[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21489]
[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, as we celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness 
Month in October, I rise today to highlight the issue as it affects 
minority communities.
  Although domestic violence is blind to race and ethnicity, racial and 
ethnic minority women, immigrant women, face unique challenges to 
reporting and getting help for domestic violence.
  Just this morning, I learned that the manager's amendment to today's 
VAWA reauthorization bill strikes the language ``racial and ethnic 
minorities'' from the definition of underserved communities.
  After all the bipartisan work that we have been conducting for the 
past year on this particular reauthorization, I am outraged that at the 
last minute, Republican leadership is shortchanging women of color who 
are victims of domestic violence.
  We must acknowledge the devastating effect that domestic violence has 
on all communities, community of colors. That means African Americans, 
Latinos and Asians and all other ethnic groups.
  Our efforts to educate the public about domestic violence must 
directly address factors like cultural differences, linguistic 
differences and immigration status. By removing this language, we are 
exacerbating the problem of domestic violence in communities of color.
  My hope is that the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 
is comprehensive and meets all the needs of all women in our country.

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