[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 194 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9821-H9823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  VAWA TECHNICAL AMENDMENT ACT OF 2022

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 7) to make a technical amendment to the Violence Against Women 
Act of 1994, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                  S. 7

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``VAWA Technical Amendment Act 
     of 2022''.

     SEC. 2. GRANTS TO COMBAT VIOLENT CRIMES.

       (a) Amendment.--Section 2001(d) of title I of the Omnibus 
     Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
     10441(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or Native 
     Hawaiian'' after ``Indian'';
       (B) in subparagarph (B), by inserting ``or Native 
     Hawaiian'' after ``Indian'';
       (C) in subparagraph (C)--
       (i) by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian communities'' after 
     ``tribal communities''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian'' after ``Indian''; 
     and
       (D) in subparagraph (D)--
       (i) by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian communities'' after 
     ``Indian tribes''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian'' after ``against 
     Indian'';
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by inserting ``or Native 
     Hawaiian communities'' after ``Indian tribes''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian 
     communities'' after ``Indian tribes''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) Native hawaiian defined.--In this subsection, the 
     term `Native Hawaiian' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 801 of the Native American Housing Assistance and

[[Page H9822]]

     Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221).''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 
     40002(a)(42) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 
     U.S.C. 12291(a)(42)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)--
       (A) by inserting ``, Native Hawaiian organizations, or the 
     Native Hawaiian community'' after ``Indian service 
     providers'';
       (B) by inserting ``, organizations, or communities'' after 
     ``member providers''; and
       (C) by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian'' after ``designed to 
     assist Indian''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B)--
       (A) in clause (i), by inserting ``, organizations, or 
     communities'' after ``member service providers''; and
       (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ``or Native Hawaiian 
     communities'' after ``tribal communities''.

     SEC. 3.

       This Act shall become effective one day after enactment.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on S. 7.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 7, which would amend the 
Violence Against Women Act to ensure that Native Hawaiian women can 
access the benefits and support included in the critical Violence 
Against Women Act.
  According to the National Institute of Justice, more than 1.5 million 
American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in 
their lifetime, while women in these communities experience 
significantly higher levels of sexual violence and stalking.
  Since its introduction in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has 
provided billions of dollars of grant funding to address the needs of 
those who have survived domestic violence, sexual assault, sex 
trafficking, dating violence, and other crimes against women.
  One of VAWA's major grant programs, the Services, Training, Officers, 
and Prosecutors grants, commonly known as STOP grants, provides funding 
for eligible Native organizations to help combat sexual violence and 
support victims and survivors. However, due to an error in drafting 
language, which was first made known to Congress and the Department of 
Justice in 2016, Native Hawaiian organizations have been unable to 
access this funding to serve Native Hawaiian victims and survivors.
  Specifically, Native Hawaiian organizations are able to apply for 
STOP grant funding, but they cannot use those funds to actually serve 
the Native Hawaiian community. As a result of this drafting oversight, 
Native Hawaiian women are denied access to these critical resources, 
which are meant to encourage the development and improvement of 
effective victim advocacy and services in cases involving violent 
crimes against women and to strengthen services to victims.
  S. 7 would amend the act to include specific references to Native 
Hawaiians and Native Hawaiian communities and organizations. This 
simple fix would make certain that all victims and survivors of 
domestic and sexual violence, including Native Hawaiian women, are able 
to access the services and support they need to rebuild their lives.
  I thank Senator Mazie Hirono for introducing this modest but 
important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. SPARTZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  S. 7, the VAWA Technical Amendment Act of 2022, makes a very small 
technical amendment to the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization 
that was signed into law in March of this year.
  The Violence Against Women Act provides resources to law enforcement 
and others to address the needs of those who have survived domestic 
violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and other crimes against 
women. S. 7 ensures that Native Hawaiian survivors will also have 
access to programs and resources provided under the act.
  Currently, the Attorney General is directed to make Violence Against 
Women Act grants to assist Indian Tribes. This bill makes Native 
Hawaiian communities eligible for the same grants.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, for nearly three decades, the Violence 
Against Women Act has provided critical funding to organizations that 
support victims and survivors of gender-based violence. However, Native 
Hawaiian women, who experience disproportionately high levels of sexual 
violence, have been excluded from accessing these much-needed 
resources.
  S. 7 would allow Native Hawaiian victims and survivors to receive the 
support they need and would allow Native Hawaiian organizations to 
increase their efforts to combat sexual violence.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, l rise today in support of S.7, the Violence 
Against Women Act (VAWA) Technical Amendment Act of 2022. This bill 
will ensure the full inclusion of Native Hawaiians, the indigenous 
peoples of our country whose origins lie in Hawaii, in the Services, 
Training, Officers and Prosecutors (STOP) Grants for Tribal Coalitions 
program under VAWA.
  Violence against indigenous women has reached crisis levels on tribal 
lands and in Alaska Native villages. In Hawaii, gender-based violence 
against Native Hawaiians is also at a breaking point.
  Much like their American Indian and Alaska Native counterparts 
elsewhere, Native Hawaiians face substantially higher rates of intimate 
partner violence, family violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking 
than any other racial or ethnic group in Hawaii. According to most 
available data from the Officer of Hawaiian Affairs, 67 to 77 percent 
of sex trafficking victims in Hawaii are Native Hawaiian women and 
girls, and 37 percent of reported child sex trafficking cases in Hawaii 
involve Native Hawaiians. They are also disproportionately represented 
across the many forms of sexual violence.
  To address these issues within Native Hawaiian communities, we must 
develop and implement community-driven, culturally relevant and 
intergenerational approaches for supporting Native Hawaiian women. 
Unfortunately, because of a drafting error in the 2013 VAWA 
reauthorization bill, Native Hawaiian domestic violence victims have 
been excluded from VAWA STOP Grants, which deliver just such programs, 
and thus effectively deprived of vital services and support. While 
tribal coalitions and Native Hawaiian Organizations are eligible for 
STOP Grant funding, both tribal coalitions and Native Hawaiian 
Organizations are limited to only serving American Indians and Alaska 
Natives, not Native Hawaiians. This must be corrected.
  The VAWA Technical Amendment Act simply adds Native Hawaiians as 
eligible for VAWA-related services from Native nonprofit grantees. Any 
Native Hawaiian Organization interested and eligible to provide 
critical domestic violence and sexual assault services to Native 
Hawaiian survivors must be given the opportunity to do so. This 
technical correction will allow this to happen, ensuring that Native 
Hawaiian Organizations can serve Native Hawaiians in need of these 
critical services.
  More work lies ahead for our federal government to address and 
eliminate the ongoing violence against indigenous women in our country, 
and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on these 
efforts to support all Native survivors of domestic and sexual 
violence.
  Mahalo.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 7., the ``VAWA 
Technical Amendment Act of 2022,'' that would ensure Native Hawaiian 
victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sex 
trafficking, and other such crimes have access to vital VAWA resources.
  When the Violence Against Women Act first became law in 1994, it 
represented an historic shift in the federal government's role in 
combating violent crimes committed against

