[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 119 (Friday, September 29, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JACK QUINN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 26, 2000

  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, every day, at least one child will die as a 
result of domestic violence. Every few minutes, approximately nine 
women are abused around the nation. For this reason, we must reaffirm 
our commitment to combating domestic violence by reauthorizing the 
Violence Against Women Act.
  H.R. 1248, the Violence Against Women Act, provides women and their 
local law enforcement offices the necessary resources to escape 
domestic violence. The reauthorization of this Act would preserve 
funding for abused women, grants for training police forces, a national 
domestic violence hotline, and grants for victim services and 
prevention programs.
  Women seeking to escape abusive relationships require legal 
assistance to be free from such abuse, including assistance in 
obtaining a divorce, custody of their children, or even to obtain a 
change of address or social security number for safety. Since 1994, The 
Violence Against Women Act has provided over $1.5 billion in grants 
that have been used to encourage arrests, train police, prosecutors and 
judges, as well as provide critical victim services.
  Reauthorization of this Act includes new support for transitional 
housing, allowing up to $30 million over four years to assist domestic 
violence survivors move beyond shelters into safe permanent housing. 
The new Act would expand the reach of the program to support groups 
such as elderly, disabled and Native American women. Furthermore, the 
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act would allow states 
and local communities to engage in long-range planning without 
continually fearing that funds will be lost in the next fiscal year.
  There is much evidence of the success the Violence Against Women Act 
has had in providing assistance to women at risk of abuse. Calls to the 
National Domestic Violence Hotline have doubled in the last six months, 
to a rate of 13,000 calls per month, and use of battered women's 
shelters has been steadily increasing, all since the inception of the 
Violence Against Women Act. These programs need to be funded at the 
highest possible levels so that families in need of safety and 
protection have full and adequate access to such assistance.
  The passage of H.R. 1248 is necessary to confirm congressional 
commitment to fighting violence against women for the next five years. 
We must do what we can to protect and assist women and children who are 
the unfortunate victims of domestic violence.

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