[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 30 (Monday, March 4, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 28, 2013

  Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Senate-
passed Violence Against Women Act and in opposition to the watered down 
version offered by House Republicans that omits key provisions to 
protect all victims of domestic violence. I am pleased that after 
nearly a year of delay and unnecessary partisan positioning, a 
comprehensive, inclusive VAWA is poised to be enacted into law.
  This legislation, S. 47, received overwhelming bipartisan support in 
the Senate, passing by a vote of 78-22, and is supported by law 
enforcement officials, health care providers, community providers, and 
millions of domestic violence survivors. Unlike the alternative House 
Republican version, the Senate bill includes critical provisions to 
protect vulnerable populations including LGBT individuals, Native 
Americans, immigrants, and victims of rape.
  Specifically, the Senate bill ensures the availability of services to 
all victims of domestic and dating violence, no matter their sexual 
orientation or gender identity. The measure also provides authority to 
Native American tribes to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators of domestic 
violence-related offenses. Finally, the Senate measure adds stalking to 
the list of crimes for which victims can receive protection through the 
U-Visa program. All of the changes are vital and, unfortunately, absent 
in the House Republican bill.
  Twice over the last 20 years, Democrats and Republicans, working 
together, have been able to reauthorize VAWA to continue and expand 
protections for all victims of domestic and sexual violence. A recent 
tragedy involving one of my constituents underscores the importance for 
this body to continue that bipartisan tradition.
  On February 18, 2013, Jenny Lynn Pearson was brutally murdered by her 
husband of less than a year at her apartment in Reston, Virginia. Jenny 
was five months pregnant with her unborn son, whom she had named Aiden. 
A native of Fairfax County, Jenny is described by friends and family as 
humble and beautiful, a lover of nature and animals, a kind and 
generous soul. Her life, and that of her unborn son, was snuffed out 
far before its time.
  Unfortunately, this type of severe domestic violence is an all-too-
common reality in the United States. Approximately 2.3 million people 
each year are raped or physically assaulted by a current or former 
spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Three women are killed by a current or 
former intimate partner each day in America. And the cost of intimate 
partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion annually, including $4.1 billion 
in direct health care expenses.
  While we still have much work to do, VAWA has helped address these 
startling levels of partner violence. Since it was first enacted in 
1994, reporting of domestic violence has increased by as much as 51 
percent, while the number of individuals killed by an intimate partner 
has decreased 34 percent for women and 57 percent for men. 
Reauthorization of VAWA will ensure that our nation's mothers, sisters, 
daughters, and friends continue to receive federal resources that can 
help keep them safe from harm.
  Now is the time for the House to remove ideological roadblocks and 
send to the President a comprehensive VAWA bill that includes 
protections for all Americans. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote 
in favor of the Senate-passed Violence Against Women Act.

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