[[Page H9823]]

women. Due to the importance of the legislation and its resulting 
success, VAWA was reauthorized on an overwhelming bipartisan basis in 
2000, 2005, and 2013.
  As we negotiated the most recent reauthorization, I was adamant that 
Congress acknowledge the cries of the multitude of voiceless native 
women. That we should do more to improve coordination and communication 
between law enforcement agencies, empower tribal governments with 
resources, and improve the way we collect data about missing and 
murdered native women.
  And although each piece of VAWA is critical to support and protect 
victims of violence, I thought it necessary to pay special attention to 
the plight of tribal women, who suffer extraordinarily high rates of 
victimization.
  That is why we must pass the ``VAWA Technical Amendment Act of 
2022''--to make sure that Native Hawaiian victims and survivors are 
supported and protected.
  The VAWA Reauthorization--which made its way to the President's desk 
this year--made several improvements to the Services, Training, 
Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) grant program.
  The STOP grant program was established to assist state, territorial, 
local, and Tribal governments in responding to violent crimes against 
women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, and stalking, as well as the appropriate treatment of 
victims.
  The grants have long been used to develop effective strategies to 
assist victims and survivors through nonprofit, community 
organizations.
  Eligibility for the grants was expanded under the reauthorization for 
individuals and grantees, and the authorized uses of grants under the 
expansion now include supportive services for American Indian victims 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
  Unfortunately, due to a drafting error, Native Hawaiian organizations 
have been unable to access STOP grant funds for the benefit of Native 
Hawaiian women, thereby denying an entire community of victims and 
survivors restorative, stabilizing care. This is a serious problem with 
an uncomplicated solution.
  S. 7 would amend relevant statutory provisions to make sure Native 
Hawaiian organizations can render aid to their communities using STOP 
grant funding.
  As has always been true, the Violence Against Women Act 
Reauthorization is comprehensive and inclusive legislation that 
responds to the many varied and changing needs of diverse victims and 
survivors across the country by making meaningful improvements. This 
bill exemplifies that sentiment.
  I applaud Senator Mazie Hirono for spearheading this bill to ensure 
that no victim or survivor is denied access to VAWA's life-saving 
resources, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 7.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________