Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. BONAMICI. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2119, the bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act. As policymakers, we have an obligation to do all we can to address the domestic violence epidemic and to support survivors.
In 2021, the annual Domestic Violence Counts Report from the National Network to End Domestic Violence, found that more than 76,000 adults and children nationwide received potentially lifesaving services from emergency shelters and hotlines in one 24-hour period. Tragically, during that same day, more than 11,000 survivors' requests could not be fulfilled because of a lack of resources. That is unacceptable.
We must better fulfill our responsibility to the millions of survivors who carry the trauma of experiencing domestic violence, and whose safety and well-being depends on access to these services.
There is a clear need to update and strengthen our Federal programs to prevent intimate partner violence and better serve survivors. This critical reauthorization includes a much-needed investment to increase funding for the Family Violence and Prevention Services Act, which will help close national resource gaps.
Additionally, communities of color, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities face disproportionate rates of intimate partner violence while too often having limited access to services.
Importantly, this bill will make sure that resources do reach culturally-specific programs and community-based organizations that are better equipped to serve the needs of survivors who face historic violence and systemic inequities.
As chair of the Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, I was honored to hold a hearing that examined evidence-based solutions to prevent and end domestic violence. Passing this legislation takes a critical step in fulfilling our obligation to eradicate intimate partner violence wherever and whenever it occurs.
Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman McBath and Chairman Scott for their leadership in working to update this important legislation to keep individuals and families safe, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record letters in support of the bill from the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and the National Network to End Domestic Violence. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, Harrisburg, PA, September 20, 2021. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Rep. Bobby Scott, Chairman, House Committee on Education & Labor, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Rep. Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Chairman Scott, and Republican Leader McCarthy: Thank you for your leadership and the Committee's work to eradicate gender-based violence through the bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), H.R. 2119. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) endorses H.R. 2119 which will provide core supports and enhance comprehensive