Maloney calls on House to pass Violence Against Women Act

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-12-NY), today called on GOP House leadership to pass the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) approved by the Senate yesterday.

“It’s inexplicable to me that the House Republican Leadership blocked even a vote on VAWA renewal in the last Congress,” Maloney said. “In this new Congress they must schedule its consideration and allow members to vote their conscience on whether our sisters, daughters, nieces and mothers should have the extra protections afforded by VAWA since its original passage in 1994.”

“I’m especially proud that yesterday’s Senate-passed VAWA bill includes two bills I’ve been pushing for years:  The SAFER Act and the Campus SaVE Act,”  Maloney continued.

“Across the country, far too many rape kits sit untested in labs or merely in evidence facilities across the country,” Maloney said. “By establishing a grant mechanism to conduct audits of unprocessed kits to measure the backlog, and increasing the percentage of funds required to be used in kit processing, the SAFER Act can help reach the goal of zero backlog—and apprehending more rapists.”

“On campuses, the constellation of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes is too often kept in the shadows, which only increases the shame of its victims. The Campus SaVE Act would help increase awareness and prevention by requiring development and disclosure of policies to address these issues, and public reporting of these crimes,” Maloney concluded.

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Background. Learn more about Maloney’s legislative efforts:

DNA topic page: http://maloney.house.gov/issue/dna-legislation

SAFER Act legislation:  http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr6628

Campus SaVE Act legislation:
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr2016