[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VAWA REAUTHORIZATION

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of a comprehensive 
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
  Throughout my career and as chair of the Democratic Women's Working 
Group, I have been actively involved in advancing domestic violence 
legislation.
  Although domestic violence is blind to race, ethnicity, racial and 
ethnic minority women, immigrant women especially, we face unique 
challenges to reporting and getting help for these victims.
  The comprehensive reauthorization of VAWA includes provisions that 
address these concerns.
  The bill includes language that would help communities establish 
specialized domestic violence courts in order to speed up the 
processing time of domestic violence cases. Also, the bill includes a 
provision that would help educate minority and immigrant communities on 
how to prevent domestic violence and provide services available to 
those victims.
  Our efforts to educate the public about domestic violence must 
directly address factors like cultural differences, linguistic 
differences and immigration issues.
  It is my hope that the reauthorization for the Violence Against Women 
Act is comprehensive and meets the needs of all women.

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