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Politically driven delays could jeopardize federally funded initiatives to curb domestic violence, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said on Wednesday. The West Virginia lawmaker wants the Senate Republican Leadership to end the partisan tactics and move forward with bipartisan efforts that support West Virginia’s families.
"On an all-too-regular basis, we have seen news reports with stories of too many families in West Virginia suffering terrible incidents of domestic violence. A spate of recent beatings and murder-suicides has made us painfully aware of the devastation that results when family members turn against one another in anger," Byrd said. "There are federal resources available to help, but those resources have been pushed off because they don’t fit into the political agenda of the Senate Leadership."
High-profile domestic violence cases have been reported throughout West Virginia recently. Since September, news reports have detailed incidents in several counties, including Berkeley, Cabell, Kanawha, Putnam, and Jefferson counties. By mid-October, the third murder-suicide in two months was reported in the Eastern Panhandle.
The Senate Appropriations Committee, with a unanimous bipartisan vote, approved legislation in mid-July that would provide millions of new dollars for the federal agency that partners with local and state organizations to stop domestic violence. Even though that bill has been ready for Senate debate, the Senate Republican Leadership has shelved it.
"There is absolutely no reason to continue to delay these resources to help stop domestic violence," Byrd said.
The Senate Appropriations Committee bill provides $390 million for the Office of Violence Against Women, which is $42 million above the President's budget request and $8 million above last year’s funding. Federal STOP grants -- which help states to strengthen criminal justice systems and support services for victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual abuse -- are funded at $182 million in the appropriations bill, while grants targeted for domestic violence prevention in rural areas are funded at $38 million. Those dollars were supposed to be available to state and local organizations beginning on October 1, 2006, but the Senate’s delays have blocked any new resources.
In the past year, several state organizations -- including the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services, and the West Virginia Division of Criminal Justice Services -- have benefited from more than $3.3 million in federal support through these programs that are currently stalled in the Senate.
"We must do more to stop domestic violence before it happens. Every few seconds, another woman in America is battered, usually by a boyfriend or husband. Spousal crime is one of the most unreported crimes in the country. We cannot simply hope that it will end. We must take action. We must get these funds out of Washington and put them to work in our communities," Byrd stated. ###
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