On May 8, the House Judiciary Committee approved, 17-15, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) (H.R. 4970). The Senate approved its version of the reauthorization bill (S. 1925) on April 26 (see The Source, 4/27/12).
According to Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX), the bill would authorize “more than $650 million” annually from FY2013-2017 for programs to eliminate domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Rep. Smith noted that H.R. 4970 “reauthorizes every single VAWA grant program at the same level as the Senate-passed reauthorization bill.”
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL), would authorize $222 million annually for FY2013-2017 for the Services-Training-Officers-Prosecutors (STOP) grants program. The STOP grant program is the primary program focused on eliminating violence against women. The bill requires that 20 percent of funds should be allocated to programs that address sexual assault and rape. The funding authorized for the program would meet the need for such services; the Senate included similar language in S. 1925.
Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders (GTEAP) would receive $73 million under H.R. 4970. The grant program provides funds and technical assistance to help law enforcement agencies improve their policies, protocols, and training with regard to violence against women. As with the STOP grant program, the legislation would provide increased resources for sexual assault and rape.
The bill would require that 75 percent of the funds allocated in FY2013 and FY2014 for the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act (P.L. 106-546) be used to reduce the backlog in rape kit testing. The measure would authorize $40 million for FY2013-2017 for the sexual assault services program; youth rape prevention and education programs would receive $50 million during the same period.
Programs to address violent crimes on college campuses would receive $12 million for FY2013-2017.
Under the measure, temporary U-visas would be available to illegal immigrants who are victims of violence and assist law enforcement officials with active investigations and prosecutions of crimes. H.R. 4970 would not permit recipients of U-visas, which provide temporary legal status to nonimmigrant victims of crime, to gain permanent residence. Immigration officials would have the option of interviewing and gathering evidence from the accused abuser when determining whether to grant legal status to a nonimmigrant victim.
The legislation would impose a mandatory ten-year minimum prison sentence for aggravated sexual assault by force or threat of force. Aggravated sexual assault by “other means,” such as the use of drugs to render a victim unconscious, would receive a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.
During consideration of the bill, the committee adopted, by voice vote, a manager’s amendment by Rep. Adams to strike the requirement that colleges and universities inform their communities of their policies on domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; allocate $25 million for training probation and parole officers working with released sex offenders; and allocate $11.5 million to help judicial personnel and attorneys better respond to child abuse and neglect cases.
The committee also adopted the following amendments by voice vote:
