[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 70 (Wednesday, May 16, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H2724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VAWA--WOMEN'S HEALTH WEDNESDAY

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has 
strengthened communities and provided critical, lifesaving support to 
victims of violence.
  VAWA reauthorization must continue the fight to protect all victims 
and their families from the fear of violence, including those victims 
who are immigrants, Native Americans, members of the LGBT community, 
and college students. Unfortunately, for the first time in VAWA's 
history, we will not have a bipartisan reauthorization bill. Even 
worse, H.R. 4970 is a step backward and is opposed by hundreds of anti-
violence groups.
  While there are many problems with the bill, I am most distressed by 
the provisions regarding battered immigrant women. H.R. 4970 destroys 
years of work of protecting immigrant women. It creates more obstacles 
for these victims to report crimes, and it limits U visa protections 
and adds restrictive certification requirements that will only 
discourage cooperation with law enforcement agencies, which themselves 
oppose these provisions.
  Victim safety is a core principle of VAWA. We must remain firm in our 
commitment to ensure that all victims of sexual assault, domestic 
violence, and trafficking have meaningful access to protection under 
the law.

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