[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

  (Mr. BISHOP of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about 
the importance of fully funding the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, 
otherwise known as VAWA.
  Domestic violence is a crisis that plagues far too many families in 
our communities. In New York State alone, the State division of 
criminal justice service has received 55,558 police reports of family 
domestic violence offenses in 1999. This alarming number reflects only 
the incidences where a police report was actually filed. Domestic 
violence knows no boundaries, crossing all economic, race, and other 
barriers to disrupt families.
  VAWA funds critical programs that assist millions of battered women 
and children nationwide. Congress took the right steps last year by 
fully funding the VAWA programs administered by the Department of 
Justice; however, several critical programs in the Department of Health 
and Human Services were funded at amounts well below what was needed 
and what was authorized in VAWA 2000. Some VAWA programs were not 
funded at all. We just found out that the President's fiscal 2004 
budget would cut $19.2 million from crucial VAWA programs. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in opposing these cuts. At a time when States 
face a looming budget crisis and a broad spectrum of important programs 
are slated for funding cuts, I believe that we owe it to families 
caught in the devastating cycle of domestic abuse to fully fund all 
VAWA programs.

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