[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 13, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S2220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 518. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
the training of health professions students with respect to the 
identification and referral of victims of domestic violence; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, domestic violence is a national crisis 
that shatters the lives of millions of women across this country and 
tears at the fabric of this society. Despite increased efforts prompted 
by legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act, domestic 
violence continues to be the leading cause of injury to women across 
the country between the ages of 15 to 44. Furthermore, many of our 
health professionals today--those who are often the first in a position 
to recognize domestic violence, still do not have the proper training 
to assist these very vulnerable victims.
  Wonderful partnerships currently exist between many hospitals and 
graduate medical institutions and these partnerships should be 
encouraged in order to more effectively serve victims of domestic 
violence and prevent future violent attacks.
  For these reasons, I am reintroducing my bill, the Domestic Violence 
Identification and Referral Act, which would help ensure that medical 
professionals have the training they need to recognize and treat 
domestic violence, including spouse abuse, child abuse, and elder 
abuse. The bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to require 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give preference in 
awarding grants to institutions that train health professionals in 
identifying, treating, and referring patients who are victims of 
domestic violence to appropriate services.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this worthwhile legislation that 
would help in our continued fight to prevent domestic violence across 
this nation.
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