[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6922-6961]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2012

  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 656, I call 
up the bill (H.R. 4970) to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act 
of 1994, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 656, the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute, recommended by the Committee 
on the Judiciary, printed in the bill, modified by the amendment 
printed in House Report 112-481 is adopted, and the bill, as amended, 
is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 4970

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Violence Against Women 
     Reauthorization Act of 2012''.

     SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. VAWA definitions and grant conditions.
Sec. 4. Accountability provisions.
Sec. 5. Effective date.

    TITLE I--ENHANCING JUDICIAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TOOLS TO COMBAT 
                         VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Sec. 101. STOP grants.
Sec. 102. Grants to encourage arrest policies and enforcement of 
              protection orders.
Sec. 103. Legal assistance for victims.
Sec. 104. Consolidation of grants to support families in the justice 
              system.
Sec. 105. Court-appointed special advocate program.
Sec. 106. Outreach and services to underserved populations grant.
Sec. 107. Culturally specific services grant.
Sec. 108. Reduction in rape kit backlog.

 TITLE II--IMPROVING SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING 
                 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING

Sec. 201. Sexual assault services program.
Sec. 202. Rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
              stalking, and child abuse enforcement assistance.
Sec. 203. Training and services to end violence against women with 
              disabilities grants.
Sec. 204. Grant for training and services to end violence against women 
              in later life.

   TITLE III--SERVICES, PROTECTION, AND JUSTICE FOR YOUNG VICTIMS OF 
                                VIOLENCE

Sec. 301. Rape prevention and education grant.
Sec. 302. Creating hope through outreach, options, services, and 
              education for children and youth.
Sec. 303. Grants to combat violent crimes on campuses.
Sec. 304. National Center for Campus Public Safety.

                 TITLE IV--VIOLENCE REDUCTION PRACTICES

Sec. 401. Study conducted by the centers for disease control and 
              prevention.
Sec. 402. Saving money and reducing tragedies through prevention 
              grants.

[[Page 6923]]

 TITLE V--STRENGTHENING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM'S RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC 
        VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING

Sec. 501. Consolidation of grants to strengthen the health care 
              system's response to domestic violence, dating violence, 
              sexual assault, and stalking.

TITLE VI--SAFE HOMES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 
                      SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING

Sec. 601. Housing protections for victims of domestic violence, dating 
              violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Sec. 602. Transitional housing assistance grants for victims of 
              domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
              stalking.
Sec. 603. Addressing the housing needs of victims of domestic violence, 
              dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

          TITLE VII--ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE

Sec. 701.  National Resource Center on Workplace Responses to assist 
              victims of domestic and sexual violence.

                   TITLE VIII--IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS

Sec. 801. Fraud prevention initiatives.
Sec. 802. Clarification of the requirements applicable to U visas.
Sec. 803. Protections for a fiancee or fiance of a citizen.
Sec. 804. Regulation of international marriage brokers.
Sec. 805. GAO report.
Sec. 806. Temporary Nature of U Visa Status.
Sec. 807. Annual report on immigration applications made by victims of 
              abuse.
Sec. 808. Protection for children of VAWA self-petitioners.
Sec. 809. Public charge.
Sec. 810. Age-Out Protection for U Visa Applicants.
Sec. 811. Hardship waivers.
Sec. 812. Disclosure of Information for National Security Purpose.
Sec. 813. GAO report on requirements to cooperate with law enforcement 
              officials.
Sec. 814. Consideration of other evidence.

                   TITLE IX--SAFETY FOR INDIAN WOMEN

Sec. 901. Grants to Indian tribal governments.
Sec. 902. Grants to Indian tribal coalitions.
Sec. 903. Consultation.
Sec. 904. Analysis and research on violence against Indian women.
Sec. 905. Assistant United States attorney domestic violence tribal 
              liaisons.

                      TITLE X--CRIMINAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 1001. Criminal provisions relating to sexual abuse.
Sec. 1002. Sexual abuse in custodial settings.
Sec. 1003. Criminal provision relating to stalking, including 
              cyberstalking.
Sec. 1004. Amendments to the Federal assault statute.
Sec. 1005. Mandatory minimum sentence.

     SEC. 3. VAWA DEFINITIONS AND GRANT CONDITIONS.

       (a) Definitions.--Subsection (a) of section 40002 of the 
     Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``to an unemancipated 
     minor'' after ``serious harm'';
       (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``an organization'' and 
     inserting ``a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribal 
     organization that serves a specific geographic community'';
       (3) in paragraph (6) by inserting ``or intimate partner'' 
     after ``former spouse'' and after ``as a spouse'';
       (4) by amending paragraph (16) to read as follows:
       ``(16) Legal assistance.--The term `legal assistance'--
       ``(A) includes assistance to adult and youth victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking in--
       ``(i) family, tribal, territorial, immigration, employment, 
     administrative agency, housing matters, campus administrative 
     or protection or stay away order proceedings, and other 
     similar matters; and
       ``(ii) criminal justice investigations, prosecutions and 
     post-trial matters (including sentencing, parole, and 
     probation) that impact the victim's safety and privacy; and
       ``(B) may include services and assistance to victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking who are also victims of severe forms of trafficking 
     in persons as defined by section 103 of the Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);

     except that intake or referral, without other action, does 
     not constitute legal assistance.''.
       (5) by amending paragraph (18) to read as follows:
       ``(18) Personally identifying information or personal 
     information.--The term `personally identifying information' 
     or `personal information' means individually identifying 
     information for or about an individual, including information 
     likely to disclose the location of a victim of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 
     regardless of whether the information is encoded, encrypted, 
     hashed, or otherwise protected, including--
       ``(A) a first and last name;
       ``(B) a home or other physical address;
       ``(C) contact information (including a postal, e-mail or 
     Internet protocol address, or telephone or facsimile number);
       ``(D) a social security number, driver license number, 
     passport number, or student identification number; and
       ``(E) any other information, including date of birth, 
     racial or ethnic background, or religious affiliation, that 
     would serve to identify any individual.'';
       (6) in paragraph (19), by striking ``services'' and 
     inserting ``assistance'';
       (7) in paragraph (21)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) any federally recognized Indian tribe.'';
       (8) in paragraph (22)--
       (A) by striking ``52'' and inserting ``57''; and
       (B) by striking ``150,000'' and inserting ``250,000'';
       (9) by amending paragraph (23) to read as follows:
       ``(23) Sexual assault.--The term `sexual assault' means any 
     nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or 
     State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to 
     consent.'';
       (10) by amending paragraph (33) to read as follows:
       ``(33) Underserved populations.--The term `underserved 
     populations' means populations who face barriers to accessing 
     and using victim services, and includes populations 
     underserved because of geographic location or religion, 
     underserved racial and ethnic populations, populations 
     underserved because of special needs (such as language 
     barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and any 
     other population determined to be underserved by the Attorney 
     General or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as 
     appropriate.'';
       (11) by amending paragraph (37) to read as follows:
       ``(37) Youth.--The term `youth' means a person who is 11 to 
     24 years of age.'';
       (12) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(38) Alaska native village.--The term `Alaska Native 
     village' has the same meaning given such term in the Alaska 
     Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
       ``(39) Child.--The term `child' means a person who is under 
     11 years of age.
       ``(40) Culturally specific.--The term `culturally specific' 
     (except when used as part of the term `culturally specific 
     services') means primarily composed of racial and ethnic 
     minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g))).
       ``(41) Culturally specific services.--The term `culturally 
     specific services' means community-based services and 
     resources that are culturally relevant and linguistically 
     specific to culturally specific communities.
       ``(42) Homeless, homeless individual, homeless person.--The 
     terms `homeless', `homeless individual', and `homeless 
     person'--
       ``(A) mean an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and 
     adequate nighttime residence; and
       ``(B) includes--
       ``(i) an individual who--

       ``(I) is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss 
     of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
       ``(II) is living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or 
     campground due to the lack of alternative adequate 
     accommodations;
       ``(III) is living in an emergency or transitional shelter;
       ``(IV) is abandoned in a hospital; or
       ``(V) is awaiting foster care placement;

       ``(ii) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence 
     that is a public or private place not designed for or 
     ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human 
     beings; or
       ``(iii) migratory children (as defined in section 1309 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; 20 U.S.C. 
     6399) who qualify as homeless under this section because the 
     children are living in circumstances described in this 
     paragraph.
       ``(43) Population specific organization.--The term 
     `population specific organization' means a nonprofit, 
     nongovernmental organization that primarily serves members of 
     a specific underserved population and has demonstrated 
     experience and expertise providing targeted services to 
     members of that specific underserved population.
       ``(44) Population specific services.--The term `population 
     specific services' means victim services that--
       ``(A) address the safety, health, economic, legal, housing, 
     workplace, immigration, confidentiality, or other needs of 
     victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking; and
       ``(B) are designed primarily for, and are targeted to, a 
     specific underserved population.
       ``(45) Rape crisis center.--The term `rape crisis center' 
     means--
       ``(A) a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribal organization 
     that provides intervention and related assistance, as 
     specified in section 41601(b)(2)(C), to victims of sexual 
     assault without regard to the age of the victims; or
       ``(B) a governmental entity that--
       ``(i) is located in a State other than a Territory;
       ``(ii) provides intervention and related assistance, as 
     specified in section 41601(b)(2)(C), to victims of sexual 
     assault without regard to the age of the victims;
       ``(iii) is not a law enforcement agency or other entity 
     that is part of the criminal justice system; and
       ``(iv) offers a level of confidentiality to victims that is 
     comparable to a nonprofit entity that provides similar victim 
     services.

[[Page 6924]]

       ``(46) Sex trafficking.--The term `sex trafficking' means 
     any conduct proscribed by section 1591 of title 18, United 
     States Code, whether or not the conduct occurs in interstate 
     or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and 
     territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
       ``(47) Tribal coalition.--The term `tribal coalition' means 
     an established nonprofit, nongovernmental Indian 
     organization, Alaska Native organization, or a Native 
     Hawaiian organization that--
       ``(A) provides education, support, and technical assistance 
     to member Indian service providers in a manner that enables 
     those member providers to establish and maintain culturally 
     appropriate services, including shelter and rape crisis 
     services, designed to assist Indian women and the dependents 
     of those women who are victims of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and
       ``(B) is comprised of board and general members that are 
     representative of--
       ``(i) the member service providers described in 
     subparagraph (A); and
       ``(ii) the tribal communities in which the services are 
     being provided.
       ``(48) Unit of local government.--The term `unit of local 
     government' means any city, county, township, town, borough, 
     parish, village, or other general purpose political 
     subdivision of a State.
       ``(49) Victim services.--The term `victim services'--
       ``(A) means services provided to victims of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 
     including telephonic or web-based hotlines, legal advocacy, 
     economic advocacy, emergency and transitional shelter, 
     accompaniment and advocacy through medical, civil or criminal 
     justice, immigration, and social support systems, crisis 
     intervention, short-term individual and group support 
     services, information and referrals, culturally specific 
     services, population specific services, and other related 
     supportive services; and
       ``(B) may include services and assistance to victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking who are also victims of severe forms of trafficking 
     in persons as defined by section 103 of the Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
       ``(50) Victim service provider.--The term `victim service 
     provider' means a nonprofit, nongovernmental or tribal 
     organization or rape crisis center, including a State sexual 
     assault coalition or tribal coalition, that--
       ``(A) assists domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking victims, including domestic violence 
     shelters, faith-based organizations, and other organizations; 
     and
       ``(B) has a documented history of effective work concerning 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking.''; and
       (13) by striking paragraphs (17), (29), and (36), and then 
     reordering the remaining paragraphs of such subsection 
     (including the paragraphs added by paragraph (12) of this 
     subsection) in alphabetical order based on the headings of 
     such paragraphs, and renumbering such paragraphs as so 
     reordered.
       (b) Grants Conditions.--Subsection (b) of section 40002 of 
     the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(b)) 
     is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by amending clauses (i) and (ii) 
     to read as follows:
       ``(i) disclose, reveal, or release any personally 
     identifying information or individual information collected 
     in connection with services requested, utilized, or denied 
     through grantees' and subgrantees' programs, regardless of 
     whether the information has been encoded, encrypted, hashed, 
     or otherwise protected; or
       ``(ii) disclose, reveal, or release individual client 
     information without the informed, written, reasonably time-
     limited consent of the person (or in the case of an 
     unemancipated minor, the minor and the parent or guardian or 
     in the case of legal incapacity, a court-appointed guardian) 
     about whom information is sought, whether for this program or 
     any other Federal, State, tribal, or territorial grant 
     program, except that--

       ``(I) consent for release may not be given by the abuser of 
     the minor, incapacitated person, or the abuser of the other 
     parent of the minor; and
       ``(II) if a minor or a person with a legally appointed 
     guardian is permitted by law to receive services without the 
     parent's or guardian's consent, such minor or person with a 
     guardian may release information without additional 
     consent.'';

       (B) by amending subparagraph (D), to read as follows:
       ``(D) Information sharing.--
       ``(i) In general.--Grantees and subgrantees may share--

       ``(I) nonpersonally identifying data in the aggregate 
     regarding services to their clients and nonpersonally 
     identifying demographic information in order to comply with 
     Federal, State, tribal, or territorial reporting, evaluation, 
     or data collection requirements;
       ``(II) court-generated information and law enforcement-
     generated information contained in secure, governmental 
     registries for protection order enforcement purposes; and
       ``(III) law enforcement-generated and prosecution-generated 
     information necessary for law enforcement, intelligence, 
     national security, or prosecution purposes.

       ``(ii) Limitations.--Grantees and subgrantees may not--

       ``(I) require an adult, youth, or child victim of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to 
     provide a consent to release his or her personally 
     identifying information as a condition of eligibility for the 
     services provided by the grantee or subgrantee; or
       ``(II) share any personally identifying information in 
     order to comply with Federal reporting, evaluation, or data 
     collection requirements, whether for this program or any 
     other Federal grant program.'';

       (C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F);
       (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
       ``(E) Statutorily mandated reports of abuse or neglect.--
     Nothing in this paragraph prohibits a grantee or subgrantee 
     from reporting suspected abuse or neglect, as those terms are 
     defined by law, when specifically mandated by the State or 
     tribe involved.''; and
       (E) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(G) Confidentiality assessment and assurances.--Grantees 
     and subgrantees shall certify their compliance with the 
     confidentiality and privacy provisions required under this 
     section.'';
       (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) Approved activities.--In carrying out the activities 
     under this title, grantees and subgrantees may collaborate 
     with and provide information to Federal, State, local, 
     tribal, and territorial public officials and agencies to 
     develop and implement policies, and develop and promote 
     State, local, or tribal legislation or model codes, designed 
     to reduce or eliminate domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, and stalking.'';
       (3) in paragraph (7), by inserting at the end the 
     following:

     ``Final reports of such evaluations shall be made publically 
     available on the website of the disbursing agency.''; and
       (4) by inserting after paragraph (11) the following:
       ``(12) Delivery of legal assistance.--Any grantee or 
     subgrantee providing legal assistance with funds awarded 
     under this title shall comply with the eligibility 
     requirements in section 1201(d) of the Violence Against Women 
     Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-6(d)).
       ``(13) Civil rights.--
       ``(A) Nondiscrimination.--No person in any State shall on 
     the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, 
     national origin, sex, or disability be denied the assistance 
     of, or excluded from receiving services from, a grantee under 
     any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds 
     made available under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
     (title IV of Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 1902), the 
     Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (division B of Public Law 
     106-386; 114 Stat. 1491), the Violence Against Women and 
     Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (title IX 
     of Public Law 109-162; 119 Stat. 3080), the Violence Against 
     Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, or any other program or 
     activity funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated 
     for grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance 
     administered by the Office on Violence Against Women.
       ``(B) Reasonable accommodation.--Nothing in this paragraph 
     shall prevent consideration of an individual's gender for 
     purposes of a program or activity described in subparagraph 
     (A) if the grantee involved determines that gender 
     segregation or gender-specific programming is necessary to 
     the essential operation of such program or activity. In such 
     a case, alternative reasonable accommodations are sufficient 
     to meet the requirements of this paragraph.
       ``(C) Application.--The provisions of paragraphs (2) 
     through (4) of section 809(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3789d(c)) 
     shall apply to violations of subparagraph (A).
       ``(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph 
     shall be construed, interpreted, or applied to supplant, 
     displace, preempt, or otherwise diminish the responsibilities 
     and liabilities of grantees under other Federal or State 
     civil rights law, whether statutory or common.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 41403(6) of the Violence 
     Against Women Act of 1994 (140-43e 2(6)) is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(6) the terms `homeless', `homeless individual', and 
     `homeless person' have the meanings given such terms in 
     section 40002(a);''.

     SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS.

       (a) Requirement for DOJ Grant Applicants To Include Certain 
     Information About Federal Grants in DOJ Grant Applications.--
     Each applicant for a grant from the Department of Justice 
     shall submit, as part of the application for the grant, the 
     following information:
       (1) A list of each Federal grant the applicant applied for 
     during the one-year period preceding the date of submission 
     of the application.
       (2) A list of each Federal grant the applicant received 
     during the five-year period preceding the date of submission 
     of the application.
       (b) Enhancing Grant Efficiency and Coordination.--
       (1) In general.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall, to the 
     greatest extent practicable, take actions to further the 
     coordination of the administration of grants within the 
     Department of Justice to increase the efficiency of such 
     administration.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
     the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the 
     Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives a report on the actions taken by the Attorney 
     General under paragraph (1) and the progress of such actions 
     in achieving coordination described in such paragraph.

[[Page 6925]]

       (c) Requiring Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management 
     Functions To Apply to VAWA Grants.--
       (1) In general.--Section 109(b) of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended--
       (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
       (B) by inserting after paragraph (2), the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(3) Any program or activity funded in whole or in part 
     with funds made available under the Violence Against Women 
     Act of 1994 (title IV of Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 1902), 
     the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (division B of Public 
     Law 106-386; 114 Stat. 1491), the Violence Against Women and 
     Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (title IX 
     of Public Law 109-162; 119 Stat. 3080), the Violence Against 
     Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, or any other program or 
     activity funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated 
     for grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance 
     administered by the Office on Violence Against Women.''.
       (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply with respect to grant periods beginning on or 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (d) VAWA Grant Accountability.--Section 40002 of the 
     Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925) is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Accountability.--All grants awarded under this title 
     shall be subject to the following accountability provisions:
       ``(1) Audit requirement.--Beginning in fiscal year 2013, 
     and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of 
     the Department of Justice or the Inspector General of the 
     Department of Health and Human Services, as applicable, shall 
     conduct an audit of not fewer than 10 percent of all grantees 
     under this title to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds 
     by such grantees.
       ``(2) Mandatory exclusion.--A grantee described in 
     paragraph (1) that is found by the Inspector General of the 
     Department of Justice or the Inspector General of the 
     Department of Health and Human Services, as applicable, to 
     have an unresolved audit finding (as defined in paragraph 
     (5)) shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under this 
     title during the 2 fiscal years beginning after the 12-month 
     period described in such paragraph.
       ``(3) Reimbursement.--If an entity is awarded grant funds 
     under this title during any period in which the entity is 
     prohibited from receiving funds under paragraph (2), the head 
     of the Federal agency administering a grant program under 
     this title shall--
       ``(A) deposit into the General Fund of the Treasury an 
     amount equal to the grant funds that were improperly awarded 
     to the grantee; and
       ``(B) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the Fund 
     from the entity that was erroneously awarded such grant 
     funds.
       ``(4) Unresolved audit finding defined.--In this 
     subsection, the term `unresolved audit finding' means, with 
     respect to a grantee described in paragraph (1), an audit 
     report finding, statement, or recommendation by the Inspector 
     General of the Department of Justice or the Inspector General 
     of the Department of Health and Human Service, as applicable, 
     that the grantee has utilized grant funds for an unauthorized 
     expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed 
     or resolved within 12 months from the date of an initial 
     notification of the finding, statement, or recommendation.
       ``(5) Nonprofit organization requirements.--
       ``(A) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
     `nonprofit organization' means an organization that is 
     described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 
     such Code.
       ``(B) Prohibition.--The Attorney General shall not award a 
     grant under any grant program under this title to a nonprofit 
     organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the 
     purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 
     511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(6) Administrative expenses.--Unless otherwise explicitly 
     provided in authorizing legislation, not more than 5.0 
     percent of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under 
     this title may be used by the Attorney General for salaries 
     and administrative expenses of the Office on Violence Against 
     Women.
       ``(7) Conference expenditures.--
       ``(A) Limitation.--No amounts authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Department of Justice or Department of Health and 
     Human Services under this title may be used by the Attorney 
     General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or by 
     any individual or organization awarded funds under this 
     title, to host or support any expenditure for conferences, 
     unless in the case of the Department of Justice, the Deputy 
     Attorney General or the appropriate Assistant Attorney 
     General, or in the case of the Department of Health and Human 
     Services the Deputy Secretary, provides prior written 
     authorization that the funds may be expended to host or 
     support any expenditure for such a conference.
       ``(B) Written approval.--Written authorization under 
     subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of all 
     costs associated with the conference, including the cost of 
     all food and beverages, audio/visual equipment, honoraria for 
     speakers, and any entertainment.
       ``(C) Report.--The Deputy Attorney General and Deputy 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit an annual 
     report to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
     Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Energy and 
     Commerce of the House of Representatives on all conference 
     expenditures approved and denied during the fiscal year for 
     which the report is submitted.
       ``(8) Prohibition on lobbying activity.--
       ``(A) In general.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated 
     under this title may not be utilized by any grantee or 
     subgrantee to lobby any representative of the Federal 
     Government (including the Department of Justice) or a State, 
     local, or tribal government regarding the award of grant 
     funding.
       ``(B) Penalty.--If the Attorney General or the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services, as applicable determines that any 
     grantee or subgrantee receiving funds under this title has 
     violated subparagraph (A), the Attorney General or the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, as applicable, 
     shall--
       ``(i) require the grantee or subgrantee to repay such funds 
     in full; and
       ``(ii) prohibit the grantee or subgrantee from receiving 
     any funds under this title for not less than 5 years.
       ``(9) Annual certification.--Beginning in the first fiscal 
     year beginning after the date of the enactment of the 
     Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, the 
     Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice 
     Programs, the Director of the Office on Violence Against 
     Women, and the Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services 
     shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee 
     on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives a certification for such year that--
       ``(A) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector 
     General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed 
     by the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice 
     Programs;
       ``(B) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (2) 
     have been issued;
       ``(C) all reimbursements required under paragraph (3) have 
     been made; and
       ``(D) includes a list of any grantees and subgrantees 
     excluded during the previous year under paragraph (2).''.
       (e) Training and Resources for VAWA Grantees.--Section 
     40002 of the Violence Against Women Act 0f 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
     13925) is further amended--
       (1) in the heading, by striking ``AND GRANT PROVISIONS'' 
     and inserting ``, GRANT PROVISIONS, AND TRAINING AND 
     RESOURCES FOR VAWA GRANTEES''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Training and Resources for VAWA Grantees.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General and Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services, as applicable, shall--
       ``(A) develop standards, protocols, and sample tools and 
     forms to provide guidance to grantees and subgrantees under 
     any program or activity described in paragraph (2) regarding 
     financial recordkeeping and accounting practices required of 
     such grantees and subgrantees as recipients of funds from the 
     disbursing agency;
       ``(B) provide training to such grantees and subgrantees 
     regarding such standards, protocols, and sample tools and 
     forms; and
       ``(C) publish on the public Internet website of the Office 
     of Violence Against Women information to assist such grantees 
     and subgrantees with compliance with such standards, 
     protocols, and sample tools and forms.
       ``(2) VAWA programs and activities.--For purposes of 
     paragraph (1), a program or activity described in this 
     paragraph is any program or activity funded in whole or in 
     part with funds made available under this title, the Violence 
     Against Women Act of 2000 (division B of Public Law 106-386; 
     114 Stat. 1491), the Violence Against Women and Department of 
     Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (title IX of Public Law 
     109-162; 119 Stat. 3080), the Violence Against Women 
     Reauthorization Act of 2012, or any other program or activity 
     funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated for 
     grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance 
     administered by the Office on Violence Against Women.''.

     SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, the 
     provisions of titles I, II, III, IV, VII, and sections 3, 
     602, 901, and 902 of this Act shall not take effect until the 
     first day of the fiscal year following the date of enactment 
     of this Act.

    TITLE I--ENHANCING JUDICIAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TOOLS TO COMBAT 
                         VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

     SEC. 101. STOP GRANTS.

       (a) STOP Grants.--Part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) 
     is amended--
       (1) in section 2001(b) (42 U.S.C. 3796gg(b)), as amended by 
     paragraph (2)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``equipment'' and inserting ``resources''; 
     and
       (ii) by inserting ``for the protection and safety of 
     victims,'' before ``and specifically,'';
       (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``sexual assault'' and 
     all that follows through ``dating violence'' and inserting 
     ``domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking'';
       (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``sexual assault and 
     domestic violence'' and inserting ``domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking'';

[[Page 6926]]

       (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ``sexual assault and 
     domestic violence'' and inserting ``domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as the 
     appropriate treatment of victims'';
       (E) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by inserting ``, classifying,'' after ``identifying''; 
     and
       (ii) by striking ``sexual assault and domestic violence'' 
     and inserting ``domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking'';
       (F) in paragraph (5)--
       (i) by inserting ``and legal assistance'' after ``victim 
     services'';
       (ii) by striking ``sexual assault and domestic violence'' 
     and inserting ``domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking''; and
       (iii) by striking ``including crimes'' and all that follows 
     and inserting ``including crimes of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking;'';
       (G) by striking paragraph (6) and redesignating paragraphs 
     (7) through (14) as paragraphs (6) through (13), 
     respectively;
       (H) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (G), by striking ``sexual assault and domestic violence'' and 
     inserting ``domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking'';
       (I) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (G), by striking ``and dating violence'' and inserting 
     ``dating violence, and stalking'';
       (J) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (G)--
       (i) by striking ``domestic violence or sexual assault'' and 
     inserting ``domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking''; and
       (ii) by striking ``such violence or assault'' and inserting 
     ``such violence, assault, or stalking'';
       (K) in paragraph (12), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (G)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``triage protocols to 
     ensure that dangerous or potentially lethal cases are 
     identified and prioritized'' and inserting ``the use of 
     evidence-based indicators to assess the risk of domestic and 
     dating violence homicide and prioritize dangerous or 
     potentially lethal cases''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (L) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (G)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--

       (I) by striking ``to provide'' and inserting ``providing'';
       (II) by striking ``nonprofit nongovernmental''; and
       (III) by striking the comma after ``local governments'';

       (ii) by inserting ``and'' after the semicolon in 
     subparagraph (B); and
       (iii) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
     and inserting a semicolon;
       (M) by inserting after paragraph (13), as so redesignated 
     by subparagraph (G), the following:
       ``(14) developing and promoting State, local, or tribal 
     legislation and policies that enhance best practices for 
     responding to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking;
       ``(15) developing, implementing, or enhancing Sexual 
     Assault Response Teams, or other similar coordinated 
     community responses to sexual assault;
       ``(16) developing and strengthening policies, protocols, 
     best practices, and training for law enforcement agencies and 
     prosecutors relating to the investigation and prosecution of 
     sexual assault cases and the appropriate treatment of 
     victims;
       ``(17) developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs 
     addressing sexual assault against men, women, and youth in 
     correctional and detention settings;
       ``(18) identifying and conducting inventories of backlogs 
     of sexual assault evidence collection kits and developing 
     protocols and policies for responding to and addressing such 
     backlogs, including protocols and policies for notifying and 
     involving victims; and
       ``(19) with not more than 5 percent of the total amount 
     allocated to a State for this part, developing, enhancing, or 
     strengthening prevention and educational programming to 
     address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
     or stalking.''; and
       (N) in the flush text at the end, by striking ``paragraph 
     (14)'' and inserting ``paragraph (13)'';
       (2) in section 2007 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-1)--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``nonprofit 
     nongovernmental victim services programs'' and inserting 
     ``victim service providers'';
       (B) in subsection (b)(6), by striking ``(not including 
     populations of Indian tribes)'';
       (C) in subsection (c)--
       (i) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) grantees and subgrantees shall develop a plan for 
     implementation and may consult and coordinate with--
       ``(A) the State sexual assault coalition;
       ``(B) the State domestic violence coalition;
       ``(C) the law enforcement entities within the State;
       ``(D) prosecution offices;
       ``(E) State and local courts;
       ``(F) tribal governments or tribal coalitions in those 
     States with State or federally recognized Indian tribes;
       ``(G) representatives from underserved populations;
       ``(H) victim service providers;
       ``(I) population specific organizations; and
       ``(J) other entities that the State or the Attorney General 
     identifies as necessary for the planning process;'';
       (ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) and (4) as paragraphs 
     (4) and (5), respectively;
       (iii) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) grantees shall coordinate the State implementation 
     plan described in paragraph (2) with the State plans 
     described in section 307 of the Family Violence Prevention 
     and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10407) and the plans described in 
     the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.) 
     and section 393A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     280b-1b); and''; and
       (iv) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated by clause (ii)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and not less than 25 
     percent shall be allocated for prosecutors'';
       (II) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
     subparagraphs (D) and (E);
       (III) by inserting after subparagraph (A), the following:

       ``(B) not less than 25 percent shall be allocated for 
     prosecutors;
       ``(C) for each fiscal year beginning on or after the date 
     that is 2 years after the date of enactment of the Violence 
     Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, not less than 20 
     percent shall be allocated for programs or projects that 
     meaningfully address sexual assault, including stranger rape, 
     acquaintance rape, alcohol or drug-facilitated rape, and rape 
     within the context of an intimate partner relationship;''; 
     and

       (IV) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated by subclause 
     (II), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a period;

       (D) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Application Requirements.--An application for a grant 
     under this part shall include--
       ``(1) the certifications of qualification required under 
     subsection (c);
       ``(2) proof of compliance with the requirements for the 
     payment of forensic medical exams and judicial notification, 
     described in section 2010;
       ``(3) proof of compliance with the requirements for paying 
     fees and costs relating to domestic violence and protection 
     order cases described in section 2011;
       ``(4) proof of compliance with the requirements prohibiting 
     polygraph examinations of victims of sexual assault described 
     in section 2013;
       ``(5) an implementation plan required under subsection (i); 
     and
       ``(6) any other documentation that the Attorney General may 
     require.'';
       (E) in subsection (e)--
       (i) in paragraph (2)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``domestic violence 
     and sexual assault'' and inserting ``domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking''; and
       (II) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``linguistically 
     and''; and

       (ii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Conditions.--In disbursing grants under this part, 
     the Attorney General may impose reasonable conditions on 
     grant awards disbursed after the date of enactment of the 
     Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 to ensure 
     that the States meet statutory, regulatory, and other 
     programs requirements.'';
       (F) in subsection (f), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``, except that, for purposes of this 
     subsection, the costs of the projects for victim services or 
     tribes for which there is an exemption under section 
     40002(b)(1) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
     U.S.C. 13925(b)(1)) shall not count toward the total costs of 
     the projects.''; and
       (G) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(i) Implementation Plans.--A State applying for a grant 
     under this part shall--
       ``(1) develop an implementation plan in consultation with 
     representatives of the entities listed in subsection (c)(2), 
     that identifies how the State will use the funds awarded 
     under this part; and
       ``(2) submit to the Attorney General as part of the 
     application submitted in accordance with subsection (d)--
       ``(A) the implementation plan developed under paragraph 
     (1);
       ``(B) documentation from each member of the planning 
     committee with respect to the member's participation in the 
     planning process;
       ``(C) documentation from the prosecution, law enforcement, 
     court, and victim services programs to be assisted, 
     describing--
       ``(i) the need for the grant funds;
       ``(ii) the intended use of the grant funds;
       ``(iii) the expected result of the grant funds; and
       ``(iv) the demographic characteristics of the populations 
     to be served, including age, disability, race, ethnicity, and 
     language background;
       ``(D) a description of how the State will ensure that any 
     subgrantees will consult with victim service providers during 
     the course of developing their grant applications to ensure 
     that the proposed activities are designed to promote the 
     safety, confidentiality, and economic independence of 
     victims;
       ``(E) demographic data on the distribution of underserved 
     populations within the State and a description of how the 
     State will meet the needs of underserved populations, 
     including the minimum allocation for population specific 
     services required under subsection (c)(4)(C);
       ``(F) a description of how the State plans to meet the 
     requirements pursuant to regulations issued under subsection 
     (e)(2);

[[Page 6927]]

       ``(G) goals and objectives for reducing domestic and dating 
     violence-related homicides within the State; and
       ``(H) any other information requested by the Attorney 
     General.
       ``(j) Reallocation of Funds.--A State may use any returned 
     or remaining funds for any authorized purpose under this part 
     if--
       ``(1) funds from a subgrant awarded under this part are 
     returned to the State; or
       ``(2) the State does not receive sufficient eligible 
     applications to award the full funding within the allocations 
     under subsection (c)(4).'';
       (3) in section 2010 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-4)--
       (A) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
     follows:
       ``(1) In general.--A State, Indian tribal government, or 
     unit of local government shall not be entitled to funds under 
     this subchapter unless the State, Indian tribal government, 
     unit of local government, or another governmental entity--
       ``(A) incurs the full out-of-pocket cost of forensic 
     medical exams described in subsection (b) for victims of 
     sexual assault; and
       ``(B) coordinates with health care providers in the region 
     to notify victims of sexual assault of the availability of 
     rape exams at no cost to the victims.'';
       (B) in subsection (b)--
       (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; or'' and inserting a 
     period; and
       (iii) by striking paragraph (3);
       (C) in subsection (c), by striking ``, except that such 
     funds'' and all that follows and inserting a period; and
       (D) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Noncooperation.--
       ``(1) In general.--To be in compliance with this section, a 
     State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government 
     shall comply with subsection (b) without regard to whether 
     the victim participates in the criminal justice system or 
     cooperates with law enforcement.
       ``(2) Compliance period.--States, territories, and Indian 
     tribal governments shall have 3 years from the date of 
     enactment of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 
     of 2012 to come into compliance with this subsection.''; and
       (4) in section 2011(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 3796gg 5(a)(1))--
       (A) by inserting ``modification, enforcement, dismissal,'' 
     after ``registration,'' each place it appears; and
       (B) by striking ``domestic violence, stalking, or sexual 
     assault'' and inserting ``domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a)(18) 
     of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
     of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)(18)), is amended by striking 
     ``$225,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' 
     and inserting ``$222,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 
     through 2017''.

