[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14772]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     REAUTHORIZING AND FULLY FUNDING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

  (Mrs. MALONEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, ending violence against women should be a 
concern not just for the victims; it should be a national priority.
  In 1994, Congress moved violence against women from behind closed 
doors into national policy. The Violence Against Women Act was 
reauthorized in 2000, and it must be reauthorized and fully funded this 
year.
  The Violence Again Women Act is a comprehensive program that 
strengthened legal sanctions against stalkers, batterers, and rapists. 
It established a toll-free national domestic hotline. It funded 
battered women's shelters, and it provided funding for programs to 
improve both prosecution and victim services.
  Last year, Congress strengthened VAWA by passing the Justice For All 
Act, which included my legislation with the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Green). Our legislation gave law enforcement tools to process the 
backlog of rape kits containing DNA evidence that could convict 
rapists.
  But there is still much, much more that remains to be done. We must 
pass the reauthorization and fully fund it this year.

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