Chairwoman Mikulski Puts Funds in Federal Checkbook for Violence Against Women Programs

Senator Mikulski Helped Pass Legislation in 1994 Which Has Helped Millions of Women

April 19, 2012

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced she put $413 million in the federal checkbook through the FY2013 CJS spending bill to support the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women and programs authorized through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which she helped pass into law. The funding will help protect women and families from domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.  

"Even while efforts to bring the VAWA reauthorization to the Senate floor are stymied, I want to make sure that we continue making strong investments in programs to combat domestic abuse, dating violence and sexual assault; protect women, families and our communities; and help rebuild lives," Chairwoman Mikulski said.   

"There is a compelling need.  No woman in this country should live in fear that her husband or boyfriend will hurt or kill her or her kids," Chairwoman Mikulski said. "I have zero tolerance for domestic violence.  If you are beaten and abused, you should have somewhere to turn for help and a path to recovery.  That's why I make sure this bill provides robust support for grant programs that focus on early prevention and intervention to help protect women and their families from continued abuse, particularly during economically distressed times when abuse is more common."  

As a cosponsor of the 2011 VAWA Reauthorization Act, Chairwoman Mikulski has continued to fight against domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, crimes of epidemic proportions that are exacting terrible costs on individual lives and our communities.  Twenty-five percent of U.S. women report that they have been physically assaulted by an intimate partner during their lifetimes, 1 in 6 have been the victims of rape or attempted rape, and the cost of domestic violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year.  

The CJS spending bill funds multiple competitive and formula grant programs that support training for police officers and prosecutors; state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions; rape prevention programs; national domestic violence hotlines; battered women's shelters and transitional housing support services; help for teens and young adults caught in abusive relationships; victims of child abuse; and funding for counselors of rape victims during trials.  

In the next step of the appropriations process, the bill will be considered by the full Senate. A date for that action has not yet been set.