     SEC. 102. GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE ARREST POLICIES AND ENFORCEMENT 
                   OF PROTECTION ORDERS.

       (a) In General.--Part U of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh et 
     seq.) is amended--
       (1) in section 2101 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh)--
       (A) in subsection (b)--
       (i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``States,'' and all that follows through ``units of local 
     government'' and inserting ``grantees'';
       (ii) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and enforcement of 
     protection orders across State and tribal lines'' before the 
     period;
       (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and training in 
     police departments to improve tracking of cases'' and 
     inserting ``data collection systems, and training in police 
     departments to improve tracking of cases and classification 
     of complaints'';
       (iv) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``and provide the 
     appropriate training and education about domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking'' after 
     ``computer tracking systems'';
       (v) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``and other victim 
     services'' after ``legal advocacy service programs'';
       (vi) in paragraph (6), by striking ``judges'' and inserting 
     ``Federal, State, tribal, territorial, and local judges, and 
     court-based and court-related personnel'';
       (vii) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and sexual assault'' 
     and inserting ``, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking'';
       (viii) in paragraph (10), by striking ``non-profit, non-
     governmental victim services organizations,'' and inserting 
     ``victim service providers, population specific 
     organizations,''; and
       (ix) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(14) To develop and implement training programs for 
     prosecutors and other prosecution-related personnel regarding 
     best practices to ensure offender accountability, victim 
     safety, and victim consultation in cases involving domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
       ``(15) To develop or strengthen policies, protocols, and 
     training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and the 
     judiciary in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting 
     instances of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking.
       ``(16) To develop and promote State, local, or tribal 
     legislation and policies that enhance best practices for 
     responding to the crimes of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including the 
     appropriate treatment of victims.
       ``(17) To develop, implement, or enhance sexual assault 
     nurse examiner programs or sexual assault forensic examiner 
     programs, including the hiring and training of such 
     examiners.
       ``(18) To develop, implement, or enhance Sexual Assault 
     Response Teams or similar coordinated community responses to 
     sexual assault.
       ``(19) To develop and strengthen policies, protocols, and 
     training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors 
     regarding the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault 
     cases and the appropriate treatment of victims of sexual 
     assault.
       ``(20) To provide the following human immunodeficiency 
     virus services for victims of sexual assault:
       ``(A) Testing.
       ``(B) Counseling.
       ``(C) Prophylaxis.
       ``(21) To identify and inventory backlogs of sexual assault 
     evidence collection kits and to develop protocols for 
     responding to and addressing such backlogs, including 
     policies and protocols for notifying and involving victims.
       ``(22) To develop multidisciplinary high-risk teams 
     focusing on reducing domestic violence and dating violence 
     homicides by--
       ``(A) using evidence-based indicators to assess the risk of 
     homicide and link high-risk victims to immediate crisis 
     intervention services;
       ``(B) identifying and managing high-risk offenders; and
       ``(C) providing ongoing victim advocacy and referrals to 
     comprehensive services including legal, housing, health care, 
     and economic assistance.'';
       (B) in subsection (c)--
       (i) in paragraph (1)--

       (I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``except for a court,'' before ``certify''; and
       (II) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses 
     (i) and (ii), respectively, and adjusting the margin 
     accordingly;

       (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``except for a court,'' 
     before ``demonstrate'';
       (iii) in paragraph (4)--

       (I) by inserting ``modification, enforcement, dismissal,'' 
     after ``registration,'' each place it appears;
       (II) by inserting ``dating violence,'' after ``domestic 
     violence,''; and
       (III) by striking ``and'' at the end;

       (iv) in paragraph (5)--

       (I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
     ``, not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
     this section,'';
       (II) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses 
     (i) and (ii), respectively, and adjusting the margin 
     accordingly;
       (III) in clause (ii), as redesignated by subclause (II) of 
     this clause, by striking ``subparagraph (A)'' and inserting 
     ``clause (i)''; and
       (IV) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and'';

       (v) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5), as amended 
     by this subparagraph, as subparagraphs (A) through (E), 
     respectively, and adjusting the margin accordingly;
       (vi) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as 
     redesignated by clause (v) of this subparagraph--

       (I) by striking the second comma; and
       (II) by striking ``grantees are States'' and inserting the 
     following: ``grantees are--

       ``(1) States''; and
       (vii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) a State, tribal, or territorial domestic violence or 
     sexual assault coalition or a victim service provider that 
     partners with a State, Indian tribal government, or unit of 
     local government that certifies that the State, Indian tribal 
     government, or unit of local government meets the 
     requirements under paragraph (1).'';
       (C) in subsection (d)--
       (i) in paragraph (1)--

       (I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``, policy,'' after ``law''; and
       (II) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and the defendant 
     is in custody or has been served with the information or 
     indictment'' before the semicolon; and

       (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``it'' and inserting 
     ``its''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Allocation for Tribal Coalitions.--Of the amounts 
     appropriated for purposes of this part for each fiscal year, 
     not less than 5 percent shall be available for grants under 
     section 2001(d) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
     Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg(d)).
       ``(g) Allocation for Sexual Assault.--Of the amounts 
     appropriated for purposes of this part for each fiscal year, 
     not less than 25 percent shall be available for projects that 
     address sexual assault, including stranger rape, acquaintance 
     rape, alcohol or drug-facilitated rape, and rape within the 
     context of an intimate partner relationship.''; and
       (2) in section 2102(a) (42 U.S.C. 3796hh-1(a))--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``court,'' after 
     ``tribal government,''; and
       (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``nonprofit, private 
     sexual assault and domestic violence programs'' and inserting 
     ``victim service providers and, as appropriate, population 
     specific organizations''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a)(19) 
     of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
     of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)(19)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$75,000,000'' and all that follows 
     through ``2011'' and inserting ``$73,000,000 for each of 
     fiscal years 2013 through 2017''; and
       (2) by striking the second period.

[[Page 6928]]



     SEC. 103. LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS.

       Section 1201 of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (42 
     U.S.C. 3796gg-6) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``arising as a 
     consequence of'' and inserting ``relating to or arising out 
     of''; and
       (B) in the second sentence, by inserting ``or arising out 
     of'' after ``relating to'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in the heading, by inserting ``and Grant Conditions'' 
     after ``Definitions''; and
       (B) by inserting ``and grant conditions'' after 
     ``definitions'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``victim services 
     organizations'' and inserting ``victim service providers''; 
     and
       (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) to implement, expand, and establish efforts and 
     projects to provide competent, supervised pro bono legal 
     assistance for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking.'';
       (4) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection (c) has 
     completed'' and all that follows and inserting the following: 
     ``this section--''
       ``(A) has demonstrated expertise in providing legal 
     assistance or advocacy to victims of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in the targeted 
     population; or
       ``(B)(i) is partnered with an entity or person that has 
     demonstrated expertise described in subparagraph (A); and
       ``(ii) has completed, or will complete, training in 
     connection with domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, 
     or sexual assault and related legal issues, including 
     training on evidence-based risk factors for domestic and 
     dating violence homicide;''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``stalking organization'' 
     and inserting ``stalking victim service provider''; and
       (5) in subsection (f)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``this section'' and all 
     that follows through the period at the end and inserting 
     ``this section $57,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 
     through 2017.''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following 
     new subparagraph:
       ``(D) Of the amount made available under this subsection in 
     each fiscal year, not more than 10 percent may be used for 
     purposes described in subsection (c)(3).''.

     SEC. 104. CONSOLIDATION OF GRANTS TO SUPPORT FAMILIES IN THE 
                   JUSTICE SYSTEM.

       (a) In General.--Title III of division B of the Victims of 
     Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 
     106-386; 114 Stat. 1509) is amended by striking the section 
     preceding section 1302 (42 U.S.C. 10420), as amended by 
     section 306 of the Violence Against Women and Department of 
     Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-162; 119 
     Stat. 3016), and inserting the following:

     ``SEC. 1301. COURT TRAINING AND SUPERVISED VISITATION 
                   IMPROVEMENTS.

       ``(a) In General.--The Attorney General may make grants to 
     States, units of local government, courts (including juvenile 
     courts), Indian tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, 
     legal services providers, and victim services providers to 
     improve the response of all aspects of the civil and criminal 
     justice system to families with a history of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or in 
     cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse.
       ``(b) Use of Funds.--A grant under this section may be used 
     to--
       ``(1) provide supervised visitation and safe visitation 
     exchange of children and youth by and between parents in 
     situations involving domestic violence, dating violence, 
     child sexual abuse, sexual assault, or stalking;
       ``(2) develop and promote State, local, and tribal 
     legislation, policies, and best practices for improving civil 
     and criminal court functions, responses, practices, and 
     procedures in cases involving a history of domestic violence 
     or sexual assault, or in cases involving allegations of child 
     sexual abuse, including cases in which the victim proceeds 
     pro se;
       ``(3) educate court-based and court-related personnel 
     (including custody evaluators and guardians ad litem) and 
     child protective services workers on the dynamics of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, 
     including information on perpetrator behavior, evidence-based 
     risk factors for domestic and dating violence homicide, and 
     on issues relating to the needs of victims, including safety, 
     security, privacy, and confidentiality, including cases in 
     which the victim proceeds pro se;
       ``(4) provide adequate resources in juvenile court matters 
     to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault (including child sexual abuse), and stalking and 
     ensure necessary services dealing with the physical health 
     and mental health of victims are available;
       ``(5) enable courts or court-based or court-related 
     programs to develop or enhance--
       ``(A) court infrastructure (such as specialized courts, 
     consolidated courts, dockets, intake centers, or interpreter 
     services);
       ``(B) community-based initiatives within the court system 
     (such as court watch programs, victim assistants, pro se 
     victim assistance programs, or community-based supplementary 
     services);
       ``(C) offender management, monitoring, and accountability 
     programs;
       ``(D) safe and confidential information-storage and 
     information-sharing databases within and between court 
     systems;
       ``(E) education and outreach programs to improve community 
     access, including enhanced access for underserved 
     populations; and
       ``(F) other projects likely to improve court responses to 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking;
       ``(6) collect data and provide training and technical 
     assistance, including developing State, local, and tribal 
     model codes and policies, to improve the capacity of grantees 
     and communities to address the civil justice needs of victims 
     of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking who have legal representation, who are proceeding 
     pro se, or who are proceeding with the assistance of a legal 
     advocate; and
       ``(7) improve training and education to assist judges, 
     judicial personnel, attorneys, child welfare personnel, and 
     legal advocates in the civil justice system regarding 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, 
     or child abuse.
       ``(c) Considerations.--
       ``(1) In general.--In making grants for purposes described 
     in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (b), the Attorney 
     General shall consider--
       ``(A) the number of families to be served by the proposed 
     programs and services;
       ``(B) the extent to which the proposed programs and 
     services serve underserved populations;
       ``(C) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates 
     cooperation and collaboration with nonprofit, nongovernmental 
     entities in the local community with demonstrated histories 
     of effective work on domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking, including State or tribal 
     domestic violence coalitions, State or tribal sexual assault 
     coalitions, local shelters, and programs for domestic 
     violence and sexual assault victims; and
       ``(D) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates 
     coordination and collaboration with State, tribal, and local 
     court systems, including mechanisms for communication and 
     referral.
       ``(2) Other grants.--In making grants under subsection 
     (b)(8) the Attorney General shall take into account the 
     extent to which the grantee has expertise addressing the 
     judicial system's handling of family violence, child custody, 
     child abuse and neglect, adoption, foster care, supervised 
     visitation, divorce, and parentage.
       ``(d) Applicant Requirements.--The Attorney General may 
     make a grant under this section to an applicant that--
       ``(1) demonstrates expertise in the areas of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or child 
     sexual abuse, as appropriate;
       ``(2) ensures that any fees charged to individuals for use 
     of supervised visitation programs and services are based on 
     the income of those individuals, unless otherwise provided by 
     court order;
       ``(3) if the applicant proposes to operate supervised 
     visitation programs and services or safe visitation exchange, 
     demonstrates that adequate security measures, including 
     adequate facilities, procedures, and personnel capable of 
     preventing violence, and adequate standards are, or will be, 
     in place (including the development of protocols or policies 
     to ensure that confidential information is not shared with 
     courts, law enforcement agencies, or child welfare agencies 
     unless necessary to ensure the safety of any child or adult 
     using the services of a program funded under this section);
       ``(4) certifies that the organizational policies of the 
     applicant do not require mediation or counseling involving 
     offenders and victims being physically present in the same 
     place, in cases where domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking is alleged;
       ``(5) certifies that any person providing legal assistance 
     through a program funded under this section has completed or 
     will complete training on domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, and stalking, including child sexual abuse, 
     and related legal issues; and
       ``(6) certifies that any person providing custody 
     evaluation or guardian ad litem services through a program 
     funded under this section has completed or will complete 
     training, developed with input from and in collaboration with 
     a tribal, State, territorial, or local domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking victim service 
     provider or coalition, on the dynamics of domestic violence 
     and sexual assault, including child sexual abuse, that 
     includes training on how to review evidence of past abuse and 
     the use of evidenced-based theories to make recommendations 
     on custody and visitation.
       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $22,000,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017. Amounts 
     appropriated pursuant to this subsection are authorized to 
     remain available until expended.
       ``(f) Allotment for Indian Tribes.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not less than 10 percent of the total 
     amount available under this section for each fiscal year 
     shall be available for grants under the program authorized by 
     section 2015 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-10).
       ``(2) Applicability of part.--The requirements of this 
     section shall not apply to funds allocated for the program 
     described in paragraph (1).''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Subtitle J of the 
     Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043 et seq.) 
     is repealed.

     SEC. 105. COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE PROGRAM.

       Subtitle B of title II of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 
     U.S.C. 13011 et seq.) is amended--

[[Page 6929]]

       (1) in section 216 (42 U.S.C. 13012), by striking ``January 
     1, 2010'' and inserting ``January 1, 2015'';
       (2) in section 217 (42 U.S.C. 13013)--
       (A) in subsection (c)(2)(A), by striking ``Code of Ethics'' 
     and inserting ``Standards for Programs''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e) Reporting.--An organization that receives a grant 
     under this section for a fiscal year shall submit to the 
     Administrator a report regarding the use of the grant for the 
     fiscal year, including a discussion of outcome performance 
     measures (which shall be established by the Administrator) to 
     determine the effectiveness of the programs of the 
     organization in meeting the needs of children in the child 
     welfare system.''; and
       (3) in section 219(a) (42 U.S.C. 13014(a)), by striking 
     ``fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting ``fiscal 
     years 2013 through 2017''.

     SEC. 106. OUTREACH AND SERVICES TO UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS 
                   GRANT.

       Section 120 of the Violence Against Women and Department of 
     Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14045) is 
     amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 120. GRANTS FOR OUTREACH AND SERVICES TO UNDERSERVED 
                   POPULATIONS.

       ``(a) Grants Authorized.--
       ``(1) In general.--Of the amounts appropriated under the 
     grant programs identified in paragraph (2), the Attorney 
     General shall take 2 percent of such appropriated amounts and 
     combine them to award grants to eligible entities described 
     in subsection (b) of this section to develop and implement 
     outreach strategies targeted at adult or youth victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking in underserved populations and to provide victim 
     services to meet the needs of adult and youth victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking in underserved populations. The requirements of the 
     grant programs identified in paragraph (2) shall not apply to 
     this grant program.
       ``(2) Programs covered.--The programs identified in this 
     paragraph are the programs carried out under the following 
     provisions:
       ``(A) Part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (STOP grants).
       ``(B) Part U of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Grants to encourage arrest 
     policies).
       ``(b) Eligible Entities.--Eligible entities under this 
     section are--
       ``(1) population specific organizations that have 
     demonstrated experience and expertise in providing population 
     specific services in the relevant underserved communities, or 
     population specific organizations working in partnership with 
     a victim service provider or domestic violence or sexual 
     assault coalition;
       ``(2) victim service providers offering population specific 
     services for a specific underserved population; or
       ``(3) victim service providers working in partnership with 
     a national, State, or local organization that has 
     demonstrated experience and expertise in providing population 
     specific services in the relevant underserved population.
       ``(c) Planning Grants.--The Attorney General may use up to 
     20 percent of funds available under this section to make one-
     time planning grants to eligible entities to support the 
     planning and development of specially designed and targeted 
     programs for adult and youth victims in one or more 
     underserved populations, including--
       ``(1) identifying, building, and strengthening partnerships 
     with potential collaborators within underserved populations, 
     Federal, State, tribal, territorial or local government 
     entities, and public and private organizations;
       ``(2) conducting a needs assessment of the community and 
     the targeted underserved population or populations to 
     determine what the barriers are to service access and what 
     factors contribute to those barriers, using input from the 
     targeted underserved population or populations;
       ``(3) identifying promising prevention, outreach, and 
     intervention strategies for victims from a targeted 
     underserved population or populations; and
       ``(4) developing a plan, with the input of the targeted 
     underserved population or populations, for--
       ``(A) implementing prevention, outreach, and intervention 
     strategies to address the barriers to accessing services;
       ``(B) promoting community engagement in the prevention of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking within the targeted underserved populations; and
       ``(C) evaluating the program.
       ``(d) Implementation Grants.--The Attorney General shall 
     make grants to eligible entities for the purpose of providing 
     or enhancing population specific outreach and victim services 
     to adult and youth victims in one or more underserved 
     populations, including--
       ``(1) working with Federal, State, tribal, territorial and 
     local governments, agencies, and organizations to develop or 
     enhance population specific victim services;
       ``(2) strengthening the capacity of underserved populations 
     to provide population specific services;
       ``(3) strengthening the capacity of traditional victim 
     service providers to provide population specific services;
       ``(4) strengthening the effectiveness of criminal and civil 
     justice interventions by providing training for law 
     enforcement, prosecutors, judges and other court personnel on 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking in underserved populations; or
       ``(5) working in cooperation with an underserved population 
     to develop and implement outreach, education, prevention, and 
     intervention strategies that highlight available resources 
     and the specific issues faced by victims of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking from 
     underserved populations.
       ``(e) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant 
     under this section shall submit an application to the 
     Director of the Office on Violence Against Women at such 
     time, in such form, and in such manner as the Director may 
     prescribe.
       ``(f) Reports.--Each eligible entity receiving a grant 
     under this section shall annually submit to the Director of 
     the Office on Violence Against Women a report that describes 
     the activities carried out with grant funds during the 
     preceding fiscal year.
       ``(g) Definitions and Grant Conditions.--In this section 
     the definitions and grant conditions in section 40002 of the 
     Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925) shall 
     apply.
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to the 
     funds identified in subsection (a)(1), there are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.''.

     SEC. 107. CULTURALLY SPECIFIC SERVICES GRANT.

       Section 121 of the Violence Against Women and Department of 
     Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14045a) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by striking ``and 
     linguistically'';
       (2) by striking ``and linguistically'' each place it 
     appears;
       (3) by striking ``and linguistic'' each place it appears;
       (4) by amending paragraph (2) of subsection (a) to read as 
     follows:
       ``(2) Programs covered.--The programs identified in this 
     paragraph are the programs carried out under the following 
     provisions:
       ``(A) Part U of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh) (Grants to 
     encourage arrest policies).
       ``(B) Section 1201 of division B of the Victims of 
     Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
     3796gg-6) (Legal assistance for victims).
       ``(C) Section 40295 of the Violence Against Women Act of 
     1994 (42 U.S.C. 13971) (Rural domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, stalking, and child abuse 
     enforcement assistance).
       ``(D) Section 40802 of the Violence Against Women Act of 
     1994 (42 U.S.C. 14041a) (Enhanced training and services to 
     end violence against women later in life).
       ``(E) Section 1402 of division B of the Victims of 
     Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
     3796gg-7) (Education, training, and enhanced services to end 
     violence against and abuse of women with disabilities).''; 
     and
       (5) in subsection (g), by striking ``linguistic and''.

     SEC. 108. REDUCTION IN RAPE KIT BACKLOG.

       Section 2(c)(3) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act 
     of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135(c)(3)), is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``2014'' and inserting 
     ``2012''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(C) For each of the fiscal years 2013 and 2014, not less 
     than 75 percent of the grant amounts shall be awarded for 
     purposes under subsection (a)(2).''.

     SEC. 109. ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT TRAINING 
                   PROGRAMS.

       Section 40152(c) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
     (42 U.S.C. 13941(c)) is amended by striking ``to carry out 
     this section'' and all that follows through the period at the 
     end and inserting ``to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.''.

     SEC. 110. CHILD ABUSE TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR JUDICIAL 
                   PERSONNEL AND PRACTITIONERS.

       Section 224(a) of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 
     (42 U.S.C. 13024(a)) is amended by striking ``$2,300,000'' 
     and all that follows through the period at the end and 
     inserting ``$2,300,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 
     2017.''.

 TITLE II--IMPROVING SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING 
                 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING

     SEC. 201. SEXUAL ASSAULT SERVICES PROGRAM.

       (a) Grants to States and Territories.--Section 41601(b) of 
     the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043g(b)) 
     is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``other programs'' and 
     all that follows through the period at the end and inserting 
     ``other nongovernmental or tribal programs and projects to 
     assist individuals who have been victimized by sexual 
     assault, without regard to the age of the individual.'';
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``nonprofit, 
     nongovernmental organizations for programs and activities'' 
     and inserting ``nongovernmental or tribal programs and 
     activities''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (C)(v), by striking ``linguistically 
     and''; and
       (3) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) in the first sentence--

[[Page 6930]]

       (i) by inserting ``and territory'' after ``each State'';
       (ii) by striking ``1.50 percent'' and inserting ``0.75 
     percent''; and
       (iii) by striking ``, except that'' and all that follows 
     through ``of the total appropriations''; and
       (B) in the last sentence, by striking ``the preceding 
     formula'' and inserting ``this paragraph''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 41601(f)(1) 
     of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
     14043g(f)(1)) is amended by striking ``$50,000,000 to remain 
     available until expended for each of the fiscal years 2007 
     through 2011'' and inserting ``$40,000,000 to remain 
     available until expended for each of fiscal years 2013 
     through 2017''.

     SEC. 202. RURAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL 
                   ASSAULT, STALKING, AND CHILD ABUSE ENFORCEMENT 
                   ASSISTANCE.

       Section 40295 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
     U.S.C. 13971) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)(H), by inserting ``, including 
     sexual assault forensic examiners'' before the semicolon;
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``victim advocacy groups'' and inserting 
     ``victim service providers''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``, including developing 
     multidisciplinary teams focusing on high-risk cases with the 
     goal of preventing domestic and dating violence homicides'' 
     before the semicolon;
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``and other long- and short-term 
     assistance'' and inserting ``legal assistance, and other 
     long-term and short-term victim services and population 
     specific services''; and
       (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) to develop, expand, or strengthen programs addressing 
     sexual assault, including sexual assault forensic examiner 
     programs, Sexual Assault Response Teams, law enforcement 
     training, and programs addressing rape kit backlogs.''; and
       (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ``$55,000,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting 
     ``$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017''.

     SEC. 203. TRAINING AND SERVICES TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
                   WITH DISABILITIES GRANTS.

       Section 1402 of division B of the Victims of Trafficking 
     and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-7) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``(including using 
     evidence-based indicators to assess the risk of domestic and 
     dating violence homicide)'' after ``risk reduction'';
       (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``victim service 
     organizations'' and inserting ``victim service providers''; 
     and
       (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ``victim services 
     organizations'' and inserting ``victim service providers'';
       (2) in subsection (c)(1)(D), by striking ``nonprofit and 
     nongovernmental victim services organization, such as a 
     State'' and inserting ``victim service provider, such as a 
     State or tribal''; and
       (3) in subsection (e), by striking ``$10,000,000 for each 
     of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting 
     ``$9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017''.

     SEC. 204. GRANT FOR TRAINING AND SERVICES TO END VIOLENCE 
                   AGAINST WOMEN IN LATER LIFE.

       Section 40802 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
     U.S.C. 14041a) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 40802. GRANT FOR TRAINING AND SERVICES TO END VIOLENCE 
                   AGAINST WOMEN IN LATER LIFE.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) The term `eligible entity' means an entity that--
       ``(A) is--
       ``(i) a State;
       ``(ii) a unit of local government;
       ``(iii) a tribal government or tribal organization;
       ``(iv) a population specific organization with demonstrated 
     experience in assisting individuals in later life;
       ``(v) a victim service provider; or
       ``(vi) a State, tribal, or territorial domestic violence or 
     sexual assault coalition; and
       ``(B) is partnered with--
       ``(i) a law enforcement agency;
       ``(ii) an office of a prosecutor;
       ``(iii) a victim service provider; or
       ``(iv) a nonprofit program or government agency with 
     demonstrated experience in assisting individuals in later 
     life.
       ``(2) The term `elder abuse' means domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed 
     against individuals in later life.
       ``(3) The term `individual in later life' means an 
     individual who is 60 years of age or older.
       ``(b) Grant Program.--
       ``(1) Grants authorized.--The Attorney General may make 
     grants to eligible entities to carry out the activities 
     described in paragraph (2). In awarding such grants, the 
     Attorney General shall consult with the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services to ensure that the activities funded under 
     this section are not duplicative with the activities funded 
     under the elder abuse prevention programs of the Department 
     of Health and Human Services.
       ``(2) Mandatory and permissible activities.--
       ``(A) Mandatory activities.--An eligible entity receiving a 
     grant under this section shall use the funds received under 
     the grant to--
       ``(i) provide training programs to assist law enforcement 
     agencies, prosecutors, agencies of States or units of local 
     government, population specific organizations, victim service 
     providers, victim advocates, and relevant officers in 
     Federal, tribal, State, territorial, and local courts in 
     recognizing and addressing instances of elder abuse;
       ``(ii) provide or enhance services for victims of elder 
     abuse;
       ``(iii) establish or support multidisciplinary 
     collaborative community responses to victims of elder abuse; 
     and
       ``(iv) conduct cross-training for law enforcement agencies, 
     prosecutors, agencies of States or units of local government, 
     attorneys, health care providers, population specific 
     organizations, faith-based advocates, victim service 
     providers, and courts to better serve victims of elder abuse.
       ``(B) Permissible activities.--An eligible entity receiving 
     a grant under this section may use not more than 10 percent 
     of the funds received under the grant to--
       ``(i) provide training programs to assist attorneys, health 
     care providers, faith-based leaders, or other community-based 
     organizations in recognizing and addressing instances of 
     elder abuse; or
       ``(ii) conduct outreach activities and awareness campaigns 
     to ensure that victims of elder abuse receive appropriate 
     assistance.
       ``(3) Underserved populations.--In making grants under this 
     section, the Attorney General shall give priority to 
     proposals providing culturally specific or population 
     specific services.
       ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $9,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.''.

   TITLE III--SERVICES, PROTECTION, AND JUSTICE FOR YOUNG VICTIMS OF 
                                VIOLENCE

     SEC. 301. RAPE PREVENTION AND EDUCATION GRANT.

       Section 393A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     280b-1b) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ``, 
     territorial, or tribal'' after ``crisis centers, State''; and
       (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``and alcohol'' after 
     ``about drugs'';
       (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``$80,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting 
     ``$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017''; 
     and
       (3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(3) Funding formula.--Amounts provided under this section 
     shall be allotted to each State, territory, and the District 
     of Columbia based on population. If the amounts appropriated 
     under paragraph (1) exceed $48,000,000 in any fiscal year, a 
     minimum allocation of $150,000 shall be awarded to each State 
     and territory and the District of Columbia. Any remaining 
     funds shall be allotted to each State and territory and the 
     District of Columbia based on population.''.

     SEC. 302. CREATING HOPE THROUGH OUTREACH, OPTIONS, SERVICES, 
                   AND EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH.

       (a) In General.--Subtitle L of the Violence Against Women 
     Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043c et seq.) is amended by striking 
     sections 41201 through 41204 and inserting the following:

     ``SEC. 41201. CREATING HOPE THROUGH OUTREACH, OPTIONS, 
                   SERVICES, AND EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH 
                   (CHOOSE CHILDREN AND YOUTH).

       ``(a) Grants Authorized.--The Attorney General, working in 
     collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     and the Secretary of Education, shall award grants to enhance 
     the safety of youth and children who are victims of, or 
     exposed to, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking and to prevent future violence.
       ``(b) Program Purposes.--Funds provided under this section 
     may be used for the following program purpose areas:
       ``(1) Services to advocate for and respond to youth.--To 
     develop, expand, and strengthen victim interventions and 
     services that target youth who are victims of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 
     Services may include victim services, counseling, advocacy, 
     mentoring, educational support, transportation, legal 
     assistance in civil, criminal and administrative matters, 
     such as family law cases, housing cases, child welfare 
     proceedings, campus administrative proceedings, and civil 
     protection order proceedings, services to address sex 
     trafficking, population specific services, and other 
     activities that support youth in finding safety, stability, 
     and justice and in addressing the emotional, cognitive, and 
     physical effects of trauma on youth. Funds may be used to--
       ``(A) assess and analyze available services for youth 
     victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking, determining relevant barriers to such 
     services in a particular locality, and developing a community 
     protocol to address such problems collaboratively;
       ``(B) develop and implement policies, practices, and 
     procedures to effectively respond to domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against youth; 
     or
       ``(C) provide technical assistance and training to enhance 
     the ability of school personnel, victim service providers, 
     child protective service workers, staff of law enforcement 
     agencies,

[[Page 6931]]

     prosecutors, court personnel, individuals who work in after 
     school programs, medical personnel, social workers, mental 
     health personnel, and workers in other programs that serve 
     children and youth to improve their ability to appropriately 
     respond to the needs of children and youth who are victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking, as well as homeless youth, and to properly refer 
     such children, youth, and their families to appropriate 
     services.
       ``(2) Supporting youth through education and protection.--
     To enable secondary or elementary schools that serve students 
     in any of grades five through twelve and institutions of 
     higher education to--
       ``(A) provide training to school personnel, including 
     health care providers and security personnel, on the needs of 
     students who are victims of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
       ``(B) develop and implement age-appropriate prevention and 
     intervention policies in accordance with State law in 
     secondary or elementary schools that serve students in any of 
     grades five through twelve, including appropriate responses 
     to, and identification and referral procedures for, students 
     who are experiencing or perpetrating domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and procedures 
     for handling the requirements of court protective orders 
     issued to or against students;
       ``(C) provide support services for student victims of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking, such as a resource person who is either on-site or 
     on-call;
       ``(D) provide evidence-based educational programs for 
     students regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking; or
       ``(E) develop strategies to increase identification, 
     support, referrals, and prevention programs for youth who are 
     at high risk of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking.
       ``(c) Eligible Applicants.--
       ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this section, an entity shall be--
       ``(A) a victim service provider, tribal nonprofit 
     organization, population specific organization, or community-
     based organization with a demonstrated history of effective 
     work addressing the needs of youth, including runaway or 
     homeless youth, who are victims of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or
       ``(B) a victim service provider that is partnered with an 
     entity that has a demonstrated history of effective work 
     addressing the needs of youth.
       ``(2) Partnerships.--
       ``(A) Education.--To be eligible to receive a grant for the 
     purposes described in subsection (b)(2), an entity described 
     in paragraph (1) shall be partnered with an elementary school 
     or secondary school (as such terms are defined in section 
     9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), 
     charter school (as defined in section 5210 of such Act), a 
     school that is operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian 
     Education, or a legally operating private school, a school 
     administered by the Department of Defense under section 2164 
     of title 10, United States Code, or section 1402 of the 
     Defense Dependents' Education Act of 1978, a group of such 
     schools, a local educational agency (as defined in section 
     9101(26) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965), or an institution of higher education (as defined in 
     section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965).
       ``(B) Other partnerships.--All applicants under this 
     section are encouraged to work in partnership with 
     organizations and agencies that work with the relevant youth 
     population. Such entities may include--
       ``(i) a State, tribe, unit of local government, or 
     territory;
       ``(ii) a population specific or community-based 
     organization;
       ``(iii) batterer intervention programs or sex offender 
     treatment programs with specialized knowledge and experience 
     working with youth offenders; or
       ``(iv) any other agencies or nonprofit, nongovernmental 
     organizations with the capacity to provide effective 
     assistance to the adult, youth, and child victims served by 
     the partnership.
       ``(d) Grantee Requirements.--Applicants for grants under 
     this section shall establish and implement policies, 
     practices, and procedures that--
       ``(1) require and include appropriate referral systems for 
     child and youth victims;
       ``(2) protect the confidentiality and privacy of child and 
     youth victim information, particularly in the context of 
     parental or third-party involvement and consent, mandatory 
     reporting duties, and working with other service providers 
     with priority on victim safety and autonomy;
       ``(3) ensure that all individuals providing intervention or 
     prevention programs to children or youth through a program 
     funded under this section have completed, or will complete, 
     sufficient training in connection with domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and
       ``(4) ensure that parents are informed of the programs 
     funded under this program that are being offered at their 
     child's school.
       ``(e) Priority.--The Attorney General shall prioritize 
     grant applications under this section that coordinate with 
     prevention programs in the community.
       ``(f) Definitions and Grant Conditions.--In this section, 
     the definitions and grant conditions provided for in section 
     40002 shall apply.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $15,000,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
       ``(h) Allotment.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not less than 50 percent of the total 
     amount appropriated under this section for each fiscal year 
     shall be used for the purposes described in subsection 
     (b)(1).
       ``(2) Indian tribes.--Not less than 10 percent of the total 
     amount appropriated under this section for each fiscal year 
     shall be made available for grants under the program 
     authorized by section 2015 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-10).''.
       (b) VAWA Grant Requirements.--Section 40002(b) of the 
     Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(b)), as 
     amended by section 3(b)(4), is further amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(14) Requirement for evidence-based programs.--Any 
     educational programming, training, or public awareness 
     communications regarding domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking that are funded under this title 
     must be evidence-based.''.

     SEC. 303. GRANTS TO COMBAT VIOLENT CRIMES ON CAMPUSES.

       Section 304 of the Violence Against Women and Department of 
     Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14045b) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``and'' after ``stalking on campuses,'';
       (ii) by striking ``crimes against women on'' and inserting 
     ``crimes on''; and
       (iii) by inserting ``, and to develop and strengthen 
     prevention education and awareness programs'' before the 
     period; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$500,000'' and 
     inserting ``$300,000'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by inserting ``, strengthen,'' after ``To develop''; 
     and
       (ii) by striking ``assault and stalking,'' and inserting 
     ``assault, and stalking, including the use of technology to 
     commit these crimes,'';
       (B) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by inserting ``and population specific services'' after 
     ``strengthen victim services programs'';
       (ii) by striking ``entities carrying out'' and all that 
     follows through ``stalking victim services programs'' and 
     inserting ``victim service providers''; and
       (iii) by inserting ``, regardless of whether the services 
     provided by such program are provided by the institution or 
     in coordination with community victim service providers'' 
     before the period at the end; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(9) To provide evidence-based educational programming for 
     students regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking.
       ``(10) To develop or adapt population specific strategies 
     and projects for victims of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking from underserved 
     populations on campus.'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``any non-profit'' and 
     all that follows through the first occurrence of ``victim 
     services programs'' and inserting ``victim service 
     providers'';
       (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (F) as 
     subparagraphs (E) through (G), respectively; and
       (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (C), the following:
       ``(D) describe how underserved populations in the campus 
     community will be adequately served, including the provision 
     of relevant population specific services;''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``2007 through 2011'' and 
     inserting ``2013 through 2017'';
       (4) in subsection (d)--
       (A) by striking paragraph (3); and
       (B) by inserting after paragraph (2), the following:
       ``(3) Grantee minimum requirements.--Each grantee shall 
     comply with the following minimum requirements during the 
     grant period:
       ``(A) The grantee shall create a coordinated community 
     response including both organizations external to the 
     institution and relevant divisions of the institution.
       ``(B) The grantee shall establish a mandatory prevention 
     and education program on domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, and stalking for all incoming students.
       ``(C) The grantee shall train all campus law enforcement to 
     respond effectively to domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, and stalking.
       ``(D) The grantee shall train all members of campus 
     disciplinary boards to respond effectively to situations 
     involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
     or stalking.''; and
       (5) in subsection (e), by striking ``$12,000,000'' and all 
     that follows through the period and inserting ``$12,000,000 
     for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.''.

     SEC. 304. NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY.

       (a) Establishment.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 
     and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new part:

          ``PART LL--NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY

     ``SEC. 3021. NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY.

       ``(a) Authority to Establish and Operate Center.--

[[Page 6932]]

       ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Community 
     Oriented Policing Services is authorized to establish and 
     operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety (referred 
     to in this section as the `Center').
       ``(2) Grant authority.--The Director of the Office of 
     Community Oriented Policing Services is authorized to award 
     grants to institutions of higher education and other 
     nonprofit organizations to assist in carrying out the 
     functions of the Center required under subsection (b).
       ``(b) Functions of the Center.--The center shall--
       ``(1) provide quality education and training for campus 
     public safety agencies of institutions of higher education 
     and the agencies' collaborative partners, including campus 
     mental health agencies;
       ``(2) foster quality research to strengthen the safety and 
     security of institutions of higher education;
       ``(3) serve as a clearinghouse for the identification and 
     dissemination of information, policies, procedures, and best 
     practices relevant to campus public safety, including off-
     campus housing safety, the prevention of violence against 
     persons and property, and emergency response and evacuation 
     procedures;
       ``(4) develop protocols, in conjunction with the Attorney 
     General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
     Education, State, local, and tribal governments and law 
     enforcement agencies, private and nonprofit organizations and 
     associations, and other stakeholders, to prevent, protect 
     against, respond to, and recover from, natural and man-made 
     emergencies or dangerous situations involving an immediate 
     threat to the health or safety of the campus community;
       ``(5) promote the development and dissemination of 
     effective behavioral threat assessment and management models 
     to prevent campus violence;
       ``(6) coordinate campus safety information (including ways 
     to increase off-campus housing safety) and resources 
     available from the Department of Justice, the Department of 
     Homeland Security, the Department of Education, State, local, 
     and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, and 
     private and nonprofit organizations and associations;
       ``(7) increase cooperation, collaboration, and consistency 
     in prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among 
     law enforcement, mental health, and other agencies and 
     jurisdictions serving institutions of higher education;
       ``(8) develop standardized formats and models for mutual 
     aid agreements and memoranda of understanding between campus 
     security agencies and other public safety organizations and 
     mental health agencies; and
       ``(9) report annually to Congress and the Attorney General 
     on activities performed by the Center during the previous 12 
     months.
       ``(c) Coordination With Available Resources.--In 
     establishing the Center, the Director of the Office of 
     Community Oriented Policing Services shall--
       ``(1) consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
     Secretary of Education, and the Attorney General of each 
     State; and
       ``(2) coordinate the establishment and operation of the 
     Center with campus public safety resources that may be 
     available within the Department of Homeland Security and the 
     Department of Education.
       ``(d) Definition of Institution of Higher Education.--In 
     this section, the term `institution of higher education' has 
     the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).''.
       (b) Justice Program Consolidations.--Effective 30 days 
     after the date of enactment of this section, the Office of 
     Dispute Resolution of the Department of Justice and the 
     jurisdiction and employees of such office shall be--
       (1) transferred to the Office of Legal Policy of the 
     Department of Justice; and
       (2) funded through the general administration appropriation 
     of the Office of Legal Policy.

                 TITLE IV--VIOLENCE REDUCTION PRACTICES

     SEC. 401. STUDY CONDUCTED BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 
                   AND PREVENTION.

       Section 402(c) of the Violence Against Women and Department 
     of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 280b-4(c)) 
     is amended by striking ``$2,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
     years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting ``$1,000,000 for each 
     of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017''.

     SEC. 402. SAVING MONEY AND REDUCING TRAGEDIES THROUGH 
                   PREVENTION GRANTS.

       (a) SMART Prevention.--Section 41303 of the Violence 
     Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043d-2) is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``SEC. 41303. SAVING MONEY AND REDUCING TRAGEDIES THROUGH 
                   PREVENTION (SMART PREVENTION).

       ``(a) Grants Authorized.--The Attorney General, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     and the Secretary of Education, is authorized to award grants 
     for the purpose of preventing domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking by taking a 
     comprehensive approach that focuses on youth, children 
     exposed to violence, and men as leaders and influencers of 
     social norms.
       ``(b) Use of Funds.--Funds provided under this section may 
     be used for the following purposes:
       ``(1) Teen dating violence awareness and prevention.--To 
     develop, maintain, or enhance programs that change attitudes 
     and behaviors around the acceptability of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and provide 
     education and skills training to young individuals and 
     individuals who influence young individuals. The prevention 
     program may use evidence-based, evidence-informed, or 
     innovative strategies and practices focused on youth. Such a 
     program should include--
       ``(A) evidence-based age education on domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sexual 
     coercion, as well as healthy relationship skills, in school, 
     in the community, or in health care settings;
       ``(B) community-based collaboration and training for those 
     with influence on youth, such as parents, teachers, coaches, 
     health care providers, faith-leaders, older teens, and 
     mentors;
       ``(C) education and outreach to change environmental 
     factors contributing to domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, and stalking; and
       ``(D) policy development targeted to prevention, including 
     school-based policies and protocols.
       ``(2) Children exposed to violence and abuse.--To develop, 
     maintain or enhance programs designed to prevent future 
     incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking by preventing, reducing and responding 
     to children's exposure to violence in the home. Such programs 
     may include--
       ``(A) providing services for children exposed to domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, 
     including direct counseling or advocacy, and support for the 
     non-abusing parent; and
       ``(B) training and coordination for educational, after-
     school, and childcare programs on how to safely and 
     confidentially identify children and families experiencing 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking and properly refer children exposed and their 
     families to services and violence prevention programs.
       ``(3) Engaging men as leaders and role models.--To develop, 
     maintain or enhance programs that work with men to prevent 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking by helping men to serve as role models and social 
     influencers of other men and youth at the individual, school, 
     community or statewide levels.
       ``(c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
     under this section, an entity shall be--
       ``(1) a victim service provider, community-based 
     organization, tribe or tribal organization, or other 
     nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that has a history of 
     effective work preventing domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking and expertise in the specific 
     area for which they are applying for funds; or
       ``(2) a partnership between a victim service provider, 
     community-based organization, tribe or tribal organization, 
     or other nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that has a 
     history of effective work preventing domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and at least one 
     of the following that has expertise in serving children 
     exposed to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking, youth domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking prevention, or engaging 
     men to prevent domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking:
       ``(A) A public, charter, tribal, or nationally accredited 
     private middle or high school, a school administered by the 
     Department of Defense under section 2164 of title 10, United 
     States Code or section 1402 of the Defense Dependents' 
     Education Act of 1978, a group of schools, or a school 
     district.
       ``(B) A local community-based organization, population-
     specific organization, or faith-based organization that has 
     established expertise in providing services to youth.
       ``(C) A community-based organization, population-specific 
     organization, university or health care clinic, faith-based 
     organization, or other nonprofit, nongovernmental 
     organization.
       ``(D) A nonprofit, nongovernmental entity providing 
     services for runaway or homeless youth affected by domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
       ``(E) Health care entities eligible for reimbursement under 
     title XVIII of the Social Security Act, including providers 
     that target the special needs of children and youth.
       ``(F) Any other agencies, population-specific 
     organizations, or nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations 
     with the capacity to provide necessary expertise to meet the 
     goals of the program.
       ``(d) Grantee Requirements.--
       ``(1) In general.--Applicants for grants under this section 
     shall prepare and submit to the Director an application at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Director may require that demonstrates the capacity of 
     the applicant and partnering organizations to undertake the 
     project.
       ``(2) Policies and procedures.--Applicants under this 
     section shall establish and implement policies, practices, 
     and procedures that are consistent with the best practices 
     developed under section 402 of the Violence Against Women and 
     Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
     280b-4) and--
       ``(A) include appropriate referral systems to direct any 
     victim identified during program activities to highly 
     qualified follow-up care;
       ``(B) protect the confidentiality and privacy of adult and 
     youth victim information, particularly in the context of 
     parental or third-party involvement and consent, mandatory 
     reporting duties, and working with other service providers;

[[Page 6933]]

       ``(C) ensure that all individuals providing prevention 
     programming through a program funded under this section have 
     completed or will complete sufficient training in connection 
     with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or 
     stalking; and
       ``(D) document how prevention programs are coordinated with 
     service programs in the community.
       ``(3) Preference.--In selecting grant recipients under this 
     section, the Attorney General shall give preference to 
     applicants that--
       ``(A) include outcome-based evaluation; and
       ``(B) identify any other community, school, or State-based 
     efforts that are working on domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking prevention and explain 
     how the grantee or partnership will add value, coordinate 
     with other programs, and not duplicate existing efforts.
       ``(e) Definitions and Grant Conditions.--In this section, 
     the definitions and grant conditions provided for in section 
     40002 shall apply.
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $15,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
       ``(g) Allotment.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not less than 25 percent of the total 
     amounts appropriated under this section in each fiscal year 
     shall be used for each set of purposes described in 
     paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b).
       ``(2) Indian tribes.--Not less than 10 percent of the total 
     amounts appropriated under this section in each fiscal year 
     shall be made available for grants to Indian tribes or tribal 
     organizations.''.
       (b) Repeals.--The following provisions are repealed:
       (1) Sections 41304 and 41305 of the Violence Against Women 
     Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043d-3 and 14043d-4).
       (2) Section 403 of the Violence Against Women and 
     Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
     14045c).

 TITLE V--STRENGTHENING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM'S RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC 
        VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING

     SEC. 501. CONSOLIDATION OF GRANTS TO STRENGTHEN THE HEALTH 
                   CARE SYSTEM'S RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, 
                   DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING.

       (a) Grants.--Section 399P of the Public Health Service Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 280g-4) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 399P. GRANTS TO STRENGTHEN THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM'S 
                   RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 
                   SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants for--
       ``(1) the development or enhancement and implementation of 
     interdisciplinary training for health professionals, public 
     health staff, and allied health professionals;
       ``(2) the development or enhancement and implementation of 
     education programs for medical, nursing, dental, and other 
     health profession students and residents to prevent and 
     respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking; and
       ``(3) the development or enhancement and implementation of 
     comprehensive statewide strategies to improve the response of 
     clinics, public health facilities, hospitals, and other 
     health settings (including behavioral and mental health 
     programs) to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking.
       ``(b) Use of Funds.--
       ``(1) Required uses.--Amounts provided under a grant under 
     this section shall be used to--
       ``(A) fund interdisciplinary training and education 
     programs under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) 
     that--
       ``(i) are designed to train medical, psychology, dental, 
     social work, nursing, and other health profession students, 
     interns, residents, fellows, or current health care providers 
     to identify and provide health care services (including 
     mental or behavioral health care services and referrals to 
     appropriate community services) to individuals who are or who 
     have been victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking; and
       ``(ii) plan and develop clinical training components for 
     integration into approved internship, residency, and 
     fellowship training or continuing medical or other health 
     education training that address physical, mental, and 
     behavioral health issues, including protective factors, 
     related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, stalking, and other forms of violence and abuse, 
     focus on reducing health disparities and preventing violence 
     and abuse, and include the primacy of victim safety and 
     confidentiality; and
       ``(B) design and implement comprehensive strategies to 
     improve the response of the health care system to domestic or 
     sexual violence in clinical and public health settings, 
     hospitals, clinics, and other health settings (including 
     behavioral and mental health), under subsection (a)(3) 
     through--
       ``(i) the implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of 
     policies and procedures to guide health professionals and 
     public health staff in identifying and responding to domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, 
     including strategies to ensure that health information is 
     maintained in a manner that protects the patient's privacy 
     and safety, and safely uses health information technology to 
     improve documentation, identification, assessment, treatment, 
     and follow-up care;
       ``(ii) the development of on-site access to services to 
     address the safety, medical, and mental health needs of 
     patients by increasing the capacity of existing health care 
     professionals and public health staff to address domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or 
     by contracting with or hiring domestic or sexual assault 
     advocates to provide such services or to model other services 
     appropriate to the geographic and cultural needs of a site;
       ``(iii) the development of measures and methods for the 
     evaluation of the practice of identification, intervention, 
     and documentation regarding victims of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including the 
     development and testing of quality improvement measurements; 
     and
       ``(iv) the provision of training and followup technical 
     assistance to health care professionals, and public health 
     staff, and allied health professionals to identify, assess, 
     treat, and refer clients who are victims of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 
     including using tools and training materials already 
     developed.
       ``(2) Permissible uses.--
       ``(A) Child and elder abuse.--To the extent consistent with 
     the purpose of this section, a grantee may use amounts 
     received under this section to address, as part of a 
     comprehensive programmatic approach implemented under the 
     grant, issues relating to child or elder abuse.
       ``(B) Rural areas.--Grants funded under paragraphs (1) and 
     (2) of subsection (a) may be used to offer to rural areas 
     community-based training opportunities (which may include the 
     use of distance learning networks and other available 
     technologies needed to reach isolated rural areas) for 
     medical, nursing, and other health profession students and 
     residents on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, stalking, and, as appropriate, other forms of 
     violence and abuse.
       ``(C) Other uses.--Grants funded under subsection (a)(3) 
     may be used for--
       ``(i) the development of training modules and policies that 
     address the overlap of child abuse, domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking and elder abuse, as 
     well as childhood exposure to domestic and sexual violence;
       ``(ii) the development, expansion, and implementation of 
     sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault 
     nurse examiner programs;
       ``(iii) the inclusion of the health effects of lifetime 
     exposure to violence and abuse as well as related protective 
     factors and behavioral risk factors in health professional 
     training schools, including medical, dental, nursing, social 
     work, and mental and behavioral health curricula, and allied 
     health service training courses; or
       ``(iv) the integration of knowledge of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking into health 
     care accreditation and professional licensing examinations, 
     such as medical, dental, social work, and nursing boards, and 
     where appropriate, other allied health exams.
       ``(c) Requirements for Grantees.--
       ``(1) Confidentiality and safety.--
       ``(A) In general.--Grantees under this section shall ensure 
     that all programs developed with grant funds address issues 
     of confidentiality and patient safety and comply with 
     applicable confidentiality and nondisclosure requirements 
     under section 40002(b)(2) of the Violence Against Women Act 
     of 1994 and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, 
     and that faculty and staff associated with delivering 
     educational components are fully trained in procedures that 
     will protect the immediate and ongoing security and 
     confidentiality of the patients, patient records, and staff. 
     Such grantees shall consult entities with demonstrated 
     expertise in the confidentiality and safety needs of victims 
     of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking on the development and adequacy of confidentially 
     and security procedures, and provide documentation of such 
     consultation.
       ``(B) Advance notice of information disclosure.--Grantees 
     under this section shall provide to patients advance notice 
     about any circumstances under which information may be 
     disclosed, such as mandatory reporting laws, and shall give 
     patients the option to receive information and referrals 
     without affirmatively disclosing abuse.
       ``(2) Limitation on administrative expenses.--A grantee 
     shall use not more than 10 percent of the amounts received 
     under a grant under this section for administrative expenses.
       ``(3) Preference.--In selecting grant recipients under this 
     section, the Secretary shall give preference to applicants 
     based on the strength of their evaluation strategies, with 
     priority given to outcome-based evaluations.
       ``(4) Application.--
       ``(A) Subsection (a) (1) and (2) grantees.--An entity 
     desiring a grant under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) 
     shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
     such manner, and containing such information and assurances 
     as the Secretary may require, including--
       ``(i) documentation that the applicant represents a team of 
     entities working collaboratively to strengthen the response 
     of the health care system to domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and which includes at 
     least one of each of--

       ``(I) an accredited school of allopathic or osteopathic 
     medicine, psychology, nursing, dentistry, social work, or 
     other health field;

[[Page 6934]]

       ``(II) a health care facility or system; or
       ``(III) a government or nonprofit entity with a history of 
     effective work in the fields of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking; and

       ``(ii) strategies for the dissemination and sharing of 
     curricula and other educational materials developed under the 
     grant, if any, with other interested health professions 
     schools and national resource repositories for materials on 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking.
       ``(B) Subsection (a)(3) grantees.--An entity desiring a 
     grant under subsection (a)(3) shall submit an application to 
     the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information and assurances as the Secretary may require, 
     including--
       ``(i) documentation that all training, education, 
     screening, assessment, services, treatment, and any other 
     approach to patient care will be informed by an understanding 
     of violence and abuse victimization and trauma-specific 
     approaches that will be integrated into prevention, 
     intervention, and treatment activities;
       ``(ii) strategies for the development and implementation of 
     policies to prevent and address domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking over the lifespan in 
     health care settings;
       ``(iii) a plan for consulting with State and tribal 
     domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions, national 
     nonprofit victim advocacy organizations, State or tribal law 
     enforcement task forces (where appropriate), and population-
     specific organizations with demonstrated expertise in 
     addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking;
       ``(iv) with respect to an application for a grant under 
     which the grantee will have contact with patients, a plan, 
     developed in collaboration with local victim service 
     providers, to respond appropriately to and make correct 
     referrals for individuals who disclose that they are victims 
     of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
     stalking, or other types of violence, and documentation 
     provided by the grantee of an ongoing collaborative 
     relationship with a local victim service provider; and
       ``(v) with respect to an application for a grant proposing 
     to fund a program described in subsection (b)(2)(C)(ii), a 
     certification that any sexual assault forensic medical 
     examination and sexual assault nurse examiner programs 
     supported with such grant funds will adhere to the guidelines 
     set forth by the Attorney General.
       ``(d) Eligible Entities.--
       ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive funding under 
     paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), an entity shall be--
       ``(A) a nonprofit organization with a history of effective 
     work in the field of training health professionals with an 
     understanding of, and clinical skills pertinent to, domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and 
     lifetime exposure to violence and abuse;
       ``(B) an accredited school of allopathic or osteopathic 
     medicine, psychology, nursing, dentistry, social work, or 
     allied health;
       ``(C) a health care provider membership or professional 
     organization, or a health care system; or
       ``(D) a State, tribal, territorial, or local entity.
       ``(2) Subsection (a)(3) grantees.--To be eligible to 
     receive funding under subsection (a)(3), an entity shall be--
       ``(A) a State department (or other division) of health, a 
     State, tribal, or territorial domestic violence or sexual 
     assault coalition or victim service provider, or any other 
     nonprofit, nongovernmental organization with a history of 
     effective work in the fields of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and health care, 
     including physical or mental health care; or
       ``(B) a local victim service provider, a local department 
     (or other division) of health, a local health clinic, 
     hospital, or health system, or any other community-based 
     organization with a history of effective work in the field of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking and health care, including physical or mental health 
     care.
       ``(e) Technical Assistance.--
       ``(1) In general.--Of the funds made available to carry out 
     this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may make 
     grants or enter into contracts to provide technical 
     assistance with respect to the planning, development, and 
     operation of any program, activity or service carried out 
     pursuant to this section. Not more than 8 percent of the 
     funds appropriated under this section in each fiscal year may 
     be used to fund technical assistance under this subsection.
       ``(2) Availability of materials.--The Secretary shall make 
     publicly available materials developed by grantees under this 
     section, including materials on training, best practices, and 
     research and evaluation.
       ``(3) Reporting.--The Secretary shall publish a biennial 
     report on--
       ``(A) the distribution of funds under this section; and
       ``(B) the programs and activities supported by such funds.
       ``(f) Research and Evaluation.--
       ``(1) In general.--Of the funds made available to carry out 
     this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may use not 
     more than 20 percent to make a grant or enter into a contract 
     for research and evaluation of--
       ``(A) grants awarded under this section; and
       ``(B) other training for health professionals and effective 
     interventions in the health care setting that prevent 
     domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault across 
     the lifespan, prevent the health effects of such violence, 
     and improve the safety and health of individuals who are 
     currently being victimized.
       ``(2) Research.--Research authorized in paragraph (1) may 
     include--
       ``(A) research on the effects of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and childhood exposure to domestic 
     violence, dating violence, or sexual assault on health 
     behaviors, health conditions, and health status of 
     individuals, families, and populations, including underserved 
     populations;
       ``(B) research to determine effective health care 
     interventions to respond to and prevent domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
       ``(C) research on the impact of domestic, dating, and 
     sexual violence, childhood exposure to such violence, and 
     stalking on the health care system, health care utilization, 
     health care costs, and health status; and
       ``(D) research on the impact of adverse childhood 
     experiences on adult experience with domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and adult health 
     outcomes, including how to reduce or prevent the impact of 
     adverse childhood experiences through the health care 
     setting.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
       ``(h) Definitions.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     section, the definitions in section 40002 of the Violence 
     Against Women Act of 1994 apply to this section.''.
       (b) Repeals.--The following provisions are repealed:
       (1) Chapter 11 of subtitle B of the Violence Against Women 
     Act of 1994 (relating to research on effective interventions 
     to address violence; 42 U.S.C. 13973; as added by section 505 
     of Public Law 109-162 (119 Stat. 3028)).
       (2) Section 758 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     294h).

TITLE VI--SAFE HOMES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 
                      SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING

     SEC. 601. HOUSING PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC 
                   VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND 
                   STALKING.

       (a) Amendment.--Subtitle N of the Violence Against Women 
     Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by inserting after the subtitle heading the following:

                     ``CHAPTER 1--GRANT PROGRAMS'';

       (2) in section 41402 (42 U.S.C. 14043e-091), in the matter 
     preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``subtitle'' and 
     inserting ``chapter'';
       (3) in section 41403 (42 U.S.C. 14043e-092), in the matter 
     preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``subtitle'' and 
     inserting ``chapter''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:

                      ``CHAPTER 2--HOUSING RIGHTS

     ``SEC. 41411. HOUSING PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC 
                   VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND 
                   STALKING.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this chapter:
       ``(1) Affiliated individual.--The term `affiliated 
     individual' means, with respect to an individual--
       ``(A) a spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child of that 
     individual, or an individual to whom that individual stands 
     in loco parentis; or
       ``(B) any individual, tenant, or lawful occupant living in 
     the household of that individual.
       ``(2) Appropriate agency.--The term `appropriate agency' 
     means, with respect to a covered housing program, the 
     Executive department (as defined in section 101 of title 5, 
     United States Code) that carries out the covered housing 
     program.
       ``(3) Covered housing program.--The term `covered housing 
     program' means--
       ``(A) the program under section 202 of the Housing Act of 
     1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
       ``(B) the program under section 811 of the Cranston-
     Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013);
       ``(C) the program under subtitle D of title VIII of the 
     Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
     12901 et seq.);
       ``(D) each of the programs under title IV of the McKinney-
     Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.);
       ``(E) the program under subtitle A of title II of the 
     Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
     12741 et seq.);
       ``(F) the program under paragraph (3) of section 221(d) of 
     the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)) for insurance 
     of mortgages that bear interest at a rate determined under 
     the proviso under paragraph (5) of such section 221(d);
       ``(G) the program under section 236 of the National Housing 
     Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-091);
       ``(H) the programs under sections 6 and 8 of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d and 1437f);
       ``(I) rural housing assistance provided under sections 514, 
     515, 516, 533, and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 
     1484, 1485, 1486, 1490m, and 1490p-2); and
       ``(J) the low-income housing tax credit program under 
     section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(b) Prohibited Basis for Denial or Termination of 
     Assistance or Eviction.--
       ``(1) In general.--An applicant for or tenant of housing 
     assisted under a covered housing program may not be denied 
     admission to, denied assistance under, terminated from 
     participation in, or evicted from the housing program or 
     housing on the basis that the applicant or tenant is

[[Page 6935]]

     or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking, if the applicant or tenant 
     otherwise qualifies for admission, assistance, participation, 
     or occupancy.
       ``(2) Construction of lease terms.--An incident of actual 
     or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking shall not be construed as--
       ``(A) a serious or repeated violation of a lease for 
     housing assisted under a covered housing program by the 
     victim or threatened victim of such incident; or
       ``(B) good cause for terminating the assistance, tenancy, 
     or occupancy rights to housing assisted under a covered 
     housing program of the victim or threatened victim of such 
     incident.
       ``(3) Termination on the basis of criminal activity.--
       ``(A) Denial of assistance, tenancy, and occupancy rights 
     prohibited.--No person may deny assistance, tenancy, or 
     occupancy rights to housing assisted under a covered housing 
     program to a tenant solely on the basis of criminal activity 
     directly relating to domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking that is engaged in by a member of 
     the household of the tenant or any guest or other person 
     under the control of the tenant, if the tenant or an 
     affiliated individual of the tenant is the victim or 
     threatened victim of such domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking.
       ``(B) Bifurcation.--
       ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a 
     public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted 
     under a covered housing program may bifurcate a lease for the 
     housing in order to evict, remove, or terminate assistance to 
     any individual who is a tenant or lawful occupant of the 
     housing and who engages in criminal activity directly 
     relating to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking against an affiliated individual or 
     other individual, without evicting, removing, terminating 
     assistance to, or otherwise penalizing a victim of such 
     criminal activity who is also a tenant or lawful occupant of 
     the housing.
       ``(ii) Effect of eviction on other tenants.--If a public 
     housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under 
     a covered housing program evicts, removes, or terminates 
     assistance to an individual under clause (i), and the 
     individual is the sole tenant eligible to receive assistance 
     under a covered housing program, the public housing agency or 
     owner or manager of housing assisted under the covered 
     housing program shall provide any remaining tenant an 
     opportunity to establish eligibility for the covered housing 
     program. If a tenant described in the preceding sentence 
     cannot establish eligibility, the public housing agency or 
     owner or manager of the housing shall provide the tenant a 
     reasonable time, as determined by the appropriate agency, to 
     find new housing or to establish eligibility for housing 
     under another covered housing program.
       ``(C) Rules of construction.--Nothing in subparagraph (A) 
     shall be construed--
       ``(i) to limit the authority of a public housing agency or 
     owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing 
     program, when notified of a court order, to comply with a 
     court order with respect to--

       ``(I) the rights of access to or control of property, 
     including civil protection orders issued to protect a victim 
     of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking; or
       ``(II) the distribution or possession of property among 
     members of a household in a case;

       ``(ii) to limit any otherwise available authority of a 
     public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted 
     under a covered housing program to evict or terminate 
     assistance to a tenant for any violation of a lease not 
     premised on the act of violence in question against the 
     tenant or an affiliated person of the tenant, if the public 
     housing agency or owner or manager does not subject an 
     individual who is or has been a victim of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to a more 
     demanding standard than other tenants in determining whether 
     to evict or terminate;
       ``(iii) to limit the authority to terminate assistance to a 
     tenant or evict a tenant from housing assisted under a 
     covered housing program if a public housing agency or owner 
     or manager of the housing can demonstrate that an actual and 
     imminent threat to other tenants or individuals employed at 
     or providing service to the property would be present if the 
     assistance is not terminated or the tenant is not evicted; or
       ``(iv) to supersede any provision of any Federal, State, or 
     local law that provides greater protection than this section 
     for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking.
       ``(c) Documentation.--
       ``(1) Request for documentation.--If an applicant for, or 
     tenant of, housing assisted under a covered housing program 
     represents to a public housing agency or owner or manager of 
     the housing that the individual is entitled to protection 
     under subsection (b), the public housing agency or owner or 
     manager may request, in writing, that the applicant or tenant 
     submit to the public housing agency or owner or manager a 
     form of documentation described in paragraph (3).
       ``(2) Failure to provide certification.--
       ``(A) In general.--If an applicant or tenant does not 
     provide the documentation requested under paragraph (1) 
     within 14 business days after the tenant receives a request 
     in writing for such certification from a public housing 
     agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a 
     covered housing program, nothing in this chapter may be 
     construed to limit the authority of the public housing agency 
     or owner or manager to--
       ``(i) deny admission by the applicant or tenant to the 
     covered program;
       ``(ii) deny assistance under the covered program to the 
     applicant or tenant;
       ``(iii) terminate the participation of the applicant or 
     tenant in the covered program; or
       ``(iv) evict the applicant, the tenant, or a lawful 
     occupant that commits violations of a lease.
       ``(B) Extension.--A public housing agency or owner or 
     manager of housing may extend the 14-day deadline under 
     subparagraph (A) at its discretion.
       ``(3) Form of documentation.--A form of documentation 
     described in this paragraph is--
       ``(A) a certification form approved by the appropriate 
     agency that--
       ``(i) states that an applicant or tenant is a victim of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking;
       ``(ii) states that the incident of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking that is the 
     ground for protection under subsection (b) meets the 
     requirements under subsection (b); and
       ``(iii) includes the name of the individual who committed 
     the domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking, if the name is known and safe to provide;
       ``(B) a document that--
       ``(i) is signed by--

       ``(I) an employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim service 
     provider, an attorney, a medical professional, or a mental 
     health professional from whom an applicant or tenant has 
     sought assistance relating to domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or the effects of the 
     abuse; and
       ``(II) the applicant or tenant; and

       ``(ii) states under penalty of perjury that the individual 
     described in clause (i)(I) believes that the incident of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking that is the ground for protection under subsection 
     (b) meets the requirements under subsection (b);
       ``(C) a record of a Federal, State, tribal, territorial, or 
     local law enforcement agency, court, or administrative 
     agency; or
       ``(D) at the discretion of a public housing agency or owner 
     or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing 
     program, a statement or other evidence provided by an 
     applicant or tenant.
       ``(4) Confidentiality.--Any information submitted to a 
     public housing agency or owner or manager under this 
     subsection, including the fact that an individual is a victim 
     of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking shall be maintained in confidence by the public 
     housing agency or owner or manager and may not be entered 
     into any shared database or disclosed to any other entity or 
     individual, except to the extent that the disclosure is--
       ``(A) requested or consented to by the individual in 
     writing;
       ``(B) required for use in an eviction proceeding under 
     subsection (b); or
       ``(C) otherwise required by applicable law.
       ``(5) Documentation not required.--Nothing in this 
     subsection shall be construed to require a public housing 
     agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a 
     covered housing program to request that an individual submit 
     documentation of the status of the individual as a victim of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking.
       ``(6) Compliance not sufficient to constitute evidence of 
     unreasonable act.--Compliance with subsection (b) by a public 
     housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under 
     a covered housing program based on documentation received 
     under this subsection, shall not be sufficient to constitute 
     evidence of an unreasonable act or omission by the public 
     housing agency or owner or manager or an employee or agent of 
     the public housing agency or owner or manager. Nothing in 
     this paragraph shall be construed to limit the liability of a 
     public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted 
     under a covered housing program for failure to comply with 
     subsection (b).
       ``(7) Response to conflicting certification.--If a public 
     housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under 
     a covered housing program receives documentation under this 
     subsection that contains conflicting information, the public 
     housing agency or owner or manager may require an applicant 
     or tenant to submit third-party documentation, as described 
     in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (3).
       ``(8) Preemption.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed to supersede any provision of any Federal, State, 
     or local law that provides greater protection than this 
     subsection for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking.
       ``(d) Notification.--
       ``(1) Development.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development shall develop a notice of the rights of 
     individuals under this section, including the right to 
     confidentiality and the limits thereof, and include such 
     notice in documents required by law to be provided to tenants 
     assisted under a covered housing program.
       ``(2) Provision.--The applicable public housing agency or 
     owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing 
     program shall provide the notice developed under paragraph 
     (1) to an applicant for or tenant of housing assisted under a 
     covered housing program--
       ``(A) at the time the applicant is denied residency in a 
     dwelling unit assisted under the covered housing program;

[[Page 6936]]

       ``(B) at the time the individual is admitted to a dwelling 
     unit assisted under the covered housing program; and
       ``(C) in multiple languages, consistent with guidance 
     issued by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 
     accordance with Executive Order 13166 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-1 
     note; relating to access to services for persons with limited 
     English proficiency).
       ``(e) Emergency Relocation and Transfers.--Each appropriate 
     agency shall develop a model emergency relocation and 
     transfer plan for voluntary use by public housing agencies 
     and owners or managers of housing assisted under a covered 
     housing program that--
       ``(1) allows tenants who are victims of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to relocate or 
     transfer to another available and safe dwelling unit assisted 
     under a covered housing program and retain their status as 
     tenants under the covered housing program if--
       ``(A) the tenant expressly requests to move;
       ``(B)(i) the tenant reasonably believes that the tenant is 
     threatened with imminent harm from further violence if the 
     tenant remains within the same dwelling unit assisted under a 
     covered housing program; or
       ``(ii) the sexual assault, domestic violence, dating 
     violence, or stalking occurred on the premises during the 90-
     day period preceding the request to move; and
       ``(C) the tenant has provided documentation as described in 
     subparagraph (A), (B), (C) or (D) of subsection (c)(3) if 
     requested by a public housing agency or owner or manager;
       ``(2) incorporates reasonable confidentiality measures to 
     ensure that the public housing agency or owner or manager 
     does not disclose the location of the dwelling unit of a 
     tenant to a person that commits an act of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against the 
     tenant;
       ``(3) describes how the appropriate agency will coordinate 
     relocations or transfers between dwelling units assisted 
     under a covered housing program;
       ``(4) takes into consideration the existing rules and 
     regulations of the covered housing program;
       ``(5) is tailored to the specific type of the covered 
     housing program based on the volume and availability of 
     dwelling units under the control or management of the public 
     housing agency, owner, or manager; and
       ``(6) provides guidance for use in situations in which it 
     is not feasible for an individual public housing agency, 
     owner, or manager to effectuate a transfer.
       ``(f) Policies and Procedures for Emergency Transfer.--The 
     Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall establish 
     policies and procedures under which a victim requesting an 
     emergency transfer under subsection (e) may receive, subject 
     to the availability of tenant protection vouchers for 
     assistance under section 8(o)(16) of the United States 
     Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(16)), assistance 
     under such section.
       ``(g) Implementation.--The appropriate agency with respect 
     to each covered housing program shall implement this section, 
     as this section applies to the covered housing program.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 6.--Section 6 of the United States Housing Act 
     of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (c)--
       (i) by striking paragraph (3); and
       (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
     (3) and (4), respectively;
       (B) in subsection (l)--
       (i) in paragraph (5), by striking ``, and that an 
     incident'' and all that follows through ``victim of such 
     violence''; and
       (ii) in paragraph (6), by striking ``; except that'' and 
     all that follows through ``stalking.''; and
       (C) by striking subsection (u).
       (2) Section 8.--Section 8 of the United States Housing Act 
     of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (9);
       (B) in subsection (d)(1)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and that an 
     applicant'' and all that follows through ``assistance or 
     admission''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (B)--

       (I) in clause (ii), by striking ``, and that an incident'' 
     and all that follows through ``victim of such violence''; and
       (II) in clause (iii), by striking ``, except that:'' and 
     all that follows through ``stalking.'';

       (C) in subsection (f)--
       (i) in paragraph (6), by adding ``and'' at the end;
       (ii) in paragraph (7), by striking the semicolon at the end 
     and inserting a period; and
       (iii) by striking paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11);
       (D) in subsection (o)--
       (i) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking the last sentence;
       (ii) in paragraph (7)--

       (I) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and that an 
     incident'' and all that follows through ``victim of such 
     violence''; and
       (II) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``; except that'' and 
     all that follows through ``stalking.''; and

       (iii) by striking paragraph (20); and
       (E) by striking subsection (ee).
       (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act, or the 
     amendments made by this Act, shall be construed--
       (A) to limit the rights or remedies available to any person 
     under section 6 or 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
     (42 U.S.C. 1437d and 1437f), as in effect on the day before 
     the date of enactment of this Act;
       (B) to limit any right, remedy, or procedure otherwise 
     available under any provision of part 5, 91, 880, 882, 883, 
     884, 886, 891, 903, 960, 966, 982, or 983 of title 24, Code 
     of Federal Regulations, that--
       (i) was issued under the Violence Against Women and 
     Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 
     109-162; 119 Stat. 2960) or an amendment made by that Act; 
     and
       (ii) provides greater protection for victims of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking than 
     this Act or the amendments made by this Act; or
       (C) to disqualify an owner, manager, or other individual 
     from participating in or receiving the benefits of the low-
     income housing tax credit program under section 42 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 because of noncompliance with 
     the provisions of this Act or the amendments made by this 
     Act.

     SEC. 602. TRANSITIONAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR VICTIMS 
                   OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL 
                   ASSAULT, AND STALKING.

       Chapter 11 of subtitle B of the Violence Against Women Act 
     of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13975; as added by section 611 of Public 
     Law 108-21 (117 Stat. 693)) is amended--
       (1) in the chapter heading, by striking ``CHILD VICTIMS OF 
     DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, STALKING, OR SEXUAL ASSAULT'' and 
     inserting ``VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 
     SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING''; and
       (2) in section 40299 (42 U.S.C. 13975)--
       (A) in the header, by striking ``CHILD VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC 
     VIOLENCE, STALKING, OR SEXUAL ASSAULT'' and inserting 
     ``VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL 
     ASSAULT, OR STALKING'';
       (B) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``fleeing'';
       (C) by striking subsection (f); and
       (D) in subsection (g)--
       (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$40,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting 
     ``$35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017''; 
     and
       (ii) in paragraph (3)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``eligible'' and 
     inserting ``qualified''; and
       (II) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(D) Qualified application defined.--In this paragraph, 
     the term `qualified application' means an application that--
       ``(i) has been submitted by an eligible applicant;
       ``(ii) does not propose any significant activities that may 
     compromise victim safety;
       ``(iii) reflects an understanding of the dynamics of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
     stalking; and
       ``(iv) does not propose prohibited activities, including 
     mandatory services for victims, background checks of victims, 
     or clinical evaluations to determine eligibility for 
     services.''.

     SEC. 603. ADDRESSING THE HOUSING NEEDS OF VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC 
                   VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND 
                   STALKING.

       Subtitle N of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
     U.S.C. 14043e et seq.) is amended--
       (1) in section 41404(i) (42 U.S.C. 14043e-3(i)), by 
     striking ``$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 
     2011'' and inserting ``$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2013 through 2017''; and
       (2) in section 41405(g) (42 U.S.C. 14043e-4(g)), by 
     striking ``$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 
     2011'' and inserting ``$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2013 through 2017''.

          TITLE VII--ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE

     SEC. 701. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON WORKPLACE RESPONSES TO 
                   ASSIST VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE.

       Section 41501(e) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
     (42 U.S.C. 14043f(e)) is amended by striking ``fiscal years 
     2007 through 2011'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2013 through 
     2017''.

                   TITLE VIII--IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS

     SEC. 801. FRAUD PREVENTION INITIATIVES.

       (a) Credible Evidence Considered.--Section 240A(b)(2) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b) is 
     amended by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(D) Credible evidence considered.--In acting on 
     applications under this paragraph, the Attorney General shall 
     consider any credible evidence relevant to the application, 
     including credible evidence submitted by a national of the 
     United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 
     residence accused of the conduct described in subparagraph 
     (A)(i) so long as this evidence is not gathered in violation 
     of section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
     Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.''.
       (b) Application of Special Rule for Battered Spouse, 
     Parent, or Child.--Section 204(a)(1) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by inserting after subclause 
     (II) the following:

       ``(III)(aa) Upon filing, each petition under this clause 
     shall be assigned to an investigative officer for 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility.
       ``(bb) During the adjudication of each petition under this 
     paragraph, an investigative officer from a local office of 
     United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall 
     conduct an in-person interview of the alien who filed the 
     petition. The investigative officer may also gather

[[Page 6937]]

     other evidence so long as this evidence is not gathered in 
     violation of section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 
     and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The investigative 
     officer who conducted the in-person interview shall provide 
     to the investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility a summary 
     of the interview and any other evidence gathered and a 
     determination of the credibility of the interviewee and other 
     evidence gathered.
       ``(cc) All interviews under this clause shall be conducted 
     under oath and subject to applicable penalties for perjury.
       ``(dd) The investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility shall 
     determine whether the petitioner had filed previous 
     applications or petitions for immigration benefits that had 
     been denied and whether the petitioner had been the 
     beneficiary of a previous petition filed pursuant to this 
     section that had been denied. If either was the case, the 
     investigative officer shall consider the denials and the 
     reasons for the denials as part of the adjudication of the 
     petition.
       ``(ee) The investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility shall as 
     part of the adjudication of the petition consult with the 
     investigative officer at the local office of United States 
     Citizenship and Immigration Services who had conducted the 
     in-person interview of the alien who filed the petition.
       ``(ff) Upon the conclusion of the adjudication process 
     under this subparagraph, the investigative officer who is 
     responsible for the adjudication and final determination of 
     eligibility shall issue a final written determination to 
     approve or deny the petition. The investigative officer shall 
     not approve the petition unless the officer finds, in writing 
     and with particularity, that all requirements under this 
     paragraph, including proof that the alien is a victim of the 
     conduct described in clause (iii)(I)(bb), have been proven by 
     a preponderance of the evidence.
       ``(IV) During the adjudication of a petition under this 
     clause--

       ``(aa) the petition shall not be granted unless the 
     petition is supported by a preponderance of the evidence; and
       ``(bb) all credible evidence submitted by an accused 
     national of the United States or alien lawfully admitted for 
     permanent residence shall be considered so long as this 
     evidence was not gathered in violation of section 384 of the 
     Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 
     of 1996.

       ``(V)(aa) During the adjudication of a petition under this 
     paragraph, the investigative officer who is responsible for 
     the adjudication and final determination of eligibility shall 
     determine whether any Federal, State, territorial, tribal, or 
     local law enforcement agency has undertaken an investigation 
     or prosecution of the abusive conduct alleged by the 
     petitioning alien.
       ``(bb) If an investigation or prosecution was commenced, 
     the investigative officer shall--

       ``(AA) obtain as much information as possible about the 
     investigation or prosecution; and
       ``(BB) consider that information as part of the 
     adjudication of the petition.

       ``(cc) If an investigation or prosecution is pending, the 
     adjudication of the petition shall be stayed pending the 
     conclusion of the investigation or prosecution. If no 
     investigation has been undertaken or if a prosecutor's office 
     has not commenced a prosecution after the matter was referred 
     to it, that fact shall be considered by the investigative 
     officer as part of the adjudication of the petition.
       ``(VI) If a petition filed under this paragraph is denied, 
     any obligations under an underlying affidavit of support 
     previously filed by the accused national of the United States 
     or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be 
     terminated.'';

       (2) in subparagraph (A)(iv), by adding at the end the 
     following: ``The petition shall be adjudicated according to 
     the procedures that apply to self-petitioners under clause 
     (iii).'';
       (3) in subparagraph (A)(vii), by adding at the end the 
     following continuation text:

     ``The petition shall be adjudicated according to the 
     procedures that apply to self-petitioners under clause 
     (iii).'';
       (4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting after subclause 
     (II) the following:
       ``(III)(aa) Upon filing, each petition under this clause 
     shall be assigned to an investigative officer for 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility.

       ``(bb) During the adjudication of each petition under this 
     paragraph, an investigative officer from a local office of 
     United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall 
     conduct an in-person interview of the alien who filed the 
     petition. The investigative officer may also gather other 
     evidence so long as this evidence is not gathered in 
     violation of section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 
     and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The investigative 
     officer who conducted the in-person interview shall provide 
     to the investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility a summary 
     of the interview and any other evidence gathered and a 
     determination of the credibility of the interviewee and other 
     evidence gathered.
       ``(cc) All interviews under this clause shall be conducted 
     under oath and subject to applicable penalties for perjury.
       ``(dd) The investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility shall 
     determine whether the petitioner had filed previous 
     applicaions or petitions for immigration benefits that had 
     been denied and whether the petitioner had been the 
     beneficiary of a previous petition filed pursuant to this 
     section that had been denied. If either was the case, the 
     investigative officer shall consider the denials and the 
     reasons for the denials as part of the adjudication of the 
     petition.
       ``(ee) The investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligibility shall as 
     part of the adjudication of the petition consult with the 
     investigative officer at the local office of United States 
     Citizenship and Immigration Services who had conducted the 
     in-person interview of the alien who filed the petition.
       ``(ff) Upon the conclusion of the adjudication process 
     under this subparagraph, the investigative officer who is 
     responsible for the adjudication and final determination of 
     eligibility shall issue a final written determination to 
     approve or deny the petition. The investigative officer shall 
     not approve the petition unless the officer finds, in writing 
     and with particularity, that all requirements under this 
     paragraph, including proof that the alien is a victim of the 
     conduct described in clause (ii)(I)(bb), have been proven by 
     a preponderance of the evidence.
       ``(IV) During the adjudication of a petition under this 
     clause--

       ``(aa) the petition shall not be granted unless the 
     petition is supported by a preponderance of the evidence; and
       ``(bb) all credible evidence submitted by an accused 
     national of the United States or alien lawfully admitted for 
     permanent residence shall be considered so long as this 
     evidence was not gathered in violation of section 384 of the 
     Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 
     of 1996.

       ``(V)(aa) During the adjudication of a petition under this 
     clause, the investigative officer who is responsible for the 
     adjudication and final determination of eligiblity shall 
     determine whether any Federal, State, territorial, tribal, or 
     local law enforcement agency has undertaken an investigation 
     or prosecution of the abusive conduct alleged by the 
     petitioning alien.
       ``(bb) If an investigation or prosecution was commenced, 
     the investigative officer shall--

       ``(AA) obtain as much information as possible about the 
     investigation or prosecution; and
       ``(BB) consider that information as part of the 
     adjudication of the petition.

       ``(cc) If an investigation or prosecution is pending, the 
     adjudication of the petition shall be stayed pending the 
     conclusion of the investigation or prosecution. If no 
     investigation has been undertaken or if a prosecutor's office 
     has not commenced a prosecution after the matter was referred 
     to it, that fact shall be considered by the investigative 
     officer as part of the adjudication of the petition.
       ``(VI) If a petition filed under this clause is denied, any 
     obligations under an underlying affidavit of support 
     previously filed by the accused national of the United States 
     or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be 
     terminated.''; and

       (5) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by adding at the end the 
     following: ``The petition shall be adjudicated according to 
     the procedures that apply to self-petitioners under clause 
     (ii).''.

     SEC. 802. CLARIFICATION OF THE REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO U 
                   VISAS.

       Section 214(p)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1184(p)(1)) is amended as follows:
       (1) By striking ``The petition'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) In general.--The petition''.
       (2) By adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) Certification requirements.--Each certification 
     submitted under subparagraph (A) shall confirm under oath 
     that--
       ``(i) the criminal activity is actively under investigation 
     or a prosecution has been commenced; and
       ``(ii) the petitioner has provided to law enforcement 
     information that will assist in identifying the perpetrator 
     of the criminal activity or the perpetrator's identity is 
     known.
       ``(C) Requirement for certification.--No application for a 
     visa under section 101(a)(15)(U) may be granted unless 
     accompanied by the certification as described in this 
     paragraph.''.

     SEC. 803. PROTECTIONS FOR A FIANCEE OR FIANCE OF A CITIZEN.

       (a) In General.--Section 214 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``crime.'' and inserting 
     ``crime described in paragraph (3)(B) and information on any 
     permanent protection or restraining order issued against the 
     petitioner related to any specified crime described in 
     paragraph (3)(B)(i).''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by striking ``abuse, and 
     stalking.'' and inserting ``abuse, stalking, or an attempt to 
     commit any such crime.''; and
       (2) in subsection (r)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``crime.'' and inserting 
     ``crime described in paragraph (5)(B) and information on any 
     permanent protection or restraining order issued against the 
     petitioner related to any specified crime described in 
     subsection (5)(B)(i).''; and
       (B) in paragraph (5)(B)(i), by striking ``abuse, and 
     stalking.'' and inserting ``abuse, stalking, or an attempt to 
     commit any such crime.''.
       (b) Provision of Information to K Nonimmigrants.--Section 
     833 of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 
     2005 (8 U.S.C. 1375a) is amended in subsection (b)(1)(A), by 
     striking ``or'' after ``orders'' and inserting ``and''.

[[Page 6938]]



     SEC. 804. REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE BROKERS.

       (a) Implementation of the International Marriage Broker Act 
     of 2005.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
     Congress a report that includes the name of the component of 
     the Department of Justice responsible for prosecuting 
     violations of the International Marriage Broker Act of 2005 
     (subtitle D of Public Law 109-162; 119 Stat. 3066) and the 
     amendments made by this title.
       (b) Regulation of International Marriage Brokers.--Section 
     833(d) of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 
     2005 (8 U.S.C. 1375a(d)) is amended as follows:
       (1) By amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
       ``(1) Prohibition on marketing of or to children.--
       ``(A) In general.--An international marriage broker shall 
     not provide any individual or entity with personal contact 
     information, photograph, or general information about the 
     background or interests of any individual under the age of 
     18.
       ``(B) Compliance.--To comply with the requirements of 
     subparagraph (A), an international marriage broker shall--
       ``(i) obtain a valid copy of each foreign national client's 
     birth certificate or other proof of age document issued by an 
     appropriate government entity;
       ``(ii) indicate on such certificate or document the date it 
     was received by the international marriage broker;
       ``(iii) retain the original of such certificate or document 
     for 5 years after such date of receipt; and
       ``(iv) produce such certificate or document upon request to 
     an appropriate authority charged with the enforcement of this 
     paragraph.''.
       (2) In paragraph (2)(B)(ii), by striking ``or stalking.'' 
     and inserting ``stalking, or an attempt to commit any such 
     crime.''.

     SEC. 805. GAO REPORT.

       (a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than 1 year after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
     General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 
     Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report regarding 
     the adjudication of petitions and applications under section 
     101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)) and the self-petitioning process for 
     VAWA self-petitioners (as that term is defined in section 
     101(a)(51) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1101(a)(51)).
       (b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) 
     shall--
       (1) assess the efficiency and reliability of the process 
     for reviewing such petitions and applications, including 
     whether the process includes adequate safeguards against 
     fraud and abuse; and
       (2) identify possible improvements to the adjudications of 
     petitions and applications in order to reduce fraud and 
     abuse.

     SEC. 806. TEMPORARY NATURE OF U VISA STATUS.

       (a) In General.--Section 245(m) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(m)) is amended by striking 
     ``the alien is not described'' and inserting ``the individual 
     who was convicted of the criminal activity referred to in 
     section 101(a)(15)(U)(i)(I) that was the basis for the alien 
     being admitted into the United States (or otherwise provided 
     nonimmigrant status) under section 101(a)(15)(U) was himself 
     or herself an alien and has been physically removed to the 
     foreign state of which the alien with nonimmigrant status 
     under section 101(a)(15)(U) is a national, and if the alien 
     with nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(U) is not 
     described''.
       (b) Duration of Nonimmigrant Status.--Section 214(p)(6) of 
     such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)(6)) is amended by striking ``if 
     the alien is eligible for relief under section 245(m) and is 
     unable to obtain such relief because regulations have been 
     issued to implement such section and shall be extended''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to applications for adjustment of status 
     submitted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
     and to previously filed applications that are pending on the 
     date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 807. ANNUAL REPORT ON IMMIGRATION APPLICATIONS MADE BY 
                   VICTIMS OF ABUSE.

       Not later than December 1, 2012, and annually thereafter, 
     the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that 
     includes the following:
       (1) The number of aliens who--
       (A) submitted an application for nonimmigrant status under 
     paragraph (15)(T)(i), (15)(U)(i), or (51) of section 101(a) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) 
     during the preceding fiscal year;
       (B) were granted such nonimmigrant status during such 
     fiscal year; or
       (C) were denied such nonimmigrant status during such fiscal 
     year.
       (2) The mean amount of time and median amount of time to 
     adjudicate an application for such nonimmigrant status during 
     such fiscal year.
       (3) The mean amount of time and median amount of time 
     between the receipt of an application for such nonimmigrant 
     status and the issuance of work authorization to an eligible 
     applicant during the preceding fiscal year.
       (4) The number of aliens granted continued presence in the 
     United States under section 107(c)(3) of the Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(c)(3)) during 
     the preceding fiscal year.
       (5) A description of any actions being taken to reduce the 
     adjudication and processing time, while ensuring the safe and 
     competent processing, of an application described in 
     paragraph (1) or a request for continued presence referred to 
     in paragraph (4).
       (6) The actions being taken to combat fraud and to ensure 
     program integrity.
       (7) Each type of criminal activity by reason of which an 
     alien received nonimmigrant status under section 
     101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C 
     1101(a)(15)(U)) during the preceding fiscal year and the 
     number of occurrences of that criminal activity that resulted 
     in such aliens receiving such status.

     SEC. 808. PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN OF VAWA SELF-PETITIONERS.

       Section 204(l)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1154(l)(2)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G); 
     and
       (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
       ``(F) a child of an alien who filed a pending or approved 
     petition for classification or application for adjustment of 
     status or other benefit specified in section 101(a)(51) as a 
     VAWA self-petitioner; or''.

     SEC. 809. PUBLIC CHARGE.

       Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(E) Special rule for qualified alien victims.--
     Subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) shall not apply to an alien 
     who--
       ``(i) is a VAWA self-petitioner;
       ``(ii) is an applicant for, or is granted, nonimmigrant 
     status under section 101(a)(15)(U); or
       ``(iii) is a qualified alien described in section 431(c) of 
     the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
     Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)).''.

     SEC. 810. AGE-OUT PROTECTION FOR U VISA APPLICANTS.

       Section 214(p) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1184(p)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(7) Age determinations.--
       ``(A) Children.--An unmarried alien who seeks to accompany, 
     or follow to join, a parent granted status under section 
     101(a)(15)(U)(i), and who was under 21 years of age on the 
     date on which such parent petitioned for such status, shall 
     continue to be classified as a child for purposes of section 
     101(a)(15)(U)(ii), if the alien attains 21 years of age after 
     such parent's petition was filed but while it was pending.
       ``(B) Principal aliens.--An alien described in clause (i) 
     of section 101(a)(15)(U) shall continue to be treated as an 
     alien described in clause (ii)(I) of such section if the 
     alien attains 21 years of age after the alien's application 
     for status under such clause (i) is filed but while it is 
     pending.''.

     SEC. 811. HARDSHIP WAIVERS.

       Section 216(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1186a(c)(4)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking the comma at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon;
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``(1), or'' and 
     inserting ``(1); or'';
       (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon and ``or''; and
       (4) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
       ``(D) the alien meets the requirements under section 
     204(a)(1)(A)(iii)(II)(aa)(BB) and following the marriage 
     ceremony was battered by or subject to extreme cruelty 
     perpetrated by the alien's intended spouse and was not at 
     fault in failing to meet the requirements of paragraph 
     (1).''.

     SEC. 812. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR NATIONAL SECURITY 
                   PURPOSE.

       (a) Information Sharing.--Section 384(b) of the Illegal 
     Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
     (8 U.S.C. 1367(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security or the'' 
     before ``Attorney General may''; and
       (B) by inserting ``Secretary's or the'' before ``Attorney 
     General's discretion'';
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security or the'' 
     before ``Attorney General may'';
       (B) by inserting ``Secretary or the'' before ``Attorney 
     General for''; and
       (C) by inserting ``in a manner that protects the 
     confidentiality of such information'' after ``law enforcement 
     purpose'';
       (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ``Attorney General is'' 
     and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
     Attorney General are''; and
       (4) by adding at the end a new paragraph as follows:
       ``(8) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of 
     Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, or the Attorney 
     General may provide in the discretion of either such 
     Secretary or the Attorney General for the disclosure of 
     information to national security officials to be used solely 
     for a national security purpose in a manner that protects the 
     confidentiality of such information.''.
       (b) Guidelines.--Subsection (d) (as added by section 817(4) 
     of the Violence Against Women

[[Page 6939]]

     and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005) of 
     section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
     Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367(d)) is amended by 
     inserting ``and severe forms of trafficking in persons or 
     criminal activity listed in section 101(a)(15)(U) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(u))'' 
     after ``domestic violence''.
       (c) Implementation.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General and Secretary 
     of Homeland Security shall provide the guidance required by 
     section 384(d) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
     Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367(d)), 
     consistent with the amendments made by subsections (a) and 
     (b).
       (d) Clerical Amendment.--Section 384(a)(1) of the Illegal 
     Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
     is amended by striking ``241(a)(2)'' in the matter following 
     subparagraph (F) and inserting ``237(a)(2)''.

     SEC. 813. GAO REPORT ON REQUIREMENTS TO COOPERATE WITH LAW 
                   ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.

       (a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than three years 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
     General of the United States shall submit a report to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report 
     regarding the adjudication of petitions and applications 
     under section 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U)).
       (b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) 
     shall--
       (1) assess the effectiveness of the requirements set out in 
     Section 802 of this Act in ensuring that potential U visa 
     recipients aid in the investigation, apprehension, and 
     prosecution of criminals;
       (2) determine the effect of the requirements set out in 
     Section 802 of this Act, on the number of U visas issued 
     annually; and
       (3) determine the effect of the requirements set out in 
     Section 802 of this Act, on the number of individuals seeking 
     U visas.

     SEC. 814. CONSIDERATION OF OTHER EVIDENCE.

       Section 237(a)(2)(E)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(E)(i)) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following: ``If the conviction records do not 
     conclusively establish whether a crime of domestic violence 
     constitutes a crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of 
     title 18, United States Code), the Attorney General may 
     consider any other evidence that the Attorney General 
     determines to be reliable in making this determination, 
     including sentencing reports and police reports.''.

                   TITLE IX--SAFETY FOR INDIAN WOMEN

     SEC. 901. GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.

       Section 2015(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-10(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``sex trafficking,'' 
     after ``sexual assault,'';
       (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``sex trafficking,'' 
     after ``sexual assault,'';
       (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and stalking'' and all 
     that follows and inserting ``sexual assault, sex trafficking, 
     and stalking;'';
       (4) in paragraph (7)--
       (A) by inserting ``sex trafficking,'' after ``sexual 
     assault,'' each place it appears; and
       (B) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (5) in paragraph (8)--
       (A) by inserting ``sex trafficking,'' after ``stalking,''; 
     and
       (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting a 
     semicolon; and
       (6) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(9) provide services to address the needs of youth who 
     are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, sex trafficking, or stalking and the needs of 
     children exposed to domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking, including support for the 
     nonabusing parent or the caretaker of the child; and
       ``(10) develop and promote legislation and policies that 
     enhance best practices for responding to violent crimes 
     against Indian women, including the crimes of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, 
     and stalking.''.

     SEC. 902. GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBAL COALITIONS.

       Section 2001(d) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) developing and promoting State, local, or tribal 
     legislation and policies that enhance best practices for 
     responding to violent crimes against Indian women, including 
     the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``individuals or''.

     SEC. 903. CONSULTATION.

       Section 903 of the Violence Against Women and Department of 
     Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14045d) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``and the Violence Against Women Act of 
     2000'' and inserting ``, the Violence Against Women Act of 
     2000''; and
       (B) by inserting ``, and the Violence Against Women 
     Reauthorization Act of 2012'' before the period at the end;
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services'' 
     and inserting ``Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
     Secretary of the Interior,''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and stalking'' and 
     inserting ``stalking, and sex trafficking''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Annual Report.--The Attorney General shall submit to 
     Congress an annual report on the annual consultations 
     required under subsection (a) that--
       ``(1) contains the recommendations made under subsection 
     (b) by Indian tribes during the year covered by the report;
       ``(2) describes actions taken during the year covered by 
     the report to respond to recommendations made under 
     subsection (b) during the year or a previous year; and
       ``(3) describes how the Attorney General will work in 
     coordination and collaboration with Indian tribes, the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of 
     the Interior to address the recommendations made under 
     subsection (b).
       ``(d) Notice.--Not later than 120 days before the date of a 
     consultation under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall 
     notify tribal leaders of the date, time, and location of the 
     consultation.''.

     SEC. 904. ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH ON VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIAN 
                   WOMEN.

       (a) In General.--Section 904(a) of the Violence Against 
     Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 
     (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-10 note) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``The National'' and inserting ``Not later 
     than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Violence 
     Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, the National''; 
     and
       (B) by inserting ``and in Native villages (as defined in 
     section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
     U.S.C. 1602))'' before the period at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (2)(A)--
       (A) in clause (iv), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(vi) sex trafficking.'';
       (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ``this Act'' and 
     inserting ``the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 
     2012''; and
       (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ``this section $1,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2007 and 2008'' and inserting ``this 
     subsection $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 and 
     2014''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 905(b)(2) of 
     the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice 
     Reauthorization Act of 2005 (28 U.S.C. 534 note) is amended 
     by striking ``fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting 
     ``fiscal years 2013 through 2017''.

     SEC. 905. ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
                   TRIBAL LIAISONS.

       (a) Appointment.--The Attorney General is authorized and 
     encouraged to appoint the Assistant United States Attorney 
     Tribal Liaison appointed in each judicial district that 
     includes Indian country to also serve as a domestic violence 
     tribal liaison.
       (b) Duties.--The duties of a domestic violence tribal 
     liaison appointed under this section shall include the 
     following:
       (1) Encouraging and assisting in arrests and Federal 
     prosecution for crimes, including misdemeanor crimes, of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking that occur in Indian country.
       (2) Conducting training sessions for tribal law enforcement 
     officers and other individuals and entities responsible for 
     responding to crimes in Indian country to ensure that such 
     officers, individuals, and entities understand their arrest 
     authority over non-Indian offenders.
       (3) Developing multidisciplinary teams to combat domestic 
     and sexual violence offenses against Indians by non-Indians.
       (4) Consulting and coordinating with tribal justice 
     officials and victims' advocates to address any backlog in 
     the prosecution of crimes, including misdemeanor crimes, of 
     domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
     stalking that occur in Indian country.
       (5) Developing working relationships and maintaining 
     communication with tribal leaders, tribal community and 
     victims' advocates, and tribal justice officials to gather 
     information from, and share appropriate information with, 
     tribal justice officials.
       (c) Indian Country.--In this section, the term ``Indian 
     country'' has the meaning given such term in section 1151 of 
     title 18.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
     this section.

                      TITLE X--CRIMINAL PROVISIONS

     SEC. 1001. CRIMINAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO SEXUAL ABUSE.

       (a) Sexual Abuse of a Minor or Ward.--Section 2243(b) of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Of a Ward.--
       ``(1) Offenses.--It shall be unlawful for any person to 
     knowingly engage, or knowingly attempt to engage, in a sexual 
     act with another person who is--
       ``(A) in official detention or supervised by, or otherwise 
     under the control of, the United States--
       ``(i) during arrest;

[[Page 6940]]

       ``(ii) during pretrial release;
       ``(iii) while in official detention or custody; or
       ``(iv) while on probation, supervised release, or parole;
       ``(B) under the professional custodial, supervisory, or 
     disciplinary control or authority of the person engaging or 
     attempting to engage in the sexual act; and
       ``(C) at the time of the sexual act--
       ``(i) in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction 
     of the United States;
       ``(ii) in a Federal prison, or in any prison, institution, 
     or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction 
     of, or pursuant to a contract or agreement with, the United 
     States; or
       ``(iii) under supervision or other control by the United 
     States, or by direction of, or pursuant to a contract or 
     agreement with, the United States.
       ``(2) Penalties.--Whoever violates paragraph (1)(A) shall--
       ``(A) be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 
     than 15 years, or both; and
       ``(B) if, in the course of committing the violation of 
     paragraph (1), the person engages in conduct that would 
     constitute an offense under section 2241 or 2242 if committed 
     in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the 
     United States, be subject to the penalties provided for under 
     section 2241 or 2242, respectively.''.
       (b) Penalties for Sexual Abuse.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec.  250. Penalties for sexual abuse

       ``(a) Offense.--It shall be unlawful for any person, in the 
     course of committing an offense under this chapter or under 
     section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631) to 
     engage in conduct that would constitute an offense under 
     chapter 109A if committed in the special maritime and 
     territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
       ``(b) Penalties.--A person that violates subsection (a) 
     shall be subject to the penalties under the provision of 
     chapter 109A that would have been violated if the conduct was 
     committed in the special maritime and territorial 
     jurisdiction of the United States, unless a greater penalty 
     is otherwise authorized by law.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
     13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:

``250. Penalties for sexual abuse.''.

     SEC. 1002. SEXUAL ABUSE IN CUSTODIAL SETTINGS.

       (a) Suits by Prisoners.--Section 7(e) of the Civil Rights 
     of Institutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(e)) is 
     amended by inserting before the period at the end the 
     following: ``or the commission of a sexual act (as defined in 
     section 2246 of title 18, United States Code)''.
       (b) United States as Defendant.--Section 1346(b)(2) of 
     title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting before 
     the period at the end the following: ``or the commission of a 
     sexual act (as defined in section 2246 of title 18)''.
       (c) Adoption and Effect of National Standards.--Section 8 
     of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 15607) 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
       ``(c) Applicability to Detention Facilities Operated by the 
     Department of Homeland Security.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization 
     Act of 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish 
     a final rule adopting national standards for the detection, 
     prevention, reduction, and punishment of rape and sexual 
     assault in facilities that maintain custody of aliens 
     detained for a violation of the immigrations laws of the 
     United States.
       ``(2) Applicability.--The standards adopted under paragraph 
     (1) shall apply to detention facilities operated by the 
     Department of Homeland Security and to detention facilities 
     operated under contract with, or pursuant to an 
     intergovernmental service agreement with, the Department.
       ``(3) Compliance.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
     shall--
       ``(A) assess compliance with the standards adopted under 
     paragraph (1) on a regular basis; and
       ``(B) include the results of the assessments in performance 
     evaluations of facilities completed by the Department of 
     Homeland Security.
       ``(4) Considerations.--In adopting standards under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall give 
     due consideration to the recommended national standards 
     provided by the Commission under section 7(e).
       ``(d) Applicability to Custodial Facilities Operated by the 
     Department of Health and Human Services.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization 
     Act of 2012, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
     publish a final rule adopting national standards for the 
     detection, prevention, reduction, and punishment of rape and 
     sexual assault in facilities that maintain custody of 
     unaccompanied alien children (as defined in section 462(g) of 
     the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))).
       ``(2) Applicability.--The standards adopted under paragraph 
     (1) shall apply to facilities operated by the Department of 
     Health and Human Services and to facilities operated under 
     contract with the Department.
       ``(3) Compliance.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services shall--
       ``(A) assess compliance with the standards adopted under 
     paragraph (1) on a regular basis; and
       ``(B) include the results of the assessments in performance 
     evaluations of facilities completed by the Department of 
     Health and Human Services.
       ``(4) Considerations.--In adopting standards under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     shall give due consideration to the recommended national 
     standards provided by the Commission under section 7(e).''.

     SEC. 1003. CRIMINAL PROVISION RELATING TO STALKING, INCLUDING 
                   CYBERSTALKING.

       (a) In General.--Section 2261A of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec.  2261A. STALKING.

       ``(a) Whoever uses the mail, any interactive computer 
     service, or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce to 
     engage in a course of conduct or travels in interstate or 
     foreign commerce or within the special maritime and 
     territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or enters or 
     leaves Indian country, with the intent to kill, injure, 
     harass, or intimidate another person, or place another person 
     under surveillance with the intent to kill, injure, harass, 
     or intimidate such person and in the course of, or as a 
     result of, such travel or course of conduct--
       ``(1) places that person in reasonable fear of the death 
     of, or serious bodily injury to such person, a member of 
     their immediate family (as defined in section 115), or their 
     spouse or intimate partner; or
       ``(2) causes or attempts to cause serious bodily injury or 
     serious emotional distress to such person, a member of their 
     immediate family (as defined in section 115), or their spouse 
     or intimate partner;

     shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
       ``(b) The punishment for an offense under this section is 
     the same as that for an offense under section 2261, except 
     that if--
       ``(1) the offense involves conduct in violation of a 
     protection order; or
       ``(2) the victim of the offense is under the age of 18 
     years or over the age of 65 years, the offender has reached 
     the age of 18 years at the time the offense was committed, 
     and the offender knew or should have known that the victim 
     was under the age of 18 years or over the age of 65 years;

     the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed is 
     increased by 5 years over the term of imprisonment otherwise 
     provided for that offense in section 2261.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The item relating to section 2261A 
     in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 110A of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

``2261A. Stalking.''.

     SEC. 1004. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL ASSAULT STATUTE.

       (a) In General.--Section 113 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1) Assault with intent to commit murder or a violation 
     of section 2241 or 2242, by a fine under this title, 
     imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both.'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``felony under chapter 
     109A'' and inserting ``violation of section 2241 or 2242'';
       (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and without just cause 
     or excuse,'';
       (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ``six months'' and 
     inserting ``1 year'';
       (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ``1 year'' and inserting 
     ``5 years'';
       (F) in paragraph (7)--
       (i) by striking ``substantial bodily injury to an 
     individual who has not attained the age of 16 years'' and 
     inserting ``substantial bodily injury to a spouse or intimate 
     partner, a dating partner, or an individual who has not 
     attained the age of 16 years''; and
       (ii) by striking ``fine'' and inserting ``a fine''; and
       (G) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) Assault of a spouse, intimate partner, or dating 
     partner by strangling, suffocating, or attempting to strangle 
     or suffocate, by a fine under this title, imprisonment for 
     not more than 10 years, or both.''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by striking ``(b) As used in this subsection--'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(b) In this section--'';
       (B) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting a semicolon; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) the terms `dating partner' and `spouse or intimate 
     partner' have the meanings given those terms in section 2266;
       ``(4) the term `strangling' means knowingly or recklessly 
     impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of 
     a person by applying pressure to the throat or neck, 
     regardless of whether that conduct results in any visible 
     injury or whether there is any intent to kill or protractedly 
     injure the victim; and
       ``(5) the term `suffocating' means knowingly or recklessly 
     impeding the normal breathing of a person by covering the 
     mouth of the person, the

[[Page 6941]]

     nose of the person, or both, regardless of whether that 
     conduct results in any visible injury or whether there is any 
     intent to kill or protractedly injure the victim.''.
       (b) Indian Major Crimes.--Section 1153(a) of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``assault with 
     intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, 
     assault resulting in serious bodily injury (as defined in 
     section 1365 of this title)'' and inserting ``a felony 
     assault under section 113''.

     SEC. 1005. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE.

       Section 2241 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), in the undesignated matter following 
     paragraph (2), by striking ``any term of years or life'' and 
     inserting ``not less than 10 years or imprisoned for life''; 
     and
       (2) in subsection (b), in the undesignated matter following 
     paragraph (2), by striking ``any term of years or life'' and 
     inserting ``not less than 5 years or imprisoned for life''.

     SEC. 1006. FEDERAL PROTECTION ORDERS.

       (a) Federal Protection Orders.--Chapter 110A of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
     2262 the following:

     ``Sec.  2262A. Federal domestic violence protection orders 
       involving Indians and Indian country

       ``(a) Petition for Protection Order.--
       ``(1) In general.--A victim of an act of domestic violence, 
     or an Indian tribe as parens patriae on behalf of the victim 
     of an act of domestic violence, may petition a district court 
     of the United States to issue a protection order against the 
     person (whether an Indian or a non-Indian) who is alleged to 
     have committed the act of domestic violence if--
       ``(A) the victim is an Indian or a minor who resides with 
     or is in the care and custody of an Indian;
       ``(B) the victim resides or is employed at a place located 
     in the Indian country of the Indian tribe that files the 
     petition; and
       ``(C) the person against whom the order is sought is 
     alleged to have committed an act of domestic violence in the 
     Indian country.
       ``(2) Contents of petition.--A petition filed under this 
     section shall contain--
       ``(A) the facts that meet the requirements under paragraph 
     (1);
       ``(B) the name of each victim on whose behalf the 
     protection order is sought;
       ``(C) the name and, if known, the residential address of 
     the person against whom the order is sought;
       ``(D) a detailed description of the alleged act of domestic 
     violence, including the date or approximate date and the 
     location of the act of domestic violence; and
       ``(E) the relief sought.
       ``(3) Issuance of protection order.--The court may issue a 
     protection order in accordance with this section and 
     subsections (b) and (c) of section 2265 and Rule 65(d)(1) of 
     the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if the court finds that 
     such order is reasonably necessary to provide protection 
     against violence, threats, or harassment against, contact or 
     communication with, or physical proximity to--
       ``(A) a spouse or intimate partner who resides or is 
     employed at a location in the Indian country of the Indian 
     tribe involved in the proceeding; or
       ``(B) a minor who resides with or is in the care or custody 
     of a spouse or intimate partner who resides or is employed at 
     a location in the Indian country.
       ``(4) Scope of protection orders.--Any protection order 
     under this section may--
       ``(A) prohibit the person against whom the order is sought 
     from--
       ``(i) threatening to commit or committing an act of 
     domestic violence against or otherwise harassing the spouse 
     or intimate partner or minor who resides with or is in the 
     care or custody of the spouse or intimate partner;
       ``(ii) communicating, directly or indirectly, with the 
     spouse or intimate partner or minor who resides with or is in 
     the care or custody of the spouse or intimate partner; and
       ``(iii) knowingly coming within a specified distance from 
     the spouse or intimate partner or minor who resides with or 
     is in the care or custody of the spouse or intimate partner;
       ``(B) direct the person against whom the order is sought to 
     stay away from the residence, school, or place of employment 
     of the spouse or intimate partner, or any other specified 
     place frequented by the spouse or intimate partner, 
     regardless of whether the residence, school, place of 
     employment, or other specified place is located in Indian 
     country; and
       ``(C) exclude or bar the person against whom the order is 
     sought from the Indian country of the Indian tribe involved 
     in the proceeding or any portion or area of that Indian 
     country.
       ``(5) Emergency ex parte orders.--If a petition requests an 
     emergency ex-parte protection order and from the facts 
     alleged in the petition there appears to be a danger of a 
     further, imminent act of domestic violence against a victim, 
     the court may grant an emergency ex-parte protection order 
     against the person against whom the order is sought in 
     accordance with the requirements of section 2265(b)(2).
       ``(6) Duration of protection order.--A protection order 
     under this section may be permanent or of such other shorter 
     duration as the court determines necessary to protect a 
     victim from a further act of domestic violence by the person 
     against whom the order is sought.
       ``(b) Violation of Protection Order.--A person who 
     intentionally violates a protection order under this section 
     shall be punished as provided in section 2262(b).''.
       (b) Violation of Federal Protection Order.--Section 2262(b) 
     of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the matter 
     preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``this section'' and 
     inserting ``this section or a protection order issued under 
     section 2262A''.
       (c) Definitions.--Section 2266 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (10) the 
     following:
       ``(11) Act of domestic violence.--The term `act of domestic 
     violence' means an act or attempted act of violence or 
     stalking, or a threatened act of violence, by a person 
     against a spouse or intimate partner, or a minor residing 
     with or in the care or custody of the spouse or intimate 
     partner.
       ``(12) Indian.--The term `Indian' means a person who is a 
     member of any Indian tribe, regardless of whether that Indian 
     tribe is the plaintiff Indian tribe under section 2262A.
       ``(13) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally 
     Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).
       ``(14) Minor.--The term `minor' means a person under the 
     age of 18 years.''.
       (d) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 110A of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2262 
     the following:

``2262A. Federal domestic violence protection orders involving Indians 
              and Indian country.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Adams) 
and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) each will control 30 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 4970, as amended, 
currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I'm proud to stand in support of this important and 
life-saving bill.
  According to national statistics, an average three women are killed 
by a current or former intimate partner a day, every day, and 24 people 
per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an 
intimate partner. For me, these statistics are way too real.
  Some of you may already know that at the age of 17 I dropped out of 
high school and joined the Air Force. I soon married by 18 and had a 
young daughter. For me, it was a blessing, but I soon found out that 
the man I married had a penchant for drinking and was very violent when 
he drank. I gave him the chance to be the father I thought he could be, 
and it didn't happen. So I took my daughter, our clothing, and we left.
  Like many women who leave an abusive relationship, there were times 
that the only thing that kept me going was knowing that I was 
responsible for my daughter, and she depended on me to make a better 
life for both of us where we both felt safe.
  Years later, I experienced another side of domestic violence while 
working as a deputy sheriff for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. I 
encountered many victims who had been abused, whether it was from 
domestic violence, rape, or stalking. These victims were always 
victims. That's what victims are, all inclusive. Back then, issues like 
domestic violence and sexual assault weren't really discussed; they 
were hidden behind closed doors, leaving many of the victims to either 
underreport or not report at all. They didn't turn for help because 
they felt helpless. So when the Violence Against Women Act was enacted 
in 1994, it brought attention to an issue that was underreported, or 
maybe not even reported at all.
  Eighteen years ago, VAWA established within the Department of Justice 
and the Department of Health and Human Services a number of life-saving 
grant programs for State, local, and Indian tribal governments. Since 
then, the act has encouraged collaboration among law enforcement 
officers, judicial personnel, and public and private sector providers 
to provide help for the victims of domestic and sexual

[[Page 6942]]

violence. It also addressed the needs of victims of domestic and sexual 
violence who are elderly, disabled, children, youth, and individuals of 
ethnic and racial communities, including Native Americans.
  Congress has twice reauthorized the VAWA grant programs with strong 
bipartisan support, once in 2000 and again in 2006. Keeping with the 
bipartisan nature of the act, the House bill, H.R. 4970, reauthorizes 
the grant programs in VAWA for a third time at the same funding levels 
as our colleagues in the Senate agreed to last month.
  In addition to making several key improvements to the Senate bill, 
including nearly doubling resources for eliminating the backlog of 
unprocessed rape evidence kits, the House bill brings greater 
accountability to VAWA grant administration by ensuring that funding is 
spent on the victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, and stalking, and not on Washington bureaucrats.
  To achieve these goals, H.R. 4970 requires that the inspectors 
general of DOJ and HHS conduct an annual audit of at least 10 percent 
of all VAWA grant recipients and limits the use of funds for OVW 
salaries and administrative expenses to 5 percent of the annual 
authorization. H.R. 4970 also requires the Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to 
improve the coordination of grants within the Department in order to 
eliminate duplication and overlap.
  Make no mistake about it: this is a victim-centered bill which 
includes all victims--an all-inclusive, victim-centered bill. Turning 
this reauthorization into a political issue is not only wrong, but it 
is dangerous. It is dangerous. We cannot allow domestic violence in 
this country to become a campaign issue. It must be a reflection of our 
best efforts as Americans united against breaking a cycle of violence 
and helping victims become survivors.
  I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me today in 
supporting this life-saving legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4970, the Violence Against Women 
Reauthorization Act, because it is a title that does not represent what 
it ought to underneath.
  We've had these kinds of incidents before. In the past, we've always 
been able to set aside partisan differences and work together to 
protect the most vulnerable women of our society, abused and battered 
women. Today, unfortunately, this bill sets aside 20 years of 
bipartisan progress in our efforts to protect these women.
  The bill, as amended by the manager's amendment, rolls back existing 
protections for battered immigrant women. It fails to include 
provisions from the bipartisan Senate-passed bill--which all the women 
in the Senate voted for--which protect native women's lives by 
authorizing limited tribal criminal domestic violence. It eliminates 
the language from the bipartisan Senate-passed bill that would help 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender victims of domestic violence 
receive Violence Against Women Act services without facing additional 
discrimination.

                              {time}  1530

  Now, I'm going to reserve my time here, but I want to just point this 
out: there are more than 300 organizations--women's organizations, law 
enforcement organizations, church organizations--that have registered 
their opposition to H.R. 4970 for the reason that I've suggested. The 
National Organization for Women, the Leadership Conference on Civil and 
Human Rights, the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic 
Violence Against Women, the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 
20 faith-based leaders of organizations, the National Congress of 
American Indians, and it goes on and on, police chiefs, captains, 
detectives, lieutenants and prosecutors.
  I urge my colleagues to stand up for all victims of domestic violence 
and oppose this dangerous proposal that is on the floor today.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Smith), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank the 
gentlewoman from Florida, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee 
herself, for yielding me time.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to cosponsor H.R. 4970, and I want to 
again thank my colleague from Florida, Sandy Adams, for her work on 
this legislation.
  H.R. 4970, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, 
provides funding for VAWA grant programs for 5 years at the same levels 
as the Senate-passed bill. There are only a few minor differences 
between this House bill and the Senate bill.
  H.R. 4970 doesn't include language to provide special protected 
status to certain categories of people because they are already covered 
under VAWA. H.R. 4970 doesn't include language to allow Indian tribes 
to prosecute non-Indians because that is unconstitutional. H.R. 4970 
does include provisions that prevent fraud and abuse in the immigration 
process.
  This bill authorizes hundreds of millions of dollars for valuable 
services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, and stalking. Those who have supported VAWA in the past should 
be eager to support this legislation today.
  Violence against women doesn't occur along party lines, and neither 
should reauthorization of these programs. Instead of working with 
Republicans in a bipartisan effort to protect women from domestic 
violence, rape, and stalking, some Democrats have chosen to place 
partisan posturing above the urgent needs of victims of violence.
  If Members choose to oppose this bill for political reasons, that's 
their decision; but there is no good reason to oppose this bill for 
substantive reasons. A vote against this bill, in my judgment, is a 
vote against common sense and a vote against helping abused women.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to remind my 
colleagues on the other side that the 200 or 300 organizations and 
people that oppose this bill supported the previous legislation. Now, 
come on.
  At this point, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California, 
Zoe Lofgren, a senior member of the committee.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Before today, every VAWA bill we've 
considered over the last 20 years had three things in common: they've 
all been bipartisan, they've all been written in consultation with the 
advocates and service providers on the front lines against domestic 
violence, and they've all increased protections for victims of domestic 
violence.
  This bill, even as amended, shares none of those attributes. It 
actually reduces protections that exist in current law for victims of 
domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault. It was developed without 
any support or consultation from the minority or from the domestic 
violence advocates. And it is not bipartisan.
  Now, the bill's opposed by every leading domestic violence 
organization. It's opposed by the National Association of Evangelicals 
and the Willow Creek Church, the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference, all 
the leading women's groups. It's opposed by law enforcement officials 
with years of experience fighting domestic violence. It's opposed by 
tribal authorities, immigration advocates, LGBT groups. The list goes 
on and on.
  So the question really is this: If everyone from the National 
Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood to the National 
Association of Evangelicals and the Catholic Church have extreme 
concerns about this bill, who thinks this is a step in the right 
direction?
  And as far as I can tell, the only groups who openly support the bill 
and the amendments are groups like SAVE and A Voice for Men, who align 
themselves, not with battered women, but with the men who abuse them.
  I will insert into the Record an article from Leith Anderson, the 
president

[[Page 6943]]

of the National Association of Evangelicals, and Lynne Hybels, the co-
founder of the Willlow Creek Community Church. This is what they say:
  Nicole came to the U.S. from Indonesia on a temporary fiancee visa, 
expecting to enjoy life as a spouse. Instead was trafficked.
  They oppose the bill.

                        [From CNN, May 16, 2012]

                 Protect Immigrant Women From Violence

                  (By Leith Anderson and Lynne Hybels)

       Nicole came to the United States from Indonesia on a 
     temporary fiancee visa, fully expecting that she would enjoy 
     life in a new country with the U.S. citizen she intended to 
     marry. Instead, she found herself trapped as a victim of sex 
     trafficking.
       Nicole (not her real name), like thousands of other women, 
     was forced to engage in commercial sex acts against her will. 
     We heard about her when she received support from the 
     Salvation Army STOP-IT Program in Illinois, which serves 
     victims who have been harmed by the sex trade. (The Salvation 
     Army is a denominational member of the National Association 
     of Evangelicals.) Eventually, Nicole escaped from her 
     trafficker and assisted law enforcement in the prosecution of 
     the crime committed against her.
       Though Nicole's fiancee visa had lapsed, leaving her 
     susceptible to deportation, our nation's anti-trafficking law 
     provided a legal option for her to be granted permanent legal 
     status by helping law enforcement to prosecute her 
     trafficker. With the help of a nonprofit legal service 
     provider and the Salvation Army, Nicole was able to petition 
     on her own for legal status--and obtain it--through a special 
     ``U'' visa for immigrant victims of crime, allowing her to 
     get back on her feet and begin rebuilding her life.
       This week the House of Representatives is considering a 
     proposal to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, first 
     enacted in 1994, but in a new version that would 
     significantly undermine the same U visa program that provided 
     Nicole with safety and permanency in the United States.
       The U.S. government estimates that as many as 17,500 
     foreign-born victims are illegally trafficked in from abroad 
     each year, and academic estimates suggest that at least 
     100,000 victims of human trafficking live in the United 
     States today.
       By force, fraud or coercion, traffickers keep victims 
     enslaved in prostitution or forced labor.
       If the House proposal is enacted, thousands like Nicole 
     could remain enslaved, too afraid to speak out because some 
     of their most effective safeguards will have disappeared. The 
     proposal introduced by Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Florida, would 
     dramatically roll back important protections for battered 
     immigrant women and their children. It could face a vote 
     Wednesday afternoon.
       Several provisions would leave immigrant victims of human 
     trafficking and domestic abuse no legal way to break the 
     cycle of violence in which they are trapped.
       Specifically, this version would remove the incentive of 
     permanent safe haven in the United States for women who help 
     bring abusers to justice. By changing the U visa from 
     permanent to temporary, the bill could validate an abuser's 
     threat that a call to police could result in deportation. 
     Many women would keep quiet rather than risk immigration 
     consequences.
       The bill would also allow abusive partners in domestic 
     violence cases to provide input as to whether their victim 
     should qualify for immigration relief, stripping 
     confidentiality provisions that currently protect victims. 
     Abusive spouses, who are in a position to petition to adjust 
     the status of their immigrant wives through marriage, can 
     choose not to do so as a tool of abuse and fear. Abusers 
     frequently deny guilt and falsely accuse victims of fraud or 
     abuse.
       We don't want a bill that endangers some of the women and 
     children it purports to help. Overall, this bill's proposed 
     changes to current law would discourage immigrant victims 
     from escaping abuse and reporting crimes, and make all of us 
     less safe.
       Women--and, often, their children--come to our churches for 
     sanctuary and hope. We believe Adams' proposal would put more 
     lives in danger. It would perpetuate abusers' use of 
     immigration status as part of the cycle of exploitation.
       As evangelical Christians, we are committed to Jesus' great 
     commandment to love God and to love our neighbor, with a 
     particular concern for those who are most vulnerable. Through 
     local churches and ministries, we extend that love when we 
     provide counseling and support for victims of human 
     trafficking and domestic violence. In doing so, we point to 
     the ultimate healing and restoration that we believe is found 
     only in Jesus.
       We also love our neighbor by speaking up when laws are 
     proposed that could cause harm, intentionally or not. Loving 
     our neighbor not only means reaching out to those in need, 
     but also means addressing systemic problems that harm those 
     in need.
       That's why we're asking Speaker John Boehner and the House 
     leadership to make sure that the Violence Against Women Act 
     continues to protect vulnerable immigrant women who are 
     victims of human trafficking or domestic violence. They need 
     our protection.

  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from West Virginia 
(Mrs. Capito). She is a cosponsor of the legislation.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the sponsor of the 
bill, my colleague from Florida, for her work and her courage in 
bringing this forward.
  I rise in support of H.R. 4970. Quickly, I'd like to tell a story 
about a situation in my hometown where a young boy was in the car with 
his mother. She was being beaten by her boyfriend, or her friend. She 
pulls the car over. He steps out of the car to try to flag somebody 
down to help his mother. He's 11 years old. He's hit and killed in the 
middle of a domestic violence situation. Tremendously tragic.
  We know that sexual and domestic violence can happen to anyone at any 
age, race, income group, religion, or gender. Worldwide, one in four 
women is abused. In 2001, in my own home State, 13,000 domestic 
violence offenses were reported to law enforcement; and half of these 
offenses were between family members and household members, like that 
young man on the interstate that night. To be safe in your community, 
women first need to be safe in their own homes.
  We have made great progress, I think, with the Violence Against Women 
Act that was enacted in 1994; but this current reauthorization builds 
on the successes of the last decade and will prevent more women and 
families from suffering. These women are our mothers, our daughters, 
our sisters, our friends, and our colleagues.
  VAWA is working to break the cycle of violence in this country. And 
by speaking and lending a hand to our neighbors, our friends, our 
family members, we can break the cycle and take a vocal stand against 
abuse.
  We've heard how this bill has been bipartisan in the past. It can be 
bipartisan right now. It can be bipartisan today. We can work out the 
difference. We can do the right thing. That's what we're here for, for 
that little boy on that interstate that night.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, Mr. Nadler has agreed to permit Dale 
Kildee, the gentleman from Michigan, because of an emergency, to be 
recognized out of order for 1 minute.
  Mr. KILDEE. I thank the gentleman for his courtesy.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill which is 
grossly inadequate in renewing vital protections for domestic violence 
victims. For the first time, we have a VAWA authorization that actually 
makes women less safe by taking away protections from previously 
covered groups like Native Americans living on reservations.
  My Republican colleague will argue that this bill protects Native 
women by giving them access to Federal courts, but in many cases the 
nearest Federal court is over 300 miles away. Do we really expect a 
woman who has just been abused to get in a car and drive 300 miles for 
protection? And even then there is no guarantee that a Federal 
prosecutor will do anything.
  Every community in the Nation, except for constitutionally recognized 
tribal governments, has the authority to protect its residents. The 
only logical solution is to return local control to tribal governments 
to stop domestic violence before it escalates.
  Instead of voting on partisan H.R. 4970, we should be considering the 
Senate bill, S. 1925, which included protection for Indian women.

                              {time}  1540

  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Bono Mack), who is a cosponsor of this important pro-
victim legislation.
  Mrs. BONO MACK. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of reauthorizing the 
Violence Against Women Act, which is just as I did in 2000 and once 
again in 2005. It was a critically important bill back then, and it is 
a critically important bill now. That's why I am urging my colleagues 
today to stand up for all women in America.
  I thank my colleague, Sandy Adams, for her very hard work and 
dedication

[[Page 6944]]

and also for sharing her personal experiences and turning them into a 
reason to champion this bill.
  Yet, Madam Speaker, despite a lot of hard work by advocacy groups, 
law enforcement, churches, schools, and so many others around our 
Nation, violence against women continues to be an alarming problem--
murder, sexual violence, domestic violence. More than 1 million women 
in the U.S. will be victimized this year alone, and it's estimated that 
one in four women in the U.S. will experience domestic violence at some 
point in her lifetime. That's one out of every four women.
  As a society, we can't seem to find a way to stop this terrible 
sickness, but this legislation gives victims and their families a safe 
place to turn for help, such as to community violence prevention 
programs; protections for victims who are evicted from their homes 
because of events related to domestic violence or stalking; funding for 
victim assistance services like grief crisis centers and hotlines; and 
programs to meet the needs of women of different races or ethnicities.
  A vote for this legislation is a vote to protect women--not some 
women, but all women.
  Madam Speaker, I am very proud to represent a facility sheltered from 
the storm in my congressional district, and I thank them for their hard 
work and for their dedication in helping victims of domestic violence.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentlewoman 
from California, Lucille Roybal-Allard, for a unanimous consent 
request.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. I rise in strong opposition to this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 4970, the 
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). While I agree with my colleagues 
that we must reauthorize VAWA, I cannot support this version of the 
bill given the numerous ways it fails to protect women and families.
  Despite the significant progress we have made as a nation addressing 
violence against women, nearly one-third of women in the U.S. still 
report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend in 
their lifetime. Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
stalking lead to severe social, health, and economic consequences for 
our communities, with the estimated cost of violence exceeding 70 
billion dollars each year.
  Historically, each time VAWA has come up for reauthorization, 
Congress has added beneficial provisions to the bill and passed it with 
strong bipartisan support. In 2005, we included language referencing 
culturally and linguistically specific services to help eliminate 
barriers for many racial and ethnic minorities. My colleagues and I 
also successfully included a new health title in the last VAWA 
reauthorization that strengthened our health care system's capacity to 
prevent violence and develop effective interventions to abuse.
  The version of VAWA before us today threatens to roll back those 
gains and limit protections for victims, ultimately endangering their 
safety in life-threatening ways. H.R. 4970 omits provisions in the 
Senate-passed bill that ensure equal treatment and access to services 
for LGBT survivors. It denies justice for tribal women abused by non-
Indians, negating the reality that Native American women suffer 
domestic violence at epidemic proportions, but remain largely 
unprotected under current law. It also jeopardizes the personal 
security of victims who rely on public housing by forcing some to 
choose between swiftly moving away from an abuser and losing their 
housing subsidy.
  Equally egregious, H.R. 4970 eradicates protections that have 
benefited immigrant women for nearly 20 years. The legislation creates 
barriers for immigrant crime victims seeking U-visas and silences those 
who fear deportation. H.R. 4970 overturns the current ability of 
immigrant victims of domestic violence to confidentially self-petition 
for permanent residency, thereby returning power to abusive U.S. 
citizen and legal permanent resident spouses who wield their status as 
a tool of dominance and control. Since VAWA's inception in 1994, nearly 
75,000 self-petitions have been approved for immigrant victims who 
would have otherwise remained dependent on an abusive spouse to adjust 
their status. We cannot reverse course on this important self-petition 
provision and turn our backs on immigrant women and families.
  I am also disappointed that, yet again, provisions to alleviate the 
economic factors that keep victims in abusive relationships have not 
been included. For the last 16 years, I have introduced legislation, 
the Security and Financial Empowerment Act (SAFE Act), to address this 
issue. The SAFE Act extends eligibility for unemployment benefits to 
victims forced to leave their jobs due to circumstances stemming from 
domestic violence, allows victims to take unpaid leave to make court 
appearances and seek necessary assistance, and it prohibits employers 
or insurance providers from basing hiring or coverage on an 
individual's history of abuse. These provisions ensure that domestic 
violence survivors have the financial security they need to escape an 
abusive situation. Failing to address these economic concerns is just 
another way this legislation fails to adequately protect survivors of 
domestic violence.
  It's unfortunate that Republicans are playing politics with women's 
lives and pushing a bill that deviates so sharply from the kind of VAWA 
reauthorization that victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, and stalking truly need. Hundreds of organizations 
across the country have opposed HR. 4970 on the grounds that it harms 
our families and communities. Unconscionably, the GOP appears more 
concerned about advancing a political agenda than listening to the 
American people. This is grossly insensitive to the lived experiences 
of those who tragically find themselves in abusive situations and count 
on our support.
  Victim safety is at the core of VAWA and always has been. I cannot in 
good conscience vote to pass this version of VAWA, as it erases 18 
years of bipartisan efforts to respond to the needs of victims of 
domestic violence. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting this bill 
down so that we may consider an alternative VAWA reauthorization 
proposal that improves protections for all survivors, including 
immigrant women and other vulnerable populations.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to a senior member 
of the committee, the gentleman from New York, Jerrold Nadler.
  Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, this is a partisan Republican bill that 
not only rejects the bipartisan reforms to VAWA that were passed in the 
Senate but that would roll back protections for immigrant women that 
exist in current law.
  For example, with respect to immigration, the House Republican bill, 
even as amended by the manager's amendment, favors abusers by 
eliminating the requirement that abuser-provided evidence be 
investigated and corroborated before it can be used to deny victims 
protection. It also delays protection to battered victims by staying 
adjudications during pending investigations or prosecutions.
  The bill also fails to fully address the astronomically high rates of 
domestic violence against Native American women. A major cause is 
jurisdictional. Tribal governments cannot take action against non-
Native Americans who commit acts of domestic violence even on tribal 
land. The Senate bill, which passed with bipartisan support, would fix 
this problem. The House Republican bill ignores this issue.
  Finally, H.R. 4970 fails to make VAWA fully inclusive. The bipartisan 
Senate bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the 
eligibility for grant programs under VAWA so that groups could focus on 
victims amongst this underserved population. The Senate bill would also 
include sexual orientation and gender identity as classes in the new 
VAWA antidiscrimination language. The House Republican bill fails to 
include these provisions.
  The bottom line is that House Republicans have taken the issue of 
protecting women from violence, which used to be bipartisan, and have 
made it partisan--just like everything else. Maybe women across America 
should not be surprised, as this majority has been waging a war on them 
since the beginning of this Congress. But, my friends, we do not have 
to let this stand.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in voting against this bill. Let us 
reject this partisan VAWA reauthorization and work, as the Senate did, 
on passing a bipartisan measure--or better yet, simply pass the very 
good, bipartisan Senate bill. We don't need a retrogressive House bill 
that goes back on existing protections. The Senate did a fine job on a 
bipartisan basis. We should pass its bill.

[[Page 6945]]


  Mrs. ADAMS. I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Mrs. Emerson), who is also a cosponsor of this important pro-
woman legislation.
  Mrs. EMERSON. Madam Speaker, in every State and every congressional 
district--I dare say in every community in our Nation--there is 
domestic violence. It's a tragedy, and it's often a silent tragedy in a 
home or in a situation where victims feel trapped. They need to know 
that the resources to help them are there, and the people who commit 
these crimes need to understand that the penalties for their abuses are 
severe. We all need to send the message that this law is important and 
that this Congress has zero tolerance for violence against women.
  I've been to many shelters for victims of domestic violence in 
Missouri. They can't publish their addresses publicly. Still today, 
there is a network of women who can get you to a safe place, but you 
might not know who they are in your community until they save your 
life.
  Domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, and sexual assault are rarely 
discussed because they are such painful and shameful subjects, but they 
afflict women of all ages and from all walks of life. We can bring some 
small relief to all of the victims of these atrocities by speaking with 
one voice today and not trying to make this a political issue.
  These crimes are not acceptable--ever. The criminals who commit them 
deserve every bit of the stringent punishments contained in this 
legislation, making any one of them think twice before raising a hand 
in anger. Giving one woman the courage to escape grave danger in her 
own home or sending one young person out into the world with an 
understanding of the seriousness of these crimes all make today in the 
House and this bill worthwhile. I urge the bipartisan passage of this 
bill.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased now to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlelady from California, Judy Chu, a member of the committee.
  Ms. CHU. As a former rape counselor, I've gone to emergency rooms and 
have seen the damage that sexual assault and domestic violence have 
caused. That is why I was so relieved when the Violence Against Women 
Act passed. And for the last 20 years, Members of Congress from both 
sides of the aisle have come together for legislation to protect women 
from violence. But not anymore.
  Though the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize VAWA, with 
the support of 15 Republicans, including every female Republican 
Senator, this Republican House bill differs greatly. It declares war on 
women. The manager's amendment tries to make some changes, but don't be 
fooled. They are just small tweaks designed to pull the wool over 
women's eyes. They are trying to sneak in a bill that still fails to 
protect all women, that leaves LGBT victims out, and that prevents 
Native American women from seeing their abusers prosecuted.
  Let me be clear. This bill still rolls back existing law. For 
instance, with this bill, there is new, expedited deportation for any 
abused immigrant woman coming forth who has had even the slightest of 
errors in her report. If she goes to an emergency room and is in pain 
but has an error in her report, then she would be deported.
  Let's make sure that this bill does not pass. I urge its defeat.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner), who is a cosponsor of the legislation and the 
distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, 
Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Madam Speaker, I can't believe what I am hearing 
on the other side of the aisle.
  I was the author of the last reauthorization of VAWA. It passed this 
House 415-4. Many of the Members who are complaining about the 
inadequacy of the present law weren't around to try to strengthen it, 
and they didn't attempt to propose amendments. Instead, they seemed to 
have fallen for the contagion that started on the other side of the 
Capitol by expanding the scope of the law in a very controversial 
manner and by making an issue of whether a non-Indian can be prosecuted 
in a tribal court, which brings up huge constitutional issues because 
the Bill of Rights does not apply in tribal courts.
  I don't think it is the authors of this bill, and particularly the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Adams), who have anything to do with 
making this a partisan bill. It is the people on the other side of the 
aisle on both sides of the Capitol who have decided to use this as a 
political issue.

                              {time}  1550

  And there was one Member of the other body that said the Republican 
Party has declared war on women. That's not the case. This bill 
increases authorizations. It makes it more effective, and it limits 
administrative expenses so that the money is spent on victims. It 
really is a victims' rights bill.
  If those who are up here complaining about this legislation and 
strongly opposing it cause its defeat, the first casualty of the war on 
women is going to be the most important bill that has protected women 
for the last 18 years, the Violence Against Women Act.
  Madam Speaker, if the people on the other side are successful, the 
blood of the defeat of this bill will be on your hands, not on ours.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to remind my 
dear friend from Wisconsin, when he was chairman of the committee, in 
the 2005 Judiciary Committee report, he said:

       These protections are designed to ensure that abusers and 
     criminals cannot use the immigration system against their 
     victims, as abusers are known for interfering or undermining 
     their victim's immigration cases and encouraging immigration 
     officers to pursue removal actions against their victims.

  Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished Member from 
Illinois, Mike Quigley.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. I agree, it's not political, but the Senate had it 
right.
  Every year we reauthorize this, we expand who we're protecting. The 
scenery is moving behind us, as well. We need to make sure we take 
those people into consideration. Strive as you might to avoid trying to 
protect LGBT victims, the Senate had it right, and we should do that 
here.
  According to a recent survey of service providers who work with LGBT 
victims, 85 percent work with victims who have been denied services 
because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. Gender-
neutral language is not sufficient. Gay men are not turned away from 
shelters because they're men; they're turned away because of 
discrimination based on their sexual orientation.
  Discrimination is real. Violence is violence. Personal stories 
matter, but they should matter to everyone. Every one of these people 
are citizens of our country that deserve equal protection. 
Discrimination is real, and we can't pretend it doesn't exist or hope 
that we don't have to have--
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. I know there are folks who don't want to, in any way, 
have a pro-gay vote on it, but this is protecting human beings. It's 
the right thing to do. It should have been in this part of the bill. I 
suggest everyone vote ``no.''
  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I yield 10 seconds to myself just to point 
out that the survey that we've heard about was received back, and the 
complaint was the lack of data that it received. I will remind my 
colleagues on the other side that this bill and the current law 
protects all victims.
  I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Schmidt), who is 
a cosponsor of the legislation.
  Mrs. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
4970, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012. And I 
would like to commend my good friend, Mrs. Adams from Florida, for 
spearheading this reauthorization. Mrs. Adams is a former law 
enforcement officer and knows the effects of domestic violence all too 
well and the chronic problems that we are faced with in this country.

[[Page 6946]]

  We've all heard the statistics. The following are directly from the 
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:
  One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime;
  The health-related costs of intimate partner violence equals at least 
$5.8 billion annually;
  One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced an attempted or 
completed rape. Men aren't immune from this either;
  Thirty to 60 percent of perpetrators of intimate partner violence 
also abuse the children in the household;
  Domestic violence is one of the most chronically underreported 
crimes, for good reason.
  These are difficult statistics, Madam Speaker, and they are certainly 
not easy to think about, but that's the reality we face in America. 
H.R. 4970 goes a long way to help the victims, their families, and law 
enforcement in working to lower those statistics by providing 
authorization for 5 years, enough time for agencies and departments to 
make plans and programs, as well as carry them through. Penalties for 
sexual assault and abuse are made stronger, improvements are made in 
emergency housing for victims, and great strides are made to end the 
backlog of testing rape kits.
  I've been blessed to never have experienced this personally, but as a 
child, I witnessed it. My mother had a friend who ended up so violently 
attacked, so physically harmed, that she stayed at our house until she 
could finally get well enough, and my mother finally talked her into 
getting out of that environment. But that was the fourth or the fifth 
time that that lady, Rita, ended up staying in our house.
  When I was a young adult having children, a friend of mine, again, 
had the same issue happen to her. What I realized was we didn't have 
anything in Clermont County to help them, but we had a homeless shelter 
that was very marginal. So I worked with the county prosecutor. You 
know I'm a runner. For 15 years, we put on a 5K to put money in the pot 
to keep that homeless shelter open so that women had a place to go.
  Madam Speaker, we can't continue to go back on the backs of good 
volunteers in America. We, as a government, have to help these women, 
too. If we had those programs in place, Rita wouldn't have ended up in 
our house. She would have ended up in a place that could have 
psychologically and physically helped her. If we had had these programs 
in place, my friend Karen wouldn't have had to have been on the street, 
as well.
  I urge my colleagues to face this reality head-on, and let's vote for 
this bill. It's time we do it for our women.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.
  More than 300 organizations oppose this bill, including the American 
Red Cross and the National Council Against Domestic Violence.
  I ask the floor manager: Who supports it?
  I yield 1 minute to a distinguished member of the committee, Hank 
Johnson of Georgia, himself a former magistrate.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 
4970, the so-called VAWA bill, also known as the Violence Against Women 
Reauthorization Act. It should be renamed WAWA, or ``War Against Women 
Act.'' This bill rolls back existing protections and is simply shocking 
in its callousness towards women and victims of abuse
  Native American women, they are women, too. Three out of five are 
victims of domestic and sexual violence. They are murder victims at the 
rate of 10 times the national average, but yet H.R. 4970 denies 
protections to help those women. It also rolls back U visa protections 
for certain immigrant women who depend on their spouses for their 
immigration status. These women are particularly vulnerable to abuse. 
LGBT victims are excluded also.
  Instead of this flawed bill, we should be considering the bipartisan 
Senate bill. And domestic violence does not recognize political 
parties. I urge House Republicans to come back to the table with a bill 
that we can all be proud to call the Violence Against Women 
Reauthorization Act of 2012.
  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. COLE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4970. The bill, as 
reported out of the Judiciary Committee, lacked provisions protecting 
tribal women. But Chairman Smith and his staff, along with Leader 
Cantor and Congresswoman Adams, worked with me to ensure that the 
protections for tribal women were added and included in this bill.
  This bill does not change any existing authority that tribal courts 
possess but adds an additional tool in Federal court to combat violence 
against tribal women. The bill includes a mechanism for tribes to 
petition a Federal court on the victim's behalf, which is important to 
victims of limited means living in remote locations.
  I support the tribal provisions of the Senate-passed VAWA and the 
provisions found in the SAVE Native Women Act, H.R. 4154, of which I'm 
a cosponsor. I believe that those provisions are, indeed, 
constitutional. But the protections found in this bill will have a 
positive effect in Indian country. These provisions aren't perfect, but 
they improve current law considerably. I support the progress made in 
this bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4970. We cannot improve 
a bill and strengthen tribal sovereignty if we can't get a bill to 
conference.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased now to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentlelady from Texas, Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the 
House Judiciary Committee.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Why do we find ourselves here today having 
this kind of debate that calls upon the higher angels of all Members, 
recognizing that as I stand on the floor today, some woman is losing 
her life. She may be a Native American woman. That individual may be 
from the LGBT community or the immigrant community.
  Why are we here today divided when all we needed to do was to work in 
a bipartisan manner? The Senate bill, which tracked the process and the 
strategy and the approach that we've used in all of the 
reauthorizations of VAWA; we have always expanded it to reach the needs 
of new victims. What do you say to a Native American woman when you 
limit the ability for that woman to be protected? In fact, in 
particular, you make it that much harder, for what you do is that it 
authorizes tribal governments to seek protection orders on behalf of 
victims with or without their protection or permission, violating the 
core principles that such victims must have autonomy. Why that 
language? 
  With respect to the LGBT community, my friends on the other side will 
say, They're already protected. But we realize that the clarity of the 
law gives the protection that is necessary when someone is desperate, 
because as the Federal Government passes laws, it permeates to counties 
and cities and hamlets that need to have the interpretation to ensure 
that the law is equally applied. So this is why we call for the passage 
of the Senate bill and a bipartisan bill.
  And my friends on the other side of the aisle--seven Republicans 
wrote Chairman Smith and said, We want the bipartisan bill. That's what 
we're asking for, not anything extraordinary.
  When you talk about providing for rape kits and someone says on the 
other side, We've increased it to 75 percent to address the backlog--
well, in actuality, they have not because they've taken money from some 
other programs. So, Madam Speaker, all I can say is, Why are we here? 
Let us stand united to help women. Let us not default on our allowance 
that we've been given to serve the American people, and the women are 
desperate. Someone is dying as I speak.
  Vote for the Senate bill. Let us do this in a bipartisan way.
  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman

[[Page 6947]]

from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) who is also a cosponsor of this very 
good legislation.
  Mrs. MYRICK. I would like to thank the Judiciary Committee for 
bringing this bill forward and a special thanks to Sandy Adams for the 
incredible work she's done on this bill. It took tremendous courage on 
her part to produce a good bill in the face of tremendous relentless 
partisan attacks. Sandy has seen the challenges women face daily as a 
former law enforcement officer.
  As a woman, I'm proud of this bill. It reauthorizes the Violence 
Against Women Act programs for 5 years and provides more than $600 
million per year to help prevent domestic violence and protect those 
victims of abuse. For almost two decades, VAWA provisions have helped 
women across the country, and Congress needs to continue these 
important initiatives.
  Most of us know of domestic violence situations that take place in 
our districts all the time, unfortunately. Again, unfortunately, this 
problem is increasing all across the country. The need for help is 
huge. So it's very important that we provide the resources to the women 
who are being abused, and they can have a place to go and someone to 
help them get through what has to be an absolutely horrible experience 
in their life. Thank goodness I have never experienced it.
  Our bill offers significant improvements. There is greater 
accountability and transparency with the funding of these programs. We 
have strengthened the penalties against abusers, which is so important, 
and we've improved the services and protections for younger victims. 
Lastly, we've streamlined and updated the immigration provisions in the 
bill to address considerable fraud while still offering protections 
under the Violence Against Women Act, the statutes that are there to 
protect immigrant victims.
  So I'm very proud to offer my support for the bill, and I'm very 
proud to be a cosponsor. I would urge all of my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to support this reauthorization.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to 
Linda Sanchez, a distinguished member of the House Judiciary Committee.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
oppose this Republican bill that dangerously leaves victims of domestic 
violence worse off than they are under current law. To say that this 
legislation builds on current law is patently false.
  Our Senate colleagues passed a strong version of the Violence Against 
Women Act with broad bipartisan support. Every Republican woman in the 
Senate voted in favor of it. Instead of crafting a bill of similar 
strength, my Republican friends in this body have insisted on taking 
back crucial protections for abused victims throughout our country. 
This Republican bill makes it more difficult for immigrant victims to 
work with law enforcement to report and help prosecute serious and 
violent criminals.
  This Republican bill pretends the LGBT community doesn't exist and 
would allow victim service organizations to discriminate against LGBT 
victims when they seek help.
  This Republican bill would further endanger the lives of Native 
American women who suffer abuse in epidemic proportions in this 
country. This Republican bill doesn't expand protections for women; it 
puts more women at risk by weakening current protections.
  America's women deserve better. I encourage all of my colleagues to 
reject this Republican bill and support the Democratic alternative.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. I am pleased now to yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentlelady from Minnesota, Betty McCollum.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. I oppose this bill. For the first time, the Violence 
Against Women Act is now a divisive piece of legislation. We could be 
voting on a bipartisan bill already passed by the Senate, but instead, 
the Tea Party majority of the Republicans has chosen to bring a 
bipartisan discriminatory bill to the floor today, and it eliminates 
protections for victims of violent crime.
  All women who experience violence have the right to be protected. 
They need to know that their attackers will be tried in a court of law. 
And the purpose of VAWA has always been to ensure that all victims of 
violence are protected and that all their basic human rights are upheld 
no matter what one's sexual orientation, ethnicity, or legal status in 
this country is.
  This country failed to protect all women, and that's why this 
legislation failed to get the support from the advocates and from women 
all across this country.
  I oppose this measure, and I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no.''

                              {time}  1610

  Mrs. ADAMS. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, how much time is remaining on both sides?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The gentleman from Michigan 
has 13\1/4\ minutes remaining, and the gentlewoman from Florida has 
9\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. CONYERS. Thank you.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington, 
Rick Larsen.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Madam Speaker, in 2006, I, along with 
Senator Cantwell, made sure that the International Marriage Broker 
Regulation Act, or IMBRA, was enacted as part of the last 
reauthorization of VAWA. It put regulations in place to protect foreign 
women brought here through the mail-order bride industry to keep them 
from falling prey to serial abusers.
  Pushing this legislation forward 6 years ago was important to me 
because a young woman named Anastasia King, a so-called mail-order 
bride, was found dead. She had been strangled to death by her husband 
and buried in a shallow grave in 2000 in a wooded area in my district. 
Her husband had a domestic violence protection order issued against him 
from a previous wife. Indle King killed Anastasia because he wanted to 
get a new bride and didn't want to pay for a divorce.
  The VAWA bill being considered in the House today does not go far 
enough to strengthen those same protections that we established in 
2006. It leaves out important amendments to IMBRA that passed in the 
bipartisan Senate bill, like putting penalties in place to keep a man 
like Indle King from simply lying about his violent history so as to 
lure another woman here to be abused and then discarded.
  We must use this reauthorization process to strengthen protections 
against abusers, not strengthen abusers' upper hand. We must use this 
reauthorization process to reaffirm that VAWA's protections are for all 
victims, including tribal women and LGBT individuals.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  This is the third time I have asked my friends on the other side to 
please tell me why all of the women's organizations, law enforcement 
organizations--some 200-plus--are against this bill, and all of them 
were supporting the previous bill.
  I yield to the distinguished manager of the bill, a dear friend of 
mine, for a response.
  Mrs. ADAMS. Thank you, Mr. Conyers.
  I will tell you, shame on them. Shame on them. This bill reauthorizes 
VAWA for 5 years at the same levels as the Senate. It protects victims.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  Since we're shaming on every organization that protects women, would 
you tell me who supports the Republican version of the bill? Name 
somebody.
  Mrs. ADAMS. If the gentleman would yield, I can say that I do, and I 
know that we have a list of them.
  I will tell you, Mr. Conyers, that I have sat quietly and tried to 
behave here, but I am offended when I hear that this does not protect 
victims. I am

[[Page 6948]]

offended when I hear that we are politicizing something that was 
politicized on the other side in the other Chamber and by the other 
side of the aisle.
  So I have very much concern about that because, as someone who has 
been in the situation, who has been on the scenes of these crimes, we 
are trying to reauthorize something that is very important to victims 
across our Nation--victims, not politics. And that's where I stand on 
this issue.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  I have asked why hundreds of organizations are supporting it, and you 
say: Shame on them. I ask who's supporting the Republican measure and 
you say: I am. Well, I'm glad to know that. And I think that just about 
tells everybody where the logic and the support for this bill is. There 
is none. It's a Republican--not a prank, but a serious blow to women. 
And that's what the organizations know, and that's why, Madam Floor 
Manager, they're opposed to this bill.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield 2 minutes to Zoe Lofgren, a member of the 
committee.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. I think sometimes it's helpful to get 
into the nitty-gritty of legislation. This bill changes the law that 
exists today and reduces protection for immigrant women in key ways. 
Let me just talk about one of the ways.
  If you are an immigrant temporarily here, or even without your 
documents, and you are a victim of domestic violence and the police 
want to keep you here because you're a witness or they need your help 
in a prosecution, the police can obtain what is called a U visa so you 
get to stay here. That's in the current law. It was bipartisan. It was 
done in the year 2000.
  This bill changes that in important ways. Under current law, if you 
are a U visa holder, you have the possibility of applying for a 
permanent visa. Why is that important? Because otherwise, if you come 
forward to cooperate with the police, you could be voluntarily 
deporting yourself and be separated from your children, and that is a 
deterrent to people coming forward to work with the police. That's why 
it was crafted the way it was. Even under the manager's amendment, 
there is a diminution of that possibility, and it would lead to absurd 
results.
  I'll give you an example.
  Under the manager's amendment, you can only apply for the residence 
if your abuser had been deported to the country where you are from. So 
a U visa is for 4 years. If your abuser is serving a 5-year sentence, 
you have to be deported, and then your abuser will come after you the 
next year. It's a stupid provision, unfortunately. I can't believe that 
that's the intended result. I know Mrs. Adams is sincere, but that's 
what is in the bill. And that's why people object to the bill--that, 
among many other provisions that will endanger women and take us back 
from where we were.
  I think that when you take a look at not just the groups that support 
the Senate bill instead of this, but the groups that support this bill, 
who embrace abusers, you know where you need to stand--and that's not 
with this bill, despite the sincerity of the author.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me first clarify. The bill requires that U visa holders actually 
assist law enforcement. Current law does not. Let's make that very 
clear. The other thing is we do want them to cooperate because we do 
want those perpetrators off the streets. We want to make sure they're 
off the streets so that no other victim is victimized.
  In the earlier version of the bill, I was very concerned about: What 
about the next victim? If we do this and we don't address this, what 
about the next victim? Which victim doesn't make it out of that house? 
And I've heard my colleagues on the other side talk about how we're 
trying to do something because of immigration. No. We're trying to do 
something to protect the victims and the next victims if we don't get 
the circle of violence stopped. It always repeats itself.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to our 
leader, Nancy Pelosi.
  Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him for his 
leadership on this important issue, not only as this legislation comes 
to the floor, but for the past couple of decades on the subject. I 
commend the maker of our motion to accept the Senate bill, 
Congresswoman Gwen Moore, for her sincere leadership on this issue as 
well.
  Madam Speaker, 18 years ago, Members of Congress came together--some 
of us gathered in this Chamber right now--came together to make history 
with the original passage of the Violence Against Women Act. We helped 
ensure that no victim of domestic violence has to suffer in silence.
  I want to especially salute our Vice President, Joe Biden, who was 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate at the time, who 
worked with our chairman and many Members on both sides of the aisle to 
pass that legislation, again, making history.

                              {time}  1620

  The original Violence Against Women Act took domestic violence out of 
the shadows and shone bright sunshine on it.
  In the years since, domestic violence has decreased by more than 50 
percent--more than 50 percent. What a remarkable outcome. Twice in the 
intervening years we have come together in a bipartisan way to 
reauthorize and strengthen the law. This year our colleagues in the 
Senate acted similarly, passing a strong bill with a strong bipartisan 
vote of 68-1, including the support of every single woman in the 
Senate, Democratic and Republican alike. In doing so, they not only 
built on the history of the past, but they made progress for the safety 
of American women.
  In sharp contrast, sadly, while it was a strong bipartisan bill in 
the Senate, and our substitute that we requested from the Rules 
Committee was to be able to put forth the Senate bill, so that would be 
the Senate Democrats and Republicans and House Democrats all in 
agreement, unfortunately in sharp contrast, House Republicans have 
brought to the floor today a bill that is controversial in that it will 
weaken the protections we have given to those who suffer domestic 
violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
  This legislation on the floor fails vulnerable people--members of the 
LGBT community, Native American women, and immigrant victims. All 
people deserve to be protected from domestic violence. There should be 
no exceptions to this law. We can't say women of America, we're passing 
a bill to protect you--not so fast in your applause if you happen to be 
a member of the LGBT community, an immigrant or otherwise, or a Native 
American woman.
  Because the Republican bill is a step backward from the current law 
of the land, more than 300 organizations have spoken out in opposition, 
from the American Bar Association to the YWCA.
  Local law enforcement officials have said that this Republican House 
bill ``will impede criminal investigations, undermine prosecutions, and 
interfere with victim safety.'' I repeat the quotation. The local law 
enforcement officials have said this bill ``will impede criminal 
investigations, undermine prosecutions and interfere with victim 
safety.''
  Religious organizations such as the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee 
Service and the National Association of Evangelicals have also 
expressed strong opposition to certain provisions of this legislation.
  The many advocates and experts who work day in and day out on this 
issue, on the issue of domestic violence, have also opposed the House 
Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act. Republicans have 
chosen not to listen to the professionals in the field and are failing 
to give the many organizations serving battered women the tools that 
they need.
  The Obama administration has said in their Statement of 
Administration Policy that the legislation ``rolls back

[[Page 6949]]

existing law and removes long-standing protections for victims of 
domestic violence and sexual assault--crimes that predominantly affect 
women.'' That is why the President's senior advisers have said that 
they would recommend that the President veto this bill.
  Today, this House of Representatives has heard powerful statements 
from women Members of Congress about the need to pass a strong Violence 
Against Women bill. I hope that the safety of women will be high on the 
list of our colleagues as they determine their vote.
  For nearly 20 years, the Violence Against Women Act has strengthened 
communities and provided critical life-saving support to victims of 
violence. Because of this law, more victims get the help they need and 
domestic violence rates have decreased. Not only has VAWA saved lives; 
it has saved money. All Americans are entitled to feel safe, including 
in their own homes--every one of us. Yet too many women continue to 
live in fear. That is why we must strengthen, never weaken, the 
Violence Against Women Act.
  And I want to commend the members of the Judiciary Committee, my 
colleagues on the House side, the Democratic side, who have brought 
such tremendous intellectual resource to this legislation, listening to 
those who minister to the needs of women who have been victims of 
domestic violence and to those who are trying to protect it.
  I know that everyone in this body, Democratic and Republican alike, 
have the same goal, which is the safety of women. We not only want us 
to have the same goal, we want us to have the same goal for all women 
in America. And that's why we must strengthen, never weaken, the 
Violence Against Women Act.
  Because this bill on the floor rolls back current law and fails to 
protect all victims of violence, I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

                    Office of the Democratic Leader

                                                     May 16, 2012.


    UPDATED: More Than 300 Organizations Oppose House GOP VAWA Bill

       Today, the House will consider H.R. 4970, the House GOP 
     Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization bill. The 
     bill is being considered under a closed rule.
       More than 300 organizations oppose the House GOP bill, 
     including such groups as the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 
     National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National 
     Network to End Domestic Violence, National Coalition of Anti-
     Violence Programs, Break the Cycle, Legal Momentum, 
     Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National 
     Organization for Women, Feminist Majority, YWCA USA, AAUW, 
     Business and Professional Women's Foundation, National 
     Women's Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 
     American Bar Association, NAACP, National Council of La Raza, 
     Human Rights Campaign, United Church of Christ, United 
     Methodist Church, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and 
     National Congress of American Indians.
       The National Association of Evangelicals and the Lutheran 
     Immigration and Refugee Service are opposed to the immigrant 
     provisions in the bill.
       The Administration has also issued a veto threat on the 
     bill.
                                  ____

                                                     May 16, 2012.


              A Vote for H.R. 4970 is a Vote Against VAWA

       Dear Colleague: Please see below for the more than 320 
     groups and individuals who have written in opposition to key 
     provisions of H.R. 4970:
       1. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.
       2. Advocates for Human Rights
       3. African Services Committee
       4. Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center
       5. Alaska Federation of Natives
       6. Alianza Latina en Contra la Agresion Sexual
       7. Alliance for Immigrants Rights & Reform--Michigan
       8. American Bar Association
       9. American Civil Liberties Union
       10. American Federation of Labor
       11. American Gateways
       12. American Immigration Lawyers Association
       13. American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), 
     Washington Chapter
       14. American Jewish Committee
       15. American Public Health Association
       16. Americans for Immigrant Justice, Inc.
       17. America's Voice Education Fund
       18. Anindita Dasgupta, MA, Doctoral Candidate at the 
     University of California, San Diego
       19. Anita Raj, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Global Public 
     Health at the University of California, San Diego
       20. Artemis Justice Center
       21. ASHA for Women
       22. Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
       23. Asian Pacific American Legal Center, a Member of the 
     Asian American Center
       24. Advancing Justice
       25. Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence
       26. Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
       27. ASISTA
       28. Ayuda
       29. Bangladeshi American Democratic Caucus of Michigan
       30. Bangladeshi American Democratic Caucus
       31. Boesche Legal Clinic, University of Tulsa College of 
     Law
       32. Boston University Civil Litigation Program
       33. Break the Cycle
       34. California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
       35. California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
       36. Caminar Latino
       37. Campaign for Community Change
       38. Canal Alliance
       39. Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition
       40. Captain Maria Alvarenga Watkins, (Retired) Metropolitan 
     Police
       41. Department, Washington, D.C.
       42. Casa Cornelia Law Center
       43. Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy 
     Families and Communities
       44. CASA de Maryland, Inc.
       45. Casa de Proyecto Libertad
       46. Casa Esperanza
       47. Center for Family Policy & Practice
       48. Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
       49. Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc.
       50. Center for Victim and Human Rights
       51. CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
       52. Central American Resource Center
       53. Chief Brian Kyes, Chelsea Police Department, 
     Massachusetts
       54. Chief Pete Helein, Appleton Wisconsin Police Department
       55. Christian Community Development Association
       56. Church World Service
       57. Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice
       58. Coalition Against Religious Discrimination
       59. Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
       60. Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking
       61. Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault
       62. Community Action and Human Services Department
       63. Community Action Network
       64. Community Immigration Law Center
       65. Connecticut Legal Services Inc.
       66. Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
       67. Community Refugee and Immigration Services
       68. Community Solutions
       69. Connecticut Legal Services, Inc.
       70. Cris M. Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor, Ecological/
     Community Psychology, Associate Chair, Psychology Department
       71. Detective Sergeant Robert Mahoney, Peabody Police 
     Department, Massachusetts
       72. Detective Shelli Sonnenberg, Boise Police Department, 
     Idaho
       73. Detective Stacey Ivie, Alexandria Police Department, 
     Virginia
       74. Domestic Violence in the African American Community
       75. Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project
       76. DREAM Activist Virginia
       77. Education Not Deportation Project of the United We 
     Dream Network
       78. El Rescate Legal Services, Inc.
       79. Empire Justice Center
       80. Enlace Comunitario
       81. Equal Justice Center
       82. Esperanza
       83. Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
       84. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
       85. Evan Stark, Ph.D., MA, MSW, Professor and Director of 
     Public Health, School of Public Affairs and Administration, 
     Rutgers University--Newark & Chair, Department of Urban 
     Health Administration, UMDNJ--School of Public Health
       86. FaithAction International House
       87. Families and the Law Clinic, Columbus School of Law, 
     Catholic University of America
       88. Families Against Mandatory Minimums
       89. Families for Freedom
       90. Family Counseling Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
       91. Farmworker Justice
       92. Feminist Majority
       93. First Focus
       94. Florida Coastal Immigrant Rights
       95. Florida Coastal Immigrant Rights Clinic
       96. Franciscan Action Network
       97. Freedom Network (USA)
       98. Fuerza Latina
       99. Futures Without Violence
       100. Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network
       101. Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN)

[[Page 6950]]


       102. Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights
       103. Gibbs Houston Pauw
       104. Giselle Hass, PsyD, Adjunct Professor of Law at 
     Georgetown University Law Center, Center for Applied Legal 
     Studies
       105. Gulfcoast Legal Services
       106. Haven Women's Center of Stanislaus
       107. HAVEN, Oakland County Michigan
       108. Hawai'i Coalition for Immigration Reform
       109. Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
       110. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
       111. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society--Pennsylvania
       112. Helene Berman, RN, Ph.D., President of the Nursing 
     Network on Violence Against Women International
       113. Holy Cross Ministries of Utah
       114. Human Rights Campaign
       115. Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
       116. Human Rights Watch
       117. Immigrant Defense Project
       118. Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
       119. Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County
       120. Immigrant Rights Clinic, Rutgers School of Law--Newark
       121. Immigration Equality
       122. inMotion, Inc.
       123. InterCultural Advocacy Institute
       124. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona
       125. International Institute of the Bay Area
       126. Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic University 
     of Florida
       127. Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
       128. Levin College of Law
       129. Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Anna D. Wolf 
     Chair, The
       130. Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and 
     National Director, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse 
     Faculty Scholars
       131. Jane Doe Inc.
       132. Jay G. Silverman, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine and 
     Global Health Division of Global Public Health Senior Fellow, 
     Center on Global Justice University of California at San 
     Diego, School of Medicine Adjunct Associate Professor of 
     Society, Human Development and Health Harvard School of 
     Public Health
       133. Jewish Women International
       134. Just Neighbors
       135. Justice For Our Neighbors
       136. Justice For Our Neighbors--Southeastern Michigan
       137. Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
       138. Kentucky Domestic Violence Association
       139. Korean American Resource & Cultural Center
       140. Korean Resource Center
       141. La Fe Multi-Ethnic Ministries, Intervarsity Christian 
     Fellowship/USA
       142. La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians
       143. Latin American Association
       144. Latin American Coalition
       145. Latina/o Bar Association of Washington
       146. LatinoJustice PRLDEF
       147. Leadership Conference of Women Religious
       148. Legal Aid Service of Collier County
       149. Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis
       150. Legal Aid Society of Rochester, New York
       151. Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar 
     Association, Inc.
       152. Legal Aid Society--Employment Law Center
       153. Legal Momentum
       154. Legal Services for Children
       155. Leslye E. Orloff, J.D. Director, National Immigrant 
     Women's Advocacy Project, American University Washington 
     College of Law
       156. Lieutenant Carole Germano, Danvers Police Department, 
     Massachusetts
       157. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
       158. Lutheran Social Services of New England
       159. Mary Ann Dutton, Ph.D., Professor, Department of 
     Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center
       160. Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence
       161. Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
       162. Maui International Language School
       163. Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
       164. Michigan Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
       165. Michigan Indo-American Democratic Caucus
       166. Michigan Muslim Democratic Caucus
       167. Midwest Association of Farmworker Organizations
       168. Midwest Association of Farmworker Organizations
       169. Mil Mujeres
       170. Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women
       171. Mountain Crisis Services
       172. Mujeres Latinas En Accion
       173. Muslim Public Affairs Council
       174. My Sister's Place (New York)
       175. My Sister's Place, Inc. (D.C.)
       176. Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
       177. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
       178. National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good 
     Shepherd
       179. National African Immigrant and Refugee Women's Network
       180. National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
       181. National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
       182. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
       183. National Association of Evangelicals
       184. National Association of Federal Defenders
       185. National Center for Transgender Equality
       186. National Center for Victims of Crime
       187. National Coalition for LGBT Health
       188. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
       189. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
       190. National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
       191. National Congress of American Indians
       192. National Congress of American Indians Task Force on 
     Violence Against Women
       193. National Council of Jewish Women
       194. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
       195. National Council of La Raza
       196. National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
       197. National Domestic Violence Hotline
       198. National Employment Law Project
       199. National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
       200. National Hispanic Council on Aging
       201. National Immigrant Justice Center
       202. National Immigration Forum
       203. National Immigration Law Center
       204. National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers 
     Guild
       205. National Korean American Service & Education 
     Consortium
       206. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
       207. National Latino Evangelical Coalition
       208. National Legal Aid & Defender Association
       209. National Network to End Domestic Violence
       210. National Organization for Women Foundation
       211. National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending 
     Sexual Assault
       212. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
       213. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and the 
     Women of Color Network
       214. National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic 
     Violence Against Women
       215. Nawal Ammar, PhD, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of 
     Social Science and Humanities at the University of Ontario 
     Institute of Technology
       216. Neighbors in Support of Immigrants
       217. NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
       218. Network for Victim Recovery of DC
       219. Nevada Hispanic Services Inc.
       220. New Bridges Immigrant Resource Center
       221. New Mexico Asian Family Center
       222. New Sanctuary Coalition of NYC
       223. New York Anti-Trafficking Network
       224. New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault
       225. North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence
       226. North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
       227. North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking
       228. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
       229. Officer Michael LaRiviere, Salem Police Department, 
     Massachusetts
       230. Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence
       231. Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project
       232. Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
       233. Physicians for Human Rights
       234. Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
       235. Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project
       236. Public Justice Center
       237. Rachael Rodriguez, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the 
     School of Nursing at Edgewood College
       238. RAICES
       239. Rainbow Services, Ltd.
       240. Refuge House, Inc.
       241. Refugio del Rio Grande, Inc.
       242. Rhonda Giger, Prosecutor--City of Bothell, WA
       243. Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
       244. Ross Silverman LLP
       245. Rural Women's Health Project
       246. Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
       247. SEPA Mujer Inc., Servicios para el Avance de la Mujer
       248. Sergeant Inspector Antonio Flores, San Francisco 
     Police Department, California
       249. Service Employees International Union
       250. Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network
       251. Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
       252. Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine
       253. Sexual Violence Center
       254. Sexuality Information and Education Council of the 
     U.S.
       255. Sierra County Victim Assistance Unit
       256. Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team

[[Page 6951]]


       257. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
       258. Sisters of Mercy South Central Community
       259. Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
       260. Social Justice Action Network
       261. Sojourners
       262. South Asian Americans Leading Together
       263. Southern Poverty Law Center
       264. Stephanie J. Nawyn, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, 
     Michigan State University
       265. Student Action with Farmworkers
       266. Supervising Deputy Sheriff Marcus Bruning, St. Louis 
     County
       267. Sheriff's Office, Missouri
       268. Tahirih Justice Center
       269. Tapestri, Inc
       270. The Advocates for Human Rights
       271. The Bridge to Hope
       272. The Episcopal Church
       273. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center
       274. The Kansas/Missouri Dream Alliance
       275. The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights
       276. The Legal Aid Society
       277. The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
       278. The P.E.A.C.E*. Initiative
       279. The Sentencing Project
       280. The United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness 
     Ministries
       281. The Violence Intervention Program
       282. The William Kellibrew Foundation
       283. TN Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence
       284. Transgender Law Center
       285. UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic
       286. UFW Foundation
       287. Unidas, The National Latina LGBT Human Rights 
     Organization
       288. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
       289. United Methodist Church
       290. United Migrant Opportunity Services
       291. United Migrant Opportunity Services/UMOS Inc.
       292. United Women.org
       293. University of Miami, School of Nursing & Health 
     Studies
       294. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
       295. VIDA Legal Assistance, Inc.
       296. Vermont Immigration and Asylum Advocates
       297. Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
       298. Violence Intervention Program
       299. Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations
       300. Virginia Organizing
       301. Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance
       302. Voces de la Frontera
       303. Voces Unidas for Justice
       304. Voices of Immigrants in Action/Rural Women's Health 
     Project
       305. Voices of Men
       306. Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans
       307. Walnut Avenue Women's Center
       308. Washington Defender Association's Immigration Project
       309. Washington Immigration Defense Group
       310. Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
       311. WeCount!
       312. Who Is My Neighbor? Inc.
       313. Willow Creek Community Church
       314. Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence
       315. Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault
       316. Women Against Abuse
       317. Women of Color Network
       318. Women's Crisis Support--Defensa de Mujeres
       319. Women's Law Project
       320. Women's Refugee Commission
       321. Worker Justice Center of New York
       322. Workers Rights Clinic
       323. World Evangelical Alliance
       324. World Relief
       325. Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual 
     Assault
       326. YWCA USA

       For further information on the overwhelming opposition to 
     H.R. 4970, please visit the Minority Judiciary Committee web 
     site: http://democrats.judiciary.house.gov
/issue/materials-opposing-republican-violence-against-women-
act-hr-4970
       Or contact House Judiciary Democratic Staff, Ron LeGrand 
     and Jenny Perrino.
       We strongly encourage all colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 
     4970 today.

  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from South Dakota 
(Mrs. Noem), who is also a cosponsor of the legislation.
  Mrs. NOEM. Madam Speaker, for nearly 20 years the Violence Against 
Women Act has supported programs that assist victims of domestic abuse, 
stalking, and sexual assault. I'm proud to support the legislation 
that's on the House floor today because it reauthorizes those programs, 
strengthens them by targeting more funding to programs that need it, 
and processing that needs it, and also gives some new provisions which 
I helped work on with the Judiciary Committee to better serve our 
Native Americans.
  This piece of legislation which provides services to all victims 
without discrimination has always enjoyed broad bipartisan support. 
Unfortunately, because some in Congress saw an opportunity to use abuse 
victims as a prop in a political game, today we're having a different 
discussion, and I feel it's shameful. House Republicans are not going 
to allow the Violence Against Women Act to get sidelined because of 
politics. It's simply too important.
  One area of particular concern to people back home in South Dakota is 
provisions for Native Americans and Native American women. Native 
American women suffer from higher levels of abuse than non-Indian 
women, but all too often they don't get to see their perpetrators 
brought to justice. It's simply unacceptable.
  This Violence Against Women Act improves upon many of the programs 
that are designed specifically to aid Native American women, and it 
also includes new provisions to improve Congress's response to 
potential problems they may run into. Furthermore, to better ensure 
that Native American women have improved recourse against abusive 
individuals, I worked with the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and 
the staff to include language in this bill to empower Native American 
women to either petition individually the Federal courts or through 
their tribal courts for a Federal restraining order. Ensuring that 
these women have the ability to obtain a protection order is a vital 
step towards stopping the cycle of abuse that many of them suffer 
through. It impacts disproportionately those in Indian Country over 
other areas of the Nation.
  Those who have suffered from violence and abuse have gone through 
enough. Let's not cause more harm by putting politics before victims, 
and let's support and reauthorize the improved Violence Against Women 
Act today.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  Ladies and gentlemen of the House, in fact, the new tribal protection 
orders added by the manager's amendment would reverse the Violence 
Against Women Act's victim-centered approach and would require Native 
women to sometimes travel hours to obtain protection orders from a 
Federal district court.
  Madam Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
distinguished whip of the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer of 
Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the distinguished ranking member from Michigan who 
has been such an extraordinary fighter for the rights of all people in 
our country, and I rise in opposition to this bill.

                              {time}  1630

  I would say, as an aside, the last speaker talked about Native 
Americans. The National Congress of American Indians of course says 
this matter does nothing to address the crux of the issue--the lack of 
local authority to handle misdemeanor-level domestic and dating 
violence when the perpetrator is non-Indian. It goes on to oppose this 
legislation.
  I rise in sadness, Madam Speaker. I was the cosponsor of the original 
Violence Against Women Act in 1994. We passed a bipartisan bill that 
has helped law enforcement significantly reduce domestic violence, 
sexual assault, and stalking.
  While great progress has been made, unfortunately one in three 
American women still experience violence by a partner, stalking, or 
sexual assault. That's why this bill is a perfect example of why we 
need to work together in a bipartisan fashion to reauthorize and 
strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. I will tell my friends the 
Senate did this. Why is it that we have to choose disunity and 
confrontation over consensus? I don't know why that is, particularly on 
an issue of this great importance to the American people.
  The Senate came together, 68 of them--two-thirds of the United States 
Senate, Republicans and Democrats, overwhelmingly supported this. Every 
woman in the United States Senate

[[Page 6952]]

supported the Senate bill--everyone, Republican women and Democratic 
women, who know firsthand the crisis that confronts our communities.
  However, this version was reported by the Judiciary Committee with no 
bipartisan support--and indeed bipartisan opposition. Why do we have to 
do that? We could have come together. We should have come together. The 
Senate came together. There is no reason we can't, other than to make 
our points on a partisan basis.
  This bill is weaker than existing law, it is regressive, and it sends 
the wrong message about our values. The Senate's version extends new 
protections to Native Americans and to all who are targeted, regardless 
of sexual orientation. Isn't that our value, to protect every 
individual? ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all 
individuals are endowed by their Creator.'' Shouldn't we protect all 
individuals, not exclude some?
  Not only does the House version fail to include those protections, it 
also makes it harder for law enforcement to encourage immigrant victims 
to come forward to seek help and justice. I met with over 30 members of 
the law enforcement community on Monday. We sat around and we talked 
about, generally, gang violence, but we talked about VAWA. We talked 
about the ability of people to come forward and make complaints, feel 
comfortable in doing that, and enhance the ability to get domestic 
defenders out of the cycle of violence against domestic partners or 
others. They all agreed that we ought to make it easier, not harder. We 
make it harder in this bill. This is not the right way to go.
  This version is opposed by hundreds of groups. I've got a list here. 
I'm not going to read it. Leader Pelosi submitted it for the Record. 
Hundreds of groups are opposed to this legislation, including the 
American Bar Association, and are urging a ``no'' vote.
  I'm going to vote ``no'' on this, and I hope all my colleagues do as 
well so that we can adopt a bill that has overwhelming bipartisan 
support and the support of these groups. Why do we confront these 
groups and say: Nope, you're wrong, we know better; we know better; 
you've worked on this for years and decades, but we're going to go our 
own way?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CONYERS. I am pleased to yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentleman.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman.
  This version is opposed, as I said, by hundreds of groups 
representing victims, advocates, faith-based organizations, as well as 
law enforcement.
  Now, almost every one of us, every one of us--or most, I imagine--has 
had some personal experience with this. In our own families, ourselves, 
as lawyers, as doctors, as neighbors, as friends, as fellow church 
members, we all know the cost of this violence. Let us come together 
and act together.
  This should not be a vehicle for partisan confrontation. Instead, we 
should adopt the Senate's bipartisan version and ensure that law 
enforcement agencies have the tools they need to prevent domestic 
violence and provide victims with the assistance they need.
  Let us vote ``no'' on this legislation, and then let us move forward 
in a bipartisan, constructive, overwhelmingly supported fashion like 
our colleagues in the United States Senate did in a bipartisan way.
  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would just say that I agree that all victims need to be covered, 
and that is what this piece of legislation does. We do not segment out. 
We do not pit victim against victim. It is all victims.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield now 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).
  Mr. BECERRA. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, 2 out of every 10 women in America will be a victim of 
rape in her lifetime. More than that will experience severe physical 
violence by an intimate partner. Madam Speaker, which one of those 
women is not worthy of protection or support as a result of this 
legislation?
  H.R. 4970 is opposed by tribal governments because Native American 
women will have less protection under this bill. H.R. 4970 is opposed 
by groups that support immigrants because immigrant women will find 
themselves victims of these crimes without the support that they need. 
And the community of LGBT Americans will find themselves without the 
support they would get under the Senate version of this legislation.
  Once again, the House majority demonstrates the dysfunction in 
Washington, D.C. Instead of applauding the overwhelming vote in the 
Senate with a bipartisan vote that passed just recently by 68 votes in 
the Senate for a Violence Against Women Act to be reauthorized and 
putting that bipartisan bill on this floor, our Republican colleagues 
in the House went the other way.
  Madam Speaker, it is time for us to put the Senate bill on the floor, 
get this work done, follow the lead of the American public that says: 
Get to work, make it happen, and protect women who are the victims of 
violence in this country.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, how much time remains?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 1\1/4\ 
minutes remaining. The gentlewoman from Florida has 5\3/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Lujan).
  Mr. LUJAN. Madam Speaker, it's with great disappointment that I rise 
today in opposition to this bill, not because the issue of violence 
against women is not real, but because this House bill does not do 
enough to address domestic violence and protect women.
  Sadly, instead of taking action on a bipartisan bill that has passed 
the Senate that meets the need to protect America's women, the 
Republican majority has chosen confrontation over compromise with a 
bill that is seriously limited, particularly in the protections it 
offers to Native American women.
  It was my great hope that the House Republicans would rise to do the 
right thing. Don't hide behind excuses--do the right thing. Let's close 
the loophole that allows abusers to get away with violence, especially 
against Native American women. It's not right that abusers game these 
loopholes to beat their victims. Reject this bill and take up the 
Senate version.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has three-
quarters of a minute remaining.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker and Members of the House, this bill has 
been revealed to be reauthorizing certain grant programs, but it really 
doesn't. It undermines the safety of the most vulnerable victims of 
violence. It rolls back important protections for immigrant victims, 
putting them in a worse position than under current law, and excludes 
other vulnerable populations, such as tribal women, LGBTQ. In short, 
any alleged improvements made by this bill cannot conceal the 
overwhelming harm that it will cause.
  When I asked who supports this bill, the floor manager could name 
only one person. She said, I do. And when I asked her why do all of the 
women's organizations and law enforcement organizations oppose the 
bill, she made some other comment about why that was so.

                              {time}  1640

  Ladies and gentlemen, we must turn back this unacceptable piece of 
legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Gowdy), my dear friend, a former Federal prosecutor 
and an original cosponsor of this bill.
  Mr. GOWDY. Nell Lindsey was a nurse at a local hospital. Her shift 
had ended, and it was time to go home. She couldn't take her own car 
because her husband had disabled the car so it

[[Page 6953]]

wouldn't work. This is the same husband who had broken her jaw on a 
family vacation, the same husband who had knocked out her teeth in an 
Applebee's parking lot while her children watched, the same husband who 
had called their oldest son a sexual-orientation epithet, and put beer 
in the baby bottle of their youngest child.
  So Nell Lindsey got a ride home from the hospital from work with a 
friend of hers. And as they were headed home, they saw an ominous 
sight, Madam Speaker. They saw the car of her estranged husband. Now, 
he had been ordered to stay away from her, Madam Speaker, but he didn't 
care. And there was a conditional bond to stay away from her, but he 
didn't care. And there was a court order, an order of protection to 
stay away from her, but he didn't care.
  And when Nell Lindsey and her friend saw that ominous sight of Marion 
Lindsey in a car, they did a very smart thing, Madam Speaker. They 
headed straight for the Inman Police Department. And they're jumping 
over railroad tracks, and they're running stop signs, and they're 
running red lights. And Nell gets out her cell phone and she calls 911. 
And she says, Please help, please help.
  So they pull into the back parking lot of the Inman Police 
Department, and she still has the cell phone to her ear, and through 
the audiotape that we played at trial, Madam Speaker, you could hear 
Nell Lindsey saying, Please help, please help. And then you heard four 
gunshots. And when they took her body out of the back seat of that car, 
she still had the cell phone in her hand.
  The system failed Nell Lindsey, Madam Speaker. She did everything we 
tell battered and abused women to do. The courts couldn't save her, the 
prosecutors couldn't save her. Her husband's on death row, but that 
doesn't save her. But even in her death, Madam Speaker, she did 
something good because she spawned changes in South Carolina in the way 
that we treat violence against women.
  And with the help of Violence Against Women grants, like the ones 
that are at jeopardy today, with the help of those grants, and a woman 
named Lynn Hawkins, who I must concede, Madam Speaker, does not share 
my political ideology in any way, shape, or form, but she put the 
political sloganeering and the bumper stickers behind and she said, 
let's change the system in South Carolina, and we did it. It wasn't in 
time to save Nell Lindsey, but it was in time to save a graveyard full 
of other women in our State.
  So I'm going to ask simply this, Madam Speaker: Can we stop the 
election-year gimmicks? Can we stop these manufactured wars that pit 
one group of Americans against another group of Americans?
  I spent 16 years prosecuting men who raped, stabbed, strangled, shot, 
and killed women. I have a mother, a wife, a daughter, three sisters, 
and the images of countless women indelibly imprinted on my mind 
because they were killed by men who claimed to care about them.
  This is not about politics to me. If you want to make women safer, 
then change the way we draw juries, change the discovery rules, improve 
the rape shield statute. But stop focusing on November's election for 
just one afternoon and wonder with me what good we can accomplish if we 
will stop the political games, and if we could pick up some humanity 
and embrace the fact that, even in a political environment as 
dysfunctional as this one, we can find common ground when it comes to 
fighting for those who have no voice, who have nobody to stand up for 
them.
  Madam Speaker, the political games have to stop, at least for a day. 
They have to stop. If this bill fails, it will be because those on the 
other side were so bent on making a point that they stopped caring 
about making a difference.
  Madam Speaker, the Senate bill is fundamentally and constitutionally 
flawed. Further, to say, Madam Chair, it continues to pit one group of 
Americans against another group of Americans solely for political 
reasons. Lady Justice doesn't do that, and politicians shouldn't do it 
either. I urge support for this bill.
  Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4970, the 
House Majority's version of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization 
Act of 2012, which eliminates important protections for women that have 
been supported on a bipartisan basis for many years.
  The tragedy of domestic violence is a reality for many families in 
our country and around the world. Unfortunately, it likely touches 
someone we know. Domestic violence affects people at all income levels, 
ethnicities, and ages.
  Since its enactment in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 
has been improved with each renewal in 2000 and 2005.
  It has been done on a bipartisan basis. The Senate's 2012 VAWA 
reauthorization bill passed by a 68-31 margin.
  The same cannot be said for this bill, which barely passed the House 
Judiciary Committee by a 17-15 vote along mostly partisan lines. Rather 
than addressing serious gaps in protection and services, H.R. 4970 
rolls back critical safeguards that have long been part of this law and 
repeals current law requiring abuser-submitted evidence to be 
corroborated before it can be used against a victim. These safeguards 
were included as part of previous reauthorizations and are included in 
S. 1925, the Senate's 2012 bipartisan reauthorization bill. With these 
provisions stripped, H.R. 4970 leaves countless women, including LGBT, 
immigrant, and American Indian victims at risk.
  The bill puts abused immigrant women at increased risk by imposing 
new, burdensome procedural hurdles that would delay or deny protections 
and put victims in a more vulnerable position than they would be under 
current law. Law enforcement groups, including the Fraternal Order of 
Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National District 
Attorneys Association, and National Association of Attorneys General 
support provisions in current law and in the Senate bill that protect 
immigrant women and help police and prosecutors pursue cases against 
dangerous perpetrators.
  The House Majority's VAWA reauthorization would abolish significant 
enhancements contained in the bipartisan Senate bill. For LGBT victims 
of domestic violence, H.R. 4970 fails to prohibit discrimination and 
ensure equal access to services. This bill would do away with 
provisions designed to provide justice to American Indian women by 
eliminating provisions empowering tribes with jurisdiction to prosecute 
non-Indian perpetrators on their lands.
  Our Nation's most vulnerable victims of violence stand to lose from 
this reauthorization should it become law. I am dismayed to see that 
some could actually support legislation that provides protections for 
abusers rather than the abused. I urge my colleagues to reject H.R. 
4970.
  Mr. REYES. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 
4970, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. This 
controversial bill would weaken long-standing protections and fails to 
protect the most vulnerable victims of violence.
  Last month, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the 
Violence Against Women Act. Instead of supporting the bipartisan Senate 
bill, House Republicans introduced a dangerous partisan bill that rolls 
back many vital protections for battered women and shifts the power 
into the hands of abusers. This bill fails to protect battered 
immigrant spouses legally here, diminishes protections for the LGBT 
community, and neglects challenges facing Native American victims. It 
is a slap in the face to victims and those who have worked tirelessly 
to protect them.
  One out of every four women in the United States is physically 
assaulted by an intimate partner and more than 740,000 children and 
youth are treated in hospital emergency departments as a result of 
violence each year--more than 84 every hour. In Texas, last year the 
number of family violence fatalities increased 28 percent from 2010. In 
El Paso, Texas according to the El Paso Police Department, police 
responded to 200 reports of sexual assault and 4,500 domestic violence 
cases just last year.
  These numbers indicate the severity of a widespread problem that can 
have devastating social and health-related consequences and this bill 
will only weaken the confidentiality provisions for victims seeking 
protection from further violence. This bill reverses the ``U'' visa 
program that encourages immigrant victims of crime to report and help 
prosecute serious criminal activity and now will create obstacles for 
those seeking to report crimes. Now immigrant victims will be far less 
likely to share potentially valuable information with police that could 
help solve crimes and prosecute offenders.
  Republicans in the House should drop their misguided attempt to 
undermine the Violence

[[Page 6954]]

Against Women Act that puts the safety and security of women at risk 
and instead should reauthorize and strengthen the existing program, as 
the Senate has already done. House Republicans should be ashamed of 
politicizing such an important issue and for attempting to roll back 
longstanding bipartisan protections for victims of domestic violence 
and sexual violence.
  As the National Organization for Women has stated, this bill 
``disregards the biases and disrespect that certain victims face when 
seeking help from the criminal justice system and access to lifesaving 
services, effectively giving second-class treatment to Native American, 
immigrant women, and LGBT victims. The bill smacks of willful ignorance 
of the problem and hostility to people deemed not to be `true' 
victims.'' I fully support this statement because the fact of the 
matter is, violence is violence, regardless of who the victim is.
  As a husband, father, and grandfather to four wonderful women, this 
issue is very important to me. If there is any issue where we should 
all agree, it is to help stop domestic and sexual violence, and to 
protect all victims. This should not be a political issue, but a matter 
of protecting those whom are most vulnerable. I strongly urge my 
colleagues to oppose this partisan measure.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, today I rise in opposition 
to H.R. 4970, and I encourage the majority to instead take up the 
bipartisan version of the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization 
that passed the Senate. I would like to thank my colleague, Gwen Moore 
for her steadfast and unyielding work on this issue, and I was proud to 
join her as a cosponsor of the version of the VAWA reauthorization that 
she introduced in the House.
  Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has been reauthorized 
without controversy, almost entirely devoid of any partisan rancor or 
division. It is an essential piece of legislation that seeks to protect 
the victims of abuse and offer them much-needed support. Since its 
original passage, and during each of the previous reauthorizations, 
Congress has continued to improve the VAWA by increasing protections 
for women every time it has come to the floor.
  This year, both the bipartisan Senate bill and Congresswoman Moore's 
bill offer reforms that make certain that when we pass a law that 
protects all women, we mean all women--with no exceptions. The 
reauthorization should include the new language proposed in those bills 
which would guarantee that the law will not discriminate against any 
woman based on her race, color, religion, national origin or sexual 
orientation.
  Madam Speaker, it is my hope that my Republican colleagues will end 
this partisan gamesmanship on an issue that has always been, and should 
always be a bipartisan one. I join my colleagues, as well as hundreds 
of organizations and groups, and women across the country in opposing 
this bill.
  I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us 
to pass the bipartisan Senate bill which ensures equal protection to 
all women in the United States of America.
  Mr. DICKS. Madam Speaker, I believe every Member of the House 
supports the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. 
However, I oppose the bill we are considering today because it contains 
serious gaps in its protections for Native American victims of domestic 
violence and it does not include language to ban discrimination against 
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered victims in grant programs 
under the bill.
  The bill fails to grant the tribal police and courts, generally the 
closest legal authorities for an alleged incident of domestic violence 
occurring on a reservation, the authority to address an incident 
occurring on tribal lands. Instead, tribal residents in my district 
would be forced to rely on Federal courts, located several hours away 
in Tacoma and Seattle, for help and protection. This puts a terrible 
and potentially dangerous burden on Indian victims in need of a 
protection order, many of whom do not have the means to travel this 
distance. Furthermore, the requirement forcing a victim to disclose her 
residential address called for in Section 1006 of the bill may well put 
her in further jeopardy.
  I am also deeply concerned about the bill's refusal to prohibit 
discrimination against LGBT individuals in all VAWA programs. No victim 
of violence of any kind should be denied assistance simply because his 
or her sexual orientation. It is wrong that the bill further 
perpetuates this inequity, and I fear the reasons are purely political.
  The answer to this problem is simple. A bipartisan compromise 
reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act passed the other body with 
68 votes in favor, including 15 Republicans. It resolved these issues 
in a way that was acceptable to both sides, and I encourage the 
leadership in the House to allow this bill to come to the floor for a 
vote immediately.
  I urge my colleagues to reject this flawed bill and to push for the 
consideration of a truly bipartisan reauthorization bill before the 
week is out.
  Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in reluctant but strong opposition 
to H.R. 4970, a needlessly partisan reauthorization of the Violence 
Against Women Act (VAWA) that unwisely undermines important protections 
for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
  Initially enacted in 1994, VAWA acknowledges the harmful and 
persistent impact that domestic violence, sexual assault, and dating 
violence has on our society. Nearly one in four women are the victims 
of rape or abuse by a partner during adulthood, with young women 
between the ages of 16 and 24 experiencing the highest rate of partner 
violence. One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused 
before the age of 18, half of whom are victims of incest. Nationwide, 
approximately three women are killed each day by a current or former 
intimate partner.
  In addition to the physical and emotional trauma experienced by 
victims, domestic violence and sexual assaults impose a tremendous 
economic cost on our nation. Rape is the most costly crime to its 
victims, totaling $127 billion a year in medical costs, lost earnings, 
and diminished quality of life. The cost of intimate partner violence 
exceeds $5.8 billion, including $4.1 billion in direct health care 
expenses. Over 25 percent of domestic violence victims report that they 
lost a job, at least in part, because of this violence. In total, 
domestic violence is estimated to cost employers in the U.S. up to $13 
billion every year.
  To address this staggering problem, VAWA established streamlined 
programs to provide law enforcement, judges and prosecutors, and social 
service providers with the resources they need to hold offenders 
accountable and support the needs of victims. It allowed for 
coordinated, community-based services for victims and strengthened 
housing protections. VAWA also created important prevention programs 
for young people and improved the response to violence against Native 
American women and those in underserved communities. The tangible 
results of VAWA are impressive and should make all Americans proud.
  Since 1994, reporting of domestic violence has increased by as much 
as 51 percent, while the number of individuals killed by an intimate 
partner has decreased 34 percent for women and 57 percent for men. 
States have enacted important protections for victims of stalking and 
strengthened rape laws in response to VAWA. Many more victims of 
domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault are able to 
access critical services. An entire generation of justice system 
professionals now understands that our society cannot tolerate these 
crimes. In just the first six years after enactment, VAWA saved an 
estimated $12.6 billion in net averted costs.
  Yet, the bill before us today betrays the bipartisan history of VAWA. 
It fails to contain important reforms included in a Senate-passed 
version of the bill that ensure LGBT, Native American, and immigrant 
women receive the protections they deserve. The bill lacks protections 
for LGBT survivors despite the fact that studies have clearly shown 
that these individuals are underserved explicitly because of their 
sexual orientation or gender identity. It fails to provide American 
Indian women effective recourse to bring justice against non-Indian 
abusers, even though these women face rates of victimization more than 
double that of non-Indian women. And the bill, for the first time ever, 
weakens protections in current law for migrant victims of violence. The 
bill would leave immigrant victims without meaningful access to 
protection, create processing delays that will keep women in life-
threatening situations for longer periods of time, and undermine law 
enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute violent crimes with 
the assistance of immigrant victims.
  Compounding the serious flaws in the legislation, Republicans forced 
the bill to the floor under a closed rule, allowing no opportunity for 
Democratic Members to offer amendments to improve the bill. Instead of 
following a truly democratic process to debate these important policy 
provisions, the majority finds it more important to shield their side 
from uncomfortable votes. This procedure is inappropriate for 
legislation as important as VAWA and is clearly inconsistent with the 
majority's pledge for a more open Congress.
  VAWA always has been, and should have remained, a bipartisan bill. I 
am deeply troubled that my Republican colleagues decided to roll back 
protections for victims of abuse and

[[Page 6955]]

failed to include the responsible reforms contained in the Senate bill 
that passed by a bipartisan vote of 68-31. We must pass a strong VAWA 
reauthorization, but this bill falls well short of that critical 
necessity.
  I ask my colleagues to oppose this bill, and I encourage the 
Republican leadership to allow a vote on the bipartisan Senate bill.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I cannot support the H.R. 4970, 
the Republican bill that rolls back critical protections for domestic 
violence victims. Until now, reauthorization of the Violence against 
Women Act has involved a strong, bipartisan effort. In sharp contrast 
to this bipartisan history, the Republican Leadership aggressively is 
pushing a bill that weakens current law, shifts power into the hands of 
abusers, delays or denies protection to battered spouses and victims of 
heinous crimes such as rape and sexual assault, prevents law 
enforcement from gaining the cooperation of many immigrant victims of 
serious crimes, and leaves more dangerous criminals on the streets to 
strike again. This is unacceptable and undermines the intent of the 
bill to protect all victims of domestic and sexual violence.
  In April 2012, the Senate passed by a vote of 68 to 31 a bipartisan 
bill that advanced the Federal government's commitment to protecting 
all victims--a bill that strengthens current law. In sharp contrast to 
the bipartisan Senate bill, the Republican bill fails to include key 
protections for Native American, immigrant, and LGBT victims of 
domestic violence. Even with the Manager's Amendment, the Republican 
bill undermines key protects for many domestic violence victims, making 
them less safe and tarnishing our American value of protecting the 
vulnerable. It is no wonder that over 100 organizations oppose the 
House Republican bill.
  So, I stand with the diverse group of organizations--including the 
NAACP, the National Women's Law Center, the Human Rights Campaign, and 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors to strongly oppose the House Republican 
bill and to support the bipartisan Senate bill. As policymakers, we 
should be protecting our citizens, not decreasing their safety.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this 
legislation, which is an affront to women, their rights and their 
safety.
  It is worth noting that the Violence Against Women Act was originally 
passed under a Republican Congress. Its provisions that protect 
immigrant women passed in 2000 and 2005--again during Republican 
majorities.
  Yet, today, we are voting on legislation that would gut these 
protections, delivering women seeking help into the hands of their 
abusers --endangering their safety and their lives.
  Immigrant women are disproportionately impacted by domestic violence. 
One study from New York City found that 51 percent of domestic partner 
homicide victims were foreign- born. Other research has suggested that, 
among undocumented Latina women, the rate of battering is as high as 
34%.
  For immigrant women, there can be language barriers preventing them 
from seeking help. In many cases, abusers may try to use the threat of 
deportation to prevent their victims from leaving.
  The Violence Against Women Act is designed to help those who are most 
vulnerable and who need assistance. Instead, the provisions being 
offered by the Majority, today, would make it harder for those who have 
been battered to escape abuse and find safety. This legislation weakens 
confidentiality protections that prevent abusers from knowing their 
victims are seeking help. Needless, duplicative interviews with DHS 
would make it harder for those who are abused to secure assistance 
through the immigration system. The legislation would also make it more 
difficult for those cooperating with law enforcement to avoid 
deportation. Collectively, these provisions effectively cut women off 
from help, making it harder for them to avail themselves of the legal 
process.
  Make no mistake: despite what our Republican colleagues say, these 
provisions will not reduce immigration fraud. That argument is a red 
herring. Indeed, there is not one shred of evidence suggesting female 
immigrants are misusing the Violence Against Women Act.
  How can we turn our back on women who need assistance? What kind of a 
message does it send to pass this legislation? Are we saying to those 
who suffer abuse they do not ``count'' because they are undocumented?
  I say to my colleagues--let us send another message. Reject this 
legislation. Pass a real Violence Against Women Act that does not 
divide us by playing politics, but extends help to women who need it.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, it is with great disappointment that I 
rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4970, the Violence Alainst Women 
Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2012. I was proud to support the original 
Violence Against Women Act when Congress passed it with bipartisan 
support in 1994 because it created landmark programs to help victims of 
domestic violence, provided grants for law enforcement agencies, and 
established new categories of crimes such as stalking. VAWA is one of 
the true bipartisan success stories in Congress and it has achieved a 
real, significant and lasting impact on our nation. Since VAWA first 
passed, the annual incidence of domestic violence has decreased by 53 
percent. However, there is still much work to be done, as approximately 
one in five women have been raped in their lifetime, and 45 percent of 
the women killed in the United States die after being attacked by an 
intimate partner.
  Given the fact that violence against women continues to be a serious 
problem in this country, it is disappointing to see the Republican 
majority pursue such a partisan and reckless path forward with this 
legislation. Instead of following the Senate's lead, which passed an 
effective and bipartisan bill to reauthorize VAWA, the GOP has decided 
to play politics with this important issue and has significantly 
weakened protections for battered women and instituted discriminatory 
policies. Specifically, H.R. 4970 does not include key provisions of 
the Senate bill which ensure that LGBT victims are not discriminated 
against in VAWA programs. We can all agree that no victim of domestic 
abuse should be denied care because of their sexual orientation. As a 
lifetime supporter of civil rights I cannot in good conscience support 
legislation which would permit this to happen.
  Further, three out of five Native American women are victims of 
domestic violence in their lifetime, which is a pressing national 
problem. The Senate bill addresses this concern by including provisions 
which would give Native American tribal governments jurisdiction to 
investigate and prosecute incidents of violence, in addition to 
providing grants to assist tribes in prosecuting such crimes. Yet H.R. 
4970 does not adequately address these concerns by not including any of 
these provisions in the legislation. Such crass indifference makes this 
legislation impossible to support.
  The path forward to reauthorize VAWA is clear. The Senate sent a 
clear message by passing a strong, bipartisan bill, and the House 
should do the same. Let us stop fighting these needless partisan 
battles and instead come together to reauthorize a program which has 
worked so well over the years. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
voting against H.R. 4970 and support the Senate bill.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, the Violence 
Against Women Act, VAWA, has historically provided a vast network of 
support for victims of dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking 
since its initial passage in 1994. Declining instances of domestic 
violence and increased awareness surrounding these forms of abuse are a 
testament to the success of VAWA's programs, and to the importance of 
its preservation. Unless VAWA is reauthorized, these programs will no 
longer be available to protect the countless victims of domestic 
violence and abuse throughout the United States.
  Today, as Congress seeks to reauthorize this landmark piece of 
legislation for the third time, VAWA is at serious risk of being 
stripped of its most important provisions. The Senate version of VAWA 
was adopted on April 26 with bipartisan support, and not only preserves 
important protections for women but also expands those protections to 
LGBT individuals and Native American women. Conversely, H.R. 4970 
represents a partisan bill that rolls back existing protections and 
excludes entire groups of victims.
  As long as H.R. 4970 excludes critical improvements and disregards 
the recommendations of key stakeholders, I cannot support this bill. In 
the previous reauthorization, VAWA was drafted in a bipartisan fashion 
and included meaningful provisions for protecting battered and abused 
individuals, and as such I supported its passage. Unfortunately, H.R. 
4970 completely fails to achieve the original objectives behind VAWA, 
and actually does more to harm women than it does to help them overcome 
their aggressors.
  To show my support for VAWA, I have joined my colleagues as a 
cosponsor of H.R. 4271, an alternative to H.R. 4970 that contains 
language more consistent with the original intent of the bill. H.R. 
4271 is simply a better bill that goes further to recognize the same 
prevalence of abuse among Native American women and LGBT individuals, 
and ensures that all victims are protected regardless of sexual 
orientation or national origin.
  Madam Speaker, this attack on women needs to stop immediately. I can 
find no justification for why this Congress should exclude certain 
groups of women from the protections afforded by VAWA. The bill that is 
being considered before the House today does a disservice to victims of 
domestic abuse in the

[[Page 6956]]

U.S., and falls drastically short of the original intent of the law.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 
4970, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012. The 
Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, has been instrumental in protecting 
women from domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and 
stalking. Domestic violence often has devastating consequences for 
women, their families, and society as a whole.
  VAWA provides essential grants including educational programs for the 
prevention of domestic violence in schools, battered women's shelters, 
a national domestic violence hotline, grants to improve law enforcement 
and prosecution of violent crimes against women, among others. It also 
provides much needed services for the protection of children from 
maltreatment, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
  A manager's amendment was offered to address some immigrant 
protection issues with H.R. 4970, but did very little to change the 
original bill. H.R. 4970 would change the requirements for abused 
immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens and permanent residents by imposing 
a higher standard of proof than required for asylum applications, and 
by allowing government adjudicators to break confidentiality and 
interview an accused abuser. The revised bill would only prohibit 
basing decisions exclusively on the information provided by the abusive 
spouse. The bill would also decrease protections for immigrant victims 
by undermining the U visa program, which allows an immigrant victim of 
a serious crime to stay in the U.S. to assist law enforcement in 
investigating and prosecuting the crime. The manager's amendment only 
provides a small portion of victims the opportunity to adjust their 
legal status after their U visa expires. Battered immigrant spouses 
would be less likely to report abuse if they could still be deported 
and their abusive spouses would be made aware they are trying to seek 
help.
  H.R. 4970 ignores improving the safety of co-ed students on college 
campuses. Provisions to strengthen requirements for universities to 
report on how they address sexual violence on campus, were removed from 
the bill. If college campuses are not protected from sexual harassment, 
assault, or violence; students will not be able to learn and could 
potentially miss out on true educational opportunities.
  The bill would not restore Native American tribal courts' 
jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence or dating violence 
committed on reservations and tribal lands in cases where the victim is 
a tribal member but the defendant is not. Those cases currently fall 
outside the jurisdiction of both tribal and state courts and are rarely 
prosecuted on the federal level.
  I believe it is important to provide preventative domestic violence 
programs as well as help those who have been affected by domestic 
violence with programs that can help them recover and protect them in 
the future. Many of the domestic violence programs that we have today 
would not be able to continue without the reauthorization of VAWA. H.R. 
4970 mitigates VAWA's 18-year history and abandons many victims of 
domestic and sexual violence.
  As a supporter of VAWA from the beginning, I urge all my colleagues 
to oppose H.R. 4970 and to vote on a bill that would allow these much 
needed programs and services to continue so that we may work to stop 
domestic violence.
  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Speaker, this week, the House of 
Representatives is expected to take up a bill reauthorizing the 
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a traditionally noncontroversial 
bill that improves the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes 
against women. The bill works: We've seen a 60 percent decrease in 
domestic violence since the bill first passed in 1994.
  The Senate recently passed its version of this bill in an 
overwhelming, bipartisan vote. Unfortunately, the partisan House 
version rolls back some of its most critical components, limiting 
protections for certain classes of women. In fact, women's advocacy 
groups like the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence say this 
bill would discourage victims of these heinous crimes from going to the 
police for help and actually increase abusers' power.
  I can't support this bill for a number of reasons, but chief among 
them are its failure to include provisions to help reduce violence 
against young women on college campuses. This issue, in particular, 
resonates as we mark the second anniversary of the tragic death of 
Yeardley Love, a Baltimore native and student athlete at the University 
of Virginia who was beaten by her abusive ex-boyfriend.
  Yeardley's mother, Sharon Love, recently visited Washington to 
encourage lawmakers to swiftly pass the VAWA reauthorization approved 
by the Senate. That bill requires colleges to provide clear protocols 
and disciplinary policies for reports of domestic violence, dating 
violence, sexual assault or stalking. It also requires colleges to help 
victims report the incident to law enforcement and seek a protective 
order if they choose to do so, as well as provide victims with options 
to change academic, living and transportation arrangements. Finally, it 
provides prevention programs for students who could be abusers, victims 
and bystanders.
  It is shameful that the architects of the House bill have opted to 
remove these critical components. I am urging House leadership to bring 
the Senate version to a vote so we can provide real protection to women 
of all ages and races.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, It is with great pleasure to rise 
today in support of the Violence Against Women Act. In doing so, I am 
reminded of an old Samoan belief that the female siblings are the 
``tama sa'' or sacred child in the family. They are to be treated with 
respect, care and love--offenders of this ancient taboo often faced 
extreme consequences. Madam Speaker, I am in full support of 
reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
  While I fully support reauthorization of an Act of Congress that 
since 1994 has been an essential tool to protect victims of domestic 
and sexual violence, I do however have some major concerns with H.R. 
4970, legislation before us today. Unlike the Senate reauthorization 
bill, S. 1925, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Crapo and 
was passed by the Senate last month with strong bipartisan support, 
H.R. 4970 introduced by my colleague Ms. Sandy Adams, will effectively 
bring more harm than protect victims of domestic violence.
  Madam Speaker, unlike S. 1925, H.R. 4970 offers no protection for 
Indian spouses abused on tribal land. Under a 1978 Supreme Court 
decision, non-Indians cannot be prosecuted by tribal courts for crimes 
committed on tribal land. Last July, the Justice Department recommended 
that Congress give tribes local authority to prosecute non-Indians in 
misdemeanor domestic and dating violence cases.
  Madam Speaker, the Senate reauthorization bill, S. 1925, will do just 
that. It will recognize certain tribes' concurrent jurisdiction to 
investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence persons who assault 
Indian spouses, intimate partners, or dating partners, or who violate 
protection orders, in Indian country. It recognizes that tribal nations 
may be best able to address in their own communities--neither the 
United States nor any State would lose any criminal jurisdiction as a 
result.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 4970 on the other hand, completely ignores this 
ongoing injustice against Indian spouses, wives or partners, on tribal 
lands.
  I am also disappointed that certain provisions in H.R. 4970 would 
strip away some of the existing protection for immigrant victims of 
abusive relationships. As it stands now, VAWA allows battered 
immigrants to petition for their own immigrant status, independent of 
their abusive spouses and thus freeing them from their spouse's abuse 
and control. If enacted however, H.R. 4970 will allow immigration 
officers to interview an alleged offender and consider the information 
obtained in making a determination about the adjudication of a battered 
immigrant's petition for status. This allows abusers to manipulate the 
immigration process to cause further harm on the victim. Moreover, it 
will reveal confidential information necessary to protect the victim 
and her children from the unwanted advances of an abusive spouse or 
partner.
  Madam Speaker, in the ancient Samoan culture, it is a great shame to 
the male sibling if any harm or injury happens to the ``sacred child''. 
It is within this cultural context, and also with a deep sense of 
fairness and justice that I urge my colleagues to pass the Senate 
reauthorization bill. The house bill H.R. 4970, while it was written 
with good intention, does not do justice for the women of this country.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, the House Republican version of this 
bill rolls back existing protections for immigrants who are victims of 
domestic violence and strips provisions in the Senate version that 
protect Native Americans and LGBT abuse victims.
  Republicans have decided to use this non-partisan issue to push their 
war on women further than many of us thought possible. This new bill 
says that if a Native American or immigrant--documented or not--is the 
victim of abuse, the government should turn a blind eye. This is a 
cold, heartless vision of what law enforcement means to the American 
people, and it's hard to find words strong enough to reject it.
  The House bill eliminates an existing confidentiality clause known as 
the self-petitioning

[[Page 6957]]

process that allows abused women to apply confidentially, if 
appropriate, for protected immigration status. If the clause is removed 
from current law, women legally in the country because of a pending 
marriage who suffer abuse would not be able to keep their applications 
for permanent status private from their abusers. Boyfriends or husbands 
would be able to revoke the citizenship application, making the abused 
woman revert to undocumented status and limiting her legal options.
  Men shouldn't be able to abuse women and control their access to law 
enforcement at the same time. This is a scary scenario that we 
shouldn't even have to contemplate.
  Currently, Federal and State law enforcement officers have exclusive 
authority to prosecute misdemeanor domestic violence crimes committed 
by non-Indians on Tribal lands, many of which are known to go 
unprosecuted for logistical and other reasons. The Senate VAWA 
reauthorization bill lets Tribal law enforcement exercise jurisdiction 
over such cases, while the House version maintains the status quo. The 
unfortunate situation of abused Native women has been ignored for far 
too long. The law should protect all women from abuse, wherever they 
live. Republicans found an awful lot of nerve to deny equal protection 
to millions of Native American women for no reason I can tell.
  The Senate version includes a provision that helps colleges and 
universities increase violence-prevention education and reduce dating 
abuse and sexual assault. The House version does not include that 
language. The Senate version prevents any entity that receives Federal 
anti-abuse grants from turning away LGBT victims when they have 
suffered from domestic violence or abuse. The House version is silent 
on the issue.
  According to a National Network to End Domestic Violence report, 
``Domestic violence impacts one in four American women over their 
lifetimes, and 15.5 million children are exposed to domestic violence 
each year. Victims rely on services to escape violence and rebuild 
their lives. When victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating 
violence or stalking take the difficult step to reach out for help, 
many are in life-threatening situations and must be able to find 
immediate refuge.''
  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4970, the 
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, offered by 
Representative Adams of Florida. I wish to extend my deep appreciation 
to Representative Adams for her leadership in introducing this 
legislation and my heart goes out to her and all of the women across 
the country who have been victims of domestic violence.
  Each year, there are more than 200,000 victims of sexual assault 
nationwide. Sixty-two domestic violence deaths occurred in my home 
State of Indiana within a recent twelve-month period. As a husband to a 
wonderful wife and a father of two precious daughters, I strongly 
support efforts to end sexual violence and domestic abuse.
  The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was originally passed by 
Congress in 1994 to address rising violent crime rates against women, 
and in subsequent years we have witnessed a dramatic reduction in the 
incidence of domestic violence in this country. In 2006, I supported 
legislation to reauthorize VAWA, which added improvements to enhance 
sentencing for repeat sex offenders and require pretrial detention of 
child pornographers.
  While we have made progress in our fight against domestic and sexual 
violence, there is still work to be done, and that is why this 
reauthorization legislation is so important. Today's legislation 
continues our fight to prevent victims of these tragic crimes. It 
includes enhanced tools for law enforcement to arrest abusers and those 
who violate protection orders. It increases penalties for sexual 
assault and abuse. It funds programs to aid domestic violence victims 
seeking refuge from their abusers, and it promotes awareness in an 
effort to prevent these crimes from occurring in the first place.
  I urge my colleagues to support this reauthorization of VAWA and to 
support our continued efforts to combat sexual violence and domestic 
abuse.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Madam Speaker, House Republicans say they 
want to prevent violence against women, yet because of their 
ideological agenda, the bill on the floor this week actually eliminates 
current protections for battered women, placing them in danger.
  Domestic violence does not respect any boundary; it does not 
discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or 
political affiliation.
  Turning Points, the only domestic violence intervention program in 
Prince William County, served 6,000 clients last year. In Fairfax 
County, there were more than 8,000 cases of domestic violence reported, 
and we have seen a 40 percent increase in homelessness due to domestic 
violence.
  Yet House Republicans would make it harder for women to come forward 
to report abuse. In a letter to the Judiciary Committee, law 
enforcement officials from across the Nation said the Republican bill, 
quote, ``will turn back the clock on over 17 years' of progress made by 
law enforcement in reducing violence against women and children in our 
communities.''
  Madam Speaker, protecting women and children from abusive situations 
should not be a partisan issue. We should take up the Senate's 
bipartisan bill and not further abuse these poor victims.
  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, reauthorizing the Violence Against Women 
Act (VAWA) should present Congress with an opportunity to set aside our 
many differences and work together so that women and families across 
the country can lead safer, healthier, and happier lives. VAWA has 
transformed our Nation's response to violence against women and brought 
critically needed resources to states and local communities so they can 
prosecute these crimes. Reauthorizing VAWA is essential. For these 
reasons, I am both saddened and angered that the Republican House 
majority has squandered this opportunity.
  All women, no matter what their background or lifestyle, deserve to 
live free of violence and danger. Our Senate colleagues recognize this. 
They passed a thoughtful reauthorization bill that helps women in need.
  The Senate bill prohibits discrimination against gay or transgender 
individuals in VAWA programs. It ensures that immigrant women can file 
domestic violence complaints without fear for their safety. It extends 
vital protections to Native American women by permitting non-Indian men 
who commit violent crimes against them on tribal land to be prosecuted 
through the tribal system. It also includes important improvements to 
better address the high rates of dating violence and sexual assault 
experienced by people in college and other educational settings.
  In contrast, the House Republican VAWA bill leaves out all of these 
protections. It delivers the reprehensible message that women in the 
United States are not worthy of protection if they are gay, Indian, or 
non-citizens and it flat out fails to make other needed updates to the 
law.
  Congress should not be in the business of choosing who is and is not 
deserving of safety. Every woman should have access to protective 
services if and when she needs it. The regressive policy in H.R. 4970 
falls far short of this goal. I stand with President Obama and women's 
advocates across our country in opposing this bill and I urge all my 
colleagues to vote against it.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, since 1994 Congress has expanded and 
reauthorized the landmark Violence Against Women Act numerous times in 
a bipartisan manner. It is unfortunate that the Republican leadership 
in the House has deviated from tradition with this bill.
  This bill not only strips important provisions that were passed in 
the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 68-31, but also weakens preventive 
provisions that have been included in previous bills reauthorizing the 
Violence Against Women Act, which were supported by Democrats and 
Republicans over the past 18 years. The Senate's comprehensive 
reauthorization bill improves protections for Native American women, 
immigrants, and ensures all victims are assisted regardless of religion 
or sexual orientation. I support the Senate's bipartisan approach to 
the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization bill. I cosponsored a 
version of the bill in the House of Representatives. I also voted to 
bring the Senate bill up for a vote in the House, but the Republican 
leadership blocked all amendments and the opportunity to vote on the 
Senate version.
  House Republicans have brought to the floor today a controversial 
bill that will weaken long-standing protections and roll back key 
provisions. This is the first time the Violence Against Women Act has 
become political and it is shame. More than 300 groups have opposed 
aspects of this bill. Those groups include the National Network to End 
Domestic Violence, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Break the Cycle, U.S. 
Conference of Mayors, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 
National Organization for Women, YWCA USA, AAUW, Business and 
Professional Women's Foundation, National Women's Law Center, Planned 
Parenthood Federation of America, American Bar Association, Human 
Rights Campaign, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National 
Council of La Raza, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, United Church of 
Christ, and the

[[Page 6958]]

United Methodist Church. I believe that Congress should stand up for 
all victims of domestic violence and support a comprehensive 
reauthorization bill.
  I hope the House rejects this bill today and immediately passes the 
Senate's Violence Against Women Act reauthorization bill. I will 
monitor the progress of this bill in conference with the Senate. I am 
hopeful that future changes and improvements will give me a chance to 
vote on an acceptable alternative.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4970 
because it represents a missed opportunity to renew the Violence 
Against Women Act, VAWA. VAWA exists because women have a human right 
to live in dignity without fear of criminal activity being perpetrated 
against them, and local and national law enforcement agencies must have 
specific tools to protect that right.
  The bill before this House will undermine the progress our nation has 
made toward protecting and supporting victims of sexual assault and 
domestic violence. It runs counter to the intent of VAWA by cutting 
vital existing protections for battered immigrant women, and excludes 
important protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and 
Questioning, LGBTQ, victims, as well as Native American women. This 
bill fails to protect some of the most vulnerable victims and leaves 
them without access to essential services.
  Three in five Native American women have experienced domestic 
violence in their lifetime. Up to 33 percent of the LGBTQ community are 
victims of domestic violence. These are not merely statistics; these 
are people we represent and they need our support.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in opposition to 
this bill. The Violence Against Women Act has never been a divisive 
piece of legislation until this Tea Party Majority came into power. 
Instead of bringing the bipartisan bill already passed by the Senate to 
this floor for a vote, House Republicans are attempting to pass a 
partisan and discriminatory bill that eliminates protections for 
violent crime victims.
  The Republican bill on the floor this week eliminates long-standing 
critical protections for immigrant women who are the victims of crime 
and abuse. This bill rejects the new protections adopted by the Senate 
for gay and transgender individuals. The LGBT community experiences 
domestic violence at roughly the same rates as other populations, but 
these survivors often face discrimination when seeking the services 
they need to escape abuse. The bipartisan Senate bill included 
provisions to ensure LGBT victims can find refuge and access needed 
services.
  This bill also eliminates the new provisions for Native American 
victims. One in three native women is raped in her lifetime, three in 
five suffer domestic assault, and a majority of the perpetrators are 
non-Indian. Considering these horrific statistics, I am dismayed that 
the bill the Republican majority brought before us today does not 
include adequate protections for Native women. The provision included 
at the last minute--section 1006--actually takes a step backward by 
placing the burden on the woman seeking protection, who would have to 
travel to a federal court and hire legal counsel. It forces tribal 
women to rely on federal law enforcement, who already decline to 
prosecute more than half of the violent crimes in Indian Country, and 
an even higher percentage of sexual assault cases.
  According to the National Congress of American Indians, in one 
alarming case, a woman was assaulted by her non-Native boyfriend and 
had her nose broken. When she filed a police report, she heard that the 
injury was just broken cartilage, and that the case would not be 
prosecuted because U.S. attorneys will not take a domestic violence 
case unless the disfigurement is permanent. This is the status quo that 
the bill before us will maintain. It is unacceptable, especially with a 
better bipartisan alternative available.
  The Violence Against Women Act reauthorization bill passed by the 
Senate, S. 1925, had provisions that provided for tribes to prosecute a 
non-Indian for domestic violence in a constitutional manner. Defendants 
would still have access to free counsel, to due process, and to a jury 
of their peers including non-Indians. These common-sense provisions 
were developed during years of consultation with tribes and were 
recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice after studying the 
crisis. Tribal communities need this authority at the local level to 
protect their mothers, sisters and daughters from abuse.
  If the House passed the bipartisan Senate bill, it would send a clear 
message that this country does not tolerate violence against women, 
regardless of their ethnicity or sexual orientation. Moreover, it would 
show Congress' commitment to reducing domestic violence, protecting 
women from sexual assault and securing justice for victims.
  Over a decade ago, VAWA passed the House and Senate by votes of 371-1 
and 95-0, respectively, and then this overwhelming support was repeated 
in 2005. Yet here we are today, with my colleagues across the aisle 
turning this into a divisive and partisan issue.
  It is wrong, it is unfair to victims of domestic violence, and it is 
the latest example of this Tea Party Republican Majority's failure to 
find common ground even on issues that have been historically non-
controversial. We must do better for all women who experience violence, 
which is why I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill. I remain 
hopeful that the House will have the opportunity to consider the 
Senate-passed bipartisan language instead.
  The purpose of VAWA has always been to ensure that all victims of 
violence are protected and that their basic human rights are upheld, no 
matter one's sexual orientation, ethnicity, or legal status in this 
country, and this bill shirks that responsibility.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong and unyielding 
opposition to H.R. 4970, ``Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 
of 2012.'' I urge my colleagues to reject this legislation and appeal 
to the Republican leadership to bring to the floor the Senate version 
of this bill which passed with a substantial bipartisan majority. Every 
Democratic Senator and 15 Senate Republicans, including all of the 
Senate GOP women, voted for the bill.
  H.R. 4970 reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for five 
years. It provides federal resources authorized by VAWA directly to 
organizations and programs that help prevent violent crime and protect 
victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. It consolidates grant 
programs and requires more audits and direct grant applicants to 
disclose their sources of federal funding. It also includes new 
benchmarks for visa applicants who are the victims of violent crime.
  Madam Speaker, VAWA has never been a partisan issue until this 
Congress. Twice over the last 20 years, Democrats and Republicans have 
worked together to reauthorize VAWA and make necessary improvements. 
But just like on the Highway Bill, House Republicans are abandoning the 
bipartisan consensus that has always existed on VAWA reauthorizations. 
The bill rolls back important protections for immigrant victims that 
put them in a more vulnerable position than under current law by 
eliminating longstanding confidentiality of VAWA petitions for 
protection by allowing immigration officials to contact a battered 
woman's abusive spouse, tipping off the abuser to the victim's efforts 
to leave.
  H.R. 4970 also makes it more difficult for undocumented witnesses to 
work with law enforcement officials, and eliminates a pathway to 
permanent residency for victims of major crimes who cooperate with 
police on serious criminal cases. The bill also completely excludes 
vulnerable populations such as tribal women, and LGBT individuals.
  The House Republican bill removes the key provisions from the 
bipartisan passed Senate bill improving protections for Native American 
women and ensuring all victims are assisted regardless of religion or 
sexual orientation.
  The House Republican bill is opposed by hundreds of groups within the 
domestic violence community, as well as law enforcement, civil rights 
and faith-based groups.
  Drafting a VAWA bill without any input from Democrats and without any 
Democratic support in the Judiciary Committee goes against how these 
reauthorizations have been crafted for over two decades. And it has 
produced a bill that weakens, rather than strengthens, protections for 
women against domestic abuse.
  I oppose H.R. 4970 and urge my colleagues to do likewise.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 656, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Ms. MOORE. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill?
  Ms. MOORE. Yes, ma'am, I am opposed to the bill in its current form.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Ms. Moore moves to recommit the bill H.R. 4970 to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary with instructions to report the 
     same to the House forthwith with the following amendment:

[[Page 6959]]

       Page 30, after line 3, insert the following:

     SEC. 6. PROTECTING CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY OF VICTIMS OF 
                   VIOLENCE.

       Nothing in this Act shall be construed to eliminate, 
     reduce, or otherwise limit any protection in effect on the 
     day before the date of enactment of this Act that provides 
     confidentiality to victims of domestic violence to protect 
     such victims from future violence. This protection includes 
     preventing notification of a victim's efforts to seek 
     assistance from law enforcement from being exposed or 
     transmitted to the victim's suspected batterer.

                         Parliamentary Inquiry

  Ms. MOORE. Madam Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman will state her inquiry.
  Ms. MOORE. Madam Speaker, if the final amendment that I'm offering 
here today were to be adopted, is it not the case that the bill will be 
amended and that the House will then proceed to final passage right 
away?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. As the Chair stated on February 27, 2002, 
and May 10, 2012, if a motion to recommit with forthwith instructions 
is adopted, the amendment is reported by the chair of the committee and 
is immediately before the House.
  The gentlewoman from Wisconsin is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MOORE. Madam Speaker, this motion to recommit simply clarifies 
that the preservation of confidentiality to protect the victims' 
identity to avoid retaliation and even loss of life shall not be 
weakened as compared to current law.

                              {time}  1650

  We have debated the need to expand this bill beyond what the author 
has put in. We have lost that debate because the Rules Committee has 
put forth a closed rule, and we do not have the opportunity to present 
the Senate version of the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in the 
Senate 68 31. So we have lost that battle for the Violence Against 
Women Act to include all women.
  In this motion, we are simply trying to reestablish one little 
sliver--one little piece--in this bill that we are hoping the majority 
will recognize will greatly enhance the safety of all women. This 
motion simply protects the victim's identity to avoid retaliation and 
even the loss of life, and it makes sure it is not weakened as compared 
to current law. Now, we are going to be told that the manager's 
amendment does that, but it does not.
  Under current law, abused women are able to seek help and come 
forward to authorities under the condition of confidentiality; but H.R. 
4970, as amended, does a couple of things. For example, it delays the 
protection of battered victims by staying adjudications before pending 
investigations or prosecutions are completed. It creates a negative 
inference against the victim if law enforcement does not open a formal 
investigation or if prosecutors fail to prosecute the perpetrator. I 
can tell you that, notwithstanding the due process rights of abusers, 
current law provides a very delicate balance between the due process 
rights of abusers and the confidentiality of those accusers.
  The fact that the bill was amended in this way restimulates me to 
remember an incident in my own life when the balance of rights was 
tipped in favor of the abuser. I am reminded of a time when I got into 
an automobile, with a man whom I thought to be a personal friend, to go 
get some fried chicken. He pulled in behind some vacant buildings, and 
he raped me and choked me almost to death. When I went to the hospital, 
I was encouraged by an advocate--this was in the 1970s, long before 
there was a Violence Against Women Act, long before there was a Rape 
Shield Act--to take him to court.
  Indeed, I was on trial because, like this bill--and just like what I 
experienced--I had to prove as a victim that I was not being fraudulent 
in my accusations. Oh, they brought up how I was an unwed mother with a 
baby. Maybe I seduced him. They talked about how I was dressed, and 
they carried me through all kinds of bureaucratic hoops. Ultimately, he 
was found to be not guilty; although, I had done everything that I was 
told to do in terms of prosecuting this. I cannot stress the solemn 
nature of this issue.
  It doesn't surprise me that she had the cell phone in her hand but 
that she lost her life because she couldn't escape this man. It doesn't 
surprise me that she was shot four times behind the police station. The 
most dangerous time for a woman is when she is trying to escape her 
perpetrator, when she is trying to do something about it, when she is 
trying to turn her life around, hers and her children's.
  When the perpetrator is given the tools that this bill gives him to 
have an abuser's rights prevail over the rights of the victim's, she 
will have the cell phone in her hand, but she will lose her life anyway 
because she cannot escape this man. The manager's amendment does not 
fix this. We have heard from 325 groups and organizations that oppose 
this bill and say that the manager's amendment does not fix it, so I 
urge my colleagues to support my amendment.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. ADAMS. I oppose the motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Florida is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, Democrats in Congress and others have been 
accusing Republicans for months for waging a war on women. We've been 
called antivictim, elitist, homophobic, and racist. These ridiculous 
attacks stop now--right here, right now. It's a shame, really. We've 
always had a bipartisan vote on this issue. It has always been a 
bipartisan issue, but this year, it has turned into an election year 
politic.
  The Violence Against Women Act was bipartisan legislation when it was 
enacted in 1994 and when it was reauthorized by a Republican-controlled 
House in 2000 and in 2006. Instead of coming together to reauthorize 
grant programs to help victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, and stalking, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle have created a phony war on women to score political points. 
These attacks are unfortunate and divisive. Domestic violence knows no 
political or socioeconomic boundaries. Neither should legislation to 
fund these important programs.
  Critics of this bill outright dismiss the dozens of good, broadly 
bipartisan things that this bill does in its nearly 200 pages of text, 
and they have chosen to focus their attention on a handful of things it 
doesn't do. So let's be real about what the bill does:
  It reauthorizes the VAWA grant programs for 5 years at the same 
levels as the Senate-passed bill. That's over $680 million a year in 
Federal funds to support these programs, and this is on top of the 
increase in funding for these programs that were adopted just last week 
by this House in the CJS appropriations bill.
  It sets aside specific funding for sexual assault investigations, 
prosecutions, and victim services as well as reauthorizes State rape 
prevention education programs, programs to promote educational 
awareness to prevent violence and to improve services for young 
victims. The bill also improves emergency and transitional housing 
services for victims.
  This bill provides greater protections to Indian women by designating 
domestic violence tribal liaisons within the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 
and it creates a new provision to allow victims of domestic violence or 
Indian tribes on behalf of victims to seek protection orders from U.S. 
district courts against Indian or non-Indian abusers.
  When I made the decision to pack what few belongings I could carry 
and leave with my daughter to escape an abusive relationship, all I 
cared about was protecting my daughter and providing her a safe and 
healthy life. In my years of service in law enforcement, not once did a 
domestic assault or rape victim question where the help was coming from 
or which political party or organizations endorsed the law that made 
that funding possible.
  The reason for that is this: This bill isn't about Washington 
politics. It's about people's lives.
  If you vote against this bill today, you will vote to deny help to 
millions of victims. Opponents are willing to sacrifice helping 
millions of American

[[Page 6960]]

women escape their abusers in the name of political gamesmanship, so I 
urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the motion to recommit and ``yes'' 
on the final passage.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to recommit.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Ms. MOORE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 
XX, this 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by 
5-minute votes on passage of H.R. 4970, if ordered, and suspension of 
the rules with regard to H.R. 2621, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 187, 
nays 236, not voting 8, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 257]

                               YEAS--187

     Ackerman
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bass (CA)
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boren
     Boswell
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown (FL)
     Burton (IN)
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke (MI)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Critz
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Farr
     Fattah
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hirono
     Hochul
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kildee
     Kind
     Kissell
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (CT)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Olver
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Richmond
     Ross (AR)
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Stark
     Sutton
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz (MN)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Woolsey
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--236

     Adams
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Amash
     Amodei
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bass (NH)
     Benishek
     Berg
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brooks
     Broun (GA)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Buerkle
     Burgess
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canseco
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Cravaack
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Denham
     Dent
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Dreier
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Emerson
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Flake
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Grimm
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Heck
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herrera Beutler
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan
     Kelly
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Lankford
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lewis (CA)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Marino
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Meehan
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Quayle
     Reed
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rigell
     Rivera
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross (FL)
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schilling
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott (SC)
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stearns
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner (NY)
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walsh (IL)
     Webster
     West
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                             NOT VOTING--8

     Cassidy
     Filner
     Hinojosa
     Johnson (GA)
     Labrador
     Landry
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Slaughter

                              {time}  1720

  Messrs. RUNYAN and FINCHER, Mrs. HARTZLER, Messrs. GRAVES of 
Missouri, MARCHANT, BROOKS and MEEHAN changed their vote from ``aye'' 
to ``no.''
  Mr. BERMAN, Ms. PINGREE, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. 
SPEIER and Ms. BROWN of Florida changed their vote from ``no'' to 
``aye.''
  So the motion to recommit was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated for:
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 257, had I been present, 
I would have voted ``aye.''
  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall 257, I was away from the 
Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ''aye.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                             Recorded Vote

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 222, 
noes 205, not voting 4, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 258]

                               AYES--222

     Adams
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Amodei
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Barrow
     Barton (TX)
     Benishek
     Berkley
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boren
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brooks
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Buerkle
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canseco
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Cravaack
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Denham
     Dent
     DesJarlais
     Dreier
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Emerson
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Flake
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gardner
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Grimm
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Heck
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herrera Beutler
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Kelly
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Landry
     Lankford
     Latham
     Latta
     Lewis (CA)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Marino
     Matheson
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McIntyre

[[Page 6961]]


     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Pence
     Peterson
     Petri
     Pitts
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Quayle
     Reed
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Roskam
     Ross (FL)
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schilling
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott (SC)
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stearns
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner (NY)
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walsh (IL)
     Webster
     West
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                               NOES--205

     Ackerman
     Altmire
     Amash
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baldwin
     Bartlett
     Bass (CA)
     Bass (NH)
     Becerra
     Berg
     Berman
     Biggert
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boswell
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (FL)
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke (MI)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Critz
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (KY)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Dold
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Farr
     Fattah
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Garrett
     Gonzalez
     Gosar
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hanna
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hochul
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Huelskamp
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kildee
     Kind
     Kissell
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     LaTourette
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McClintock
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meehan
     Meeks
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (CT)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Olver
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Paul
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Pingree (ME)
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Richmond
     Rivera
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Ross (AR)
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Stark
     Sutton
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz (MN)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Cassidy
     Filner
     Labrador
     Slaughter

                              {time}  1729

  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated against:
  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall 258, I was away from the 
Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ''nay.''

                          ____________________