[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17114-17115]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN REAUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, a week ago, I came to the Senate floor and 
said it was time for the Senate and the House to come together to pass 
the Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. I expressed 
hope because I thought there was a basis for compromise on a provision 
that had been a sticking point for House Republicans. I am dismayed 
that we have not seen progress toward that compromise despite my 
outreach and the urgency of the situations for thousands of victims of 
domestic and sexual violence.
  Senator Crapo and I included in our bill a key provision to allow 
tribal courts limited jurisdiction to consider domestic violence 
offenses committed against Indian women on tribal lands by non-Indians. 
The epidemic of violence against Native women is appalling, with a 
recent study finding that almost three in five Native women have been 
assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners. This provision would 
help end an untenable situation where non-Indians assaulting their 
spouses or intimate partners on tribal land are essentially immune from 
prosecution.
  This is a commonsense proposal with important limitations and 
guarantees of rights, but I know that House Republicans have continued 
to object to it. That is why I was heartened when two conservative 
House Republicans with leadership positions introduced a bill providing 
a compromise on the tribal jurisdiction provision.
  Representative Issa of California and Representative Cole of Oklahoma 
introduced the Violence Against Indian Women Act, H.R. 6625. Their 
cosponsors include Republicans from North Carolina, Minnesota, and 
Idaho. They all have tribes within their States and are concerned about 
the violence our Senate bill is trying to combat. Their bill includes a 
provision that allows defendants to remove a case to Federal court if 
any defendant's rights are violated. This modification should ensure 
that only those tribes that are following the requirements of the law 
and providing full rights can exercise jurisdiction and that defendants 
can raise challenges at the beginning of a case.
  Last week, I called on House Republican leadership to abandon their 
``just say no'' approach to any grant of tribal jurisdiction and give 
serious consideration to the Republican compromise proposal introduced 
last week. I have heard that Republican leaders are meeting today to 
finally discuss the issue. It is my hope that they will show real 
leadership by supporting crucial protections for tribal women, rather 
than offering empty proposals that do not change existing law and will 
not move us forward or help us to address this crisis.
  I have reached out to House leaders throughout the year and very 
recently to find a path forward on VAWA, and I know others have 
conducted similar outreach. While I am very disappointed that I have 
yet to see meaningful movement despite the opportunity for reasonable, 
bipartisan compromise to enact this needed legislation, I do believe 
House leaders still have an opportunity to do the right thing and pass 
VAWA, but that window is closing.
  Passing the Leahy-Crapo VAWA bill will make a difference. It will 
lead to a greater focus on the too often neglected problem of sexual 
assault and rape. It will lead to important new programs to identify 
high risk cases and prevent domestic violence homicides. It will lead 
to better protections for students on campuses across the country and 
better housing protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence. 
These improvements are most meaningful if they apply to all victims. I 
am willing to explore compromise language to make progress, but we 
should not leave out the most vulnerable victims.
  As partisan objections continue to hold up this bill, we continue to 
read each week about new and horrific cases of domestic violence and 
rape. It is heartbreaking that women continue to suffer as our efforts 
to compromise and pass this crucial legislation hit roadblock after 
roadblock. I hope that our last ditch effort will finally break this 
frustrating impasse.

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