[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 17 (Tuesday, February 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, later this week, the United States Senate 
will pick up where Congress left off by passing the Violence Against 
Women Act. As a cochair of the Victims' Rights Caucus, every day 
victims' advocates do the hard work of making sure their voices are 
heard for the assistance of the programs authorized under the Violence 
Against Women Act.
  Last year alone, the Marjaree Mason Center of Fresno, which I have 
worked with over the years, and the Valley Crisis Center in Merced 
provided emergency housing for over 1,100 women and children in their 
time of need.
  We have learned a lot from victims' rights advocates and law 
enforcement since the law was enacted in 1994. It's time we used those 
lessons to put the safety of all crime victims first and stop playing 
politics.
  Now the House must follow the Senate's lead by quickly adopting this 
measure to show that protecting victims is a top priority of this 
Congress.

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