
                    ``(A) customizing treatment approaches to ensure a 
                culturally and linguistically appropriate approach to 
                the community being served;
                    ``(B) becoming proficient in understanding and 
                responding to complex cases, including cases of 
                domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
                stalking--
                            ``(i) facilitated by alcohol or drugs;
                            ``(ii) involving strangulation;
                            ``(iii) committed by a non-stranger;
                            ``(iv) committed by an individual of the 
                        same sex as the victim;
                            ``(v) involving a victim with a disability;
                            ``(vi) involving a male victim; or
                            ``(vii) involving a lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
                        or transgender (commonly referred to as `LGBT') 
                        victim;
                    ``(C) developing collaborative relationships 
                between--
                            ``(i) healthcare providers, law enforcement 
                        officers, and other members of the response 
                        team; and
                            ``(ii) the community being served; and
                    ``(D) developing an understanding of how to define, 
                identify, and correctly classify a report of domestic 
                violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 
                and
            ``(2) promote the efforts of the eligible entity to improve 
        the response of covered individuals to domestic violence, 
        dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through various 
        communication channels, such as the website of the eligible 
        entity, social media, print materials, and community meetings, 
        in order to ensure that all covered individuals associated with 
        the eligible entity are aware of those efforts and included in 
        trainings, to the extent practicable.
    ``(d) Demonstration Program Trainings on Trauma-Informed, Victim-
Centered Approaches.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
        with the Secretary, shall identify trainings for covered 
        individuals, in existence as of the date on which the Attorney 
        General begins to solicit applications for grants under this 
        section, that--
                    ``(A) employ a trauma-informed, victim-centered 
                approach to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
                assault, and stalking; and
                    ``(B) focus on the fundamentals of--
                            ``(i) trauma responses;
                            ``(ii) the impact of trauma on victims of 
                        domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
                        assault, and stalking; and
                            ``(iii) techniques for effectively treating 
                        the medical consequences of domestic violence, 
                        dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
            ``(2) Selection.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
        under this section shall select one or more of the approaches 
        employed by a training identified under paragraph (1) to test 
        at the eligible entity.
    ``(e) Evaluations.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General and the Secretary, 
        in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of 
        Justice, shall require each eligible entity that receives a 
        grant under this section to identify a research partner, 
        preferably a local research partner, to--
                    ``(A) design a system for generating and collecting 
                the appropriate data to facilitate an independent 
                process or impact evaluation of the use of the grant 
                funds;
                    ``(B) periodically conduct an evaluation described 
                in subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) periodically make publicly available, during 
                the grant period--
                            ``(i) preliminary results of the 
                        evaluations conducted under subparagraph (B); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) recommendations for improving the 
                        use of the grant funds.
            ``(2) GAO report.--Not later than three years after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller General 
        of the United States shall submit to the Committees on Ways and 
        Means, Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committees on Judiciary and on Finance 
        of the Senate a report summarizing the implementation of this 
        section.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028 to carry out this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Violent 
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 10101 note) is 
amended by inserting after the item related to section 41701 the 
following:

``41702. Demonstration program on trauma-informed, victim-centered 
                            training for healthcare providers.''.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPOSITION OF FEES FOR EARLY LEASE 
              TERMINATION.

    Section 41411 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 
12491) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Prohibition on the Imposition of Fees for Early Lease 
Termination.--
            ``(1) Voluntary exit.--An applicant for or tenant of 
        housing assisted under a covered housing program may 
        voluntarily exit a lease for housing earlier than the end date 
        of such lease on the basis that the applicant or tenant has 
        been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
        assault, or stalking.
            ``(2) Fee prohibition.--Notwithstanding any lease 
        agreement, an applicant or tenant described in paragraph (1) 
        may not be charged a fee for exiting a lease for housing 
        earlier than the end date of such lease on the basis described 
        in paragraph (1).''.
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