[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 19 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S479-S480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am optimistic that today the Senate will 
complete work on an important bipartisan measure that has been directed 
by the President pro tempore of the Senate; that is, the 
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
  But Senate passage means little if our counterparts in the House fail 
to act on this crucial legislation. They failed once before. Let's hope 
this year they will get it past the finish line.
  The Republican-controlled House, I repeat, failed to act last year, 
and the women of America do not want them to fail again. I was 
reassured to hear House Majority Leader Cantor say yesterday that he 
``cares very deeply about women.'' He went on to say the House would 
act to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
  But Americans heard the some promise last year. Despite overwhelming 
evidence that this legislation saves lives, House Republican leaders 
used procedural gimmicks and stalling tactics to block its 
reauthorization. I would remind Leader Cantor and his Republican 
colleagues of the seriousness of the delay.
  Every minute House Republicans wait to act, another 24 Americans will 
become victims of domestic violence. Every day House Republicans stall, 
another three women will die at the hands of their abusers. Every year 
House Republicans put off action in order to please extremists within 
their own party, during that period of time more than 200,000 women 
will be sexually assaulted, more than 2 million will be stalked, and 
more than 1.3 million women will be abused by their partners.
  It has been almost 300 days since the Senate passed a bipartisan bill 
to help law enforcement officials protect women and their families 
across this

[[Page S480]]

country. But despite strong bipartisan support in the Senate, 
Republicans in the House refused to join the efforts to end domestic 
abuse.
  Those partisan delays put women's lives at risk. Thousands have 
written letters and e-mailed and called to support this legislation. 
One Nevada woman shared her story of how her partner held a gun to her 
head and threatened to pull the trigger. She escaped with her life, but 
many women are not so fortunate. Every year more than 1,000 women are 
killed by domestic abusers. Since the Violence Against Women Act 
expired, more than 16 million women have been victimized.
  The law is effective. In the two decades since it was enacted, the 
law has helped millions of women escape their attackers and seek 
justice. There is obviously much more work to do. I say to my friend 
Leader Cantor: It is time for the Republican leaders to stop talking 
about how much they care about women and start acting to protect women. 
More than one-third of the women in this country have been the victim 
of violent sexual assault or stalking. Congress must do everything in 
its power to help law enforcement officials prevent these terrible 
crimes and prosecute the perpetrators. Reauthorizing this legislation 
would help law enforcement improve strategies to prosecute crimes 
against women. It would provide legal assistance to the victims of 
violence and funding for shelters to allow women to escape their 
abusers. It would safeguard youth who are experiencing dating violence 
and stalking.
  Until we fully reauthorize this law, authorities will not have all 
the tools they need to fight domestic violence. Today--we hope it does 
not go over until tomorrow--we do not need another day's delay. For the 
second time in 2 years to protect American women and their children, we 
hope to take bipartisan action. I hope the House will act quickly to 
follow suit, as they did not do last year. I trust Leader Cantor's 
words that this legislation is a priority. I will not be the only one 
holding him to his promise he made yesterday, to swiftly reauthorize 
the Violence Against Women Act. In fact, there will be 160 million 
American women who are watching and waiting to see if he turns his 
words into action.

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