Bill Text: NJ AR138 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemns failure of House Majority Leadership to take action to reauthorize federal "Violence Against Women Act."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-02-15 - Filed with Secretary of State [AR138 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-AR138-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman L. GRACE SPENCER
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Greenwald
SYNOPSIS
Condemns failure of House Majority Leadership to take action to reauthorize federal "Violence Against Women Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution condemning the failure of the Majority Leadership in the United States House of Representatives to take action to pass reauthorization of the federal "Violence Against Women Act" in the 112th Congress.
Whereas, The federal "Violence Against Women Act of 1994" (VAWA) represents landmark legislation that was routinely reauthorized without controversy by the United States Congress in 2000 and 2005; and
Whereas, The 1994 law provided federal funding for the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases that were not prosecuted, while also establishing the Office on Violence Against Women in the United States Department of Justice; and
Whereas, In 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union stated that VAWA "is one of the most effective pieces of legislation enacted to end domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking" and "has dramatically improved the law enforcement response to violence against women and has provided critical services necessary to support women in their struggle to overcome abusive situations"; and
Whereas, VAWA has provided a wide array of programs and services that include: community violence prevention programs; protections for female victims who are evicted from their homes because of events related to domestic violence or stalking; funding for female victim assistance services such as rape crisis centers and telephone hotlines; programs to meet the needs of immigrant women and women of different races or ethnicities; programs and services for female victims with disabilities; and legal aid for female survivors of violence; and
Whereas, In April 2012, the United States Senate passed legislation, by a strong bipartisan vote of 68 to 31, to reauthorize VAWA in an expanded form that would have extended its protections to some 30 million additional persons in three groups of domestic violence victims who were not covered under the original law: lesbian and transsexual women; undocumented immigrants; and Native American women living in tribal jurisdictions; and
Whereas, Despite this significant show of bipartisan support in the United State Senate for continued and expanded federal assistance for victims of domestic violence, as well as a late-stage intervention by the Vice President of the United States in an effort to win support from the Majority Leadership in the United States House of Representatives, the House Majority Leadership failed to take up and pass the bipartisan and inclusive legislation passed by the Senate in the 112th Congress; and
Whereas, The House Majority Leadership resisted the entreaty of a broad-based coalition of House Members, which included Members from both political parties, to take up the Senate-passed VAWA reauthorization legislation; and
Whereas, The failure of the House Majority Leadership to allow this critical legislation to move forward is a failure of moral leadership and represents an exhibition of shameful indifference to the needs of all women who have been subjected to, or are threatened by, domestic violence; and
Whereas, This failure by the House Majority Leadership is in blatant disregard of the will of the American people as expressed in the bipartisan, supermajority support for this legislation by the United States Senate; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House condemns the failure of the Majority Leadership in the United States House of Representatives to take action to pass the bipartisan and inclusive legislation, which was passed by a supermajority of the United States Senate, to reauthorize the federal "Violence Against Women Act" in the 112th Congress, and respectfully urges prompt action to pass such legislation in the 113th Congress.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk of the General Assembly, shall be transmitted to the presiding officers of the United States Congress and each of the members of the Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This Assembly Resolution condemns the failure of the Majority Leadership in the United States House of Representatives to take action to pass the bipartisan and inclusive legislation, which was passed by a supermajority of the United States Senate, to reauthorize the federal "Violence Against Women Act" in the 112th Congress, and respectfully urges prompt action to pass such legislation in the 113th Congress.
