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FYI – Nice AP story on Chris' roundtable yesterday on VAWA reauthorization.


Todd Webster
Chief of Staff
Senator Chris Coons
202-224-0129

@chriscoons


From: Barniea, Alexandra (Coons)
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 10:42 AM
To: Barniea, Alexandra (Coons)
Subject: ICYMI: AP on Senator Coons' roundtable meeting with Delaware leaders on reauthorizing VAWA


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In Case You Missed It: AP on Senator Coons' roundtable meeting with Delaware leaders on reauthorizing VAWA
Senator Coons convened local experts on a discussion of the importance of stopping domestic violence and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act

http://www.sctimes.com/usatoday/article/38627141
Del. officials urge reauthorization of federal act
By Randall Chase| February 22, 2012 | Associated Press

Law enforcement officials and advocates for victims of domestic violence told U.S. Sen. Chris Coons on Tuesday that the federal Violence Against Women Act plays a key role in their work and that he needs to continue fighting for its reauthorization in Congress.

A bill reauthorizing the law was released on a party line vote earlier this month from the Judiciary Committee on which Coons sits.

Coons said Tuesday that Senate passage of the reauthorization bill remains uncertain because of GOP opposition to certain amendments it contains. The breadth of opposition to the bill has been both upsetting and surprising, he said.

"It has strongly been bipartisan in its previous reauthorizations, ... but this time there seems to be some resistance to it, some challenges to it," said Coons, who led a round table discussion Tuesday with a dozen representatives of law enforcement agencies, advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations that work with victims of domestic violence.

All of the participants said funding for the federal law has played a critical role in their work and must be reauthorized. Many also expressed concern that the authorization level for it was being reduced.

The current authorization for the law, which must be reauthorized every five years, expired in September. The program currently is funded under a continuing resolution, and Coons' staff said Congress must pass a reauthorization bill by Sept. 30 to authorize funds going forward.

One amendment that has drawn Republican criticism would extend the act's protections to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Other amendments would expand the availability of visas for undocumented immigrants who have been victims of domestic violence and allow Native American tribes limited jurisdiction to prosecute both Indian and non-Indians charged with domestic violence.

"The right to live in peace, free from abuse, fear and violence is universal, yet threats to this basic right can be found across lines of race, class and even gender," Coons said in a statement issued after Tuesday's meeting. "If we are to protect this right and truly build a climate of security in our homes and communities, these crimes cannot be tolerated. VAWA offers important tools for that effort, and I'm concerned that partisan obstructionism in Washington might take those tools out of our communities."

Opposition to the reauthorization bill in its current form is led by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

Grassley said in a statement when the committee narrowly passed the bill that he supports the federal act but that the current reauthorization bill is flawed and contains several unnecessary provisions, which are not contained in a substitute bill he has offered.

"For instance, there is no showing that discrimination is occurring by VAWA recipients against individuals based on sexual orientation or gender identity," Grassley said. "Adding language on this subject is a solution in search of a problem. It is a political statement only."

The current bill would authorize spending of about $659.3 million for the law, a reduction of about 17 percent. Coons noted that appropriations made in previous years have not exceeded the proposed reauthorization amount, meaning the bill would not require any immediate reductions in appropriated funds for the act.

Carol Post, executive director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the law provides critical funding for her agency.

"We must fight to keep this bill in place and make sure that we don't lose funding," she said.

Funding from the law, which totaled more than $2.5 million for Delaware this year, is used for a variety of efforts to prevent domestic violence and to help victims.

Major Nathaniel McQueen of the Delaware State Police said the manner in which police respond to and handle domestic violence cases is "light years ahead of where it used to be," thanks in part to the money provided by the federal act.

"When we know better, we do better," said McQueen, noting that the act allows Delaware to send four law enforcement officials and two victims services advocates to national training sessions each year. Delaware also holds its own training conference each year, attracting about 175 people.

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Click here to read more about the partisan fight over VAWA: http://huff.to/ypDpSq

Senator Coons spoke about the bill on the Senate floor on February 2. Click here to watch or read it: http://bit.ly/zIYpag


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