[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 108 (Thursday, September 14, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to express my strong 
support for S. 2787, the Violence Against Women Protection Act of 2000. 
It is critically important that the Congress soon pass this legislation 
to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and to continue the 
progress made since the Act was first passed in 1994.
  I am proud to have been a cosponsor of both the original Violence 
Against Women Act, VAWA as well as S. 2787 and other legislation 
introduced in the 106th Congress to reauthorize VAWA. Through a $1.6 
billion grants program, VAWA has provided hundreds of thousands of 
women with shelter to protect their families, established a national 
toll-free hotline which has responded to innumerable calls for help, 
and funded domestic violence prevention programs across the Nation. 
Most importantly, VAWA has provided a new emphasis on domestic violence 
as a critical problem that cannot be tolerated or ignored.
  In my own State of Maryland, the funding provided by VAWA is 
essential to the continued operation of facilities like Heartly House 
in Frederick, Maryland, which provides shelter to battered women, 
accompanies rape victims on hospital visits, and assists women in 
crisis in numerous other ways. In Baltimore City, VAWA funds have 
helped create a dedicated docket in the District Court which has 
effectively increased the number of domestic violence cases prosecuted. 
In Montgomery County, Maryland, VAWA funds provide victims with legal 
representation in civil protective order hearings. Importantly, the 
staff for this program is located inside the Courthouse, making it easy 
and safe for victims to get the help that they need. VAWA funds are 
being used creatively in Garrett County, where the Sheriff's Department 
purchased a four wheel drive vehicle so that their domestic violence 
team can travel to remote areas of the county--overcoming the feelings 
of isolation many victims feel, particularly in the winter months.
  Programs like these are working in Maryland and all across the 
country to reduce the incidence of domestic violence. And, according to 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics, VAWA is working. Intimate partners 
committed fewer murders in 1996, 1997, and 1998 than in any other year 
since 1976. Likewise, the number of female victims of intimate partner 
violence declined from 1993 to 1998; in 1998, women experienced an 
estimated 876,340 violent offenses at the hands of a partner, down from 
1.1 million in 1993.
  But despite these successes, clearly the incidence of violence 
against women and families remains too high. According to the National 
Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), over 50 percent of all 
women will experience physical violence in an intimate relationship, 
and for 24-30 percent of those women the battering will be regular and 
on-going. Additionally, the NCADV reports that between 50 and 70 
percent of men who abuse their female partners also abuse their 
children.
  Even though strides have been made, we still have a long way to go 
before domestic violence is evicted from our homes and communities. It 
is critically important that we not allow VAWA to expire, and that we 
take this opportunity to reauthorize VAWA and build upon its success. 
The Violence Against Women Protection Act of 2000 will authorize more 
than $3 billion over five years for VAWA grant program and make 
important improvements to the original statute. For example, S. 2787 
will authorize a new temporary housing program to help move women out 
of shelters and into more stable living accommodations. S. 2787 will 
also make it easier for battered immigrant women to leave their abusers 
without fear of deportation, and target additional funds to combatting 
domestic violence on college campuses. Finally, the legislation will 
improve procedures to allow states to enforce protection orders across 
jurisdictional boundaries.
  VAWA has made real strides against domestic violence, and the 
Violence Against Women Protection Act will continue the important work 
begun in 1994. I am proud to report of the valuable programs all across 
Maryland combatting domestic violence thanks to VAWA, and I urge Senate 
leaders to bring S. 2787 to the floor for consideration as soon as 
possible. We have an invaluable opportunity to make a statement that 
domestic violence will not be tolerated, and that all women and 
children should be able to live without fear in their own homes.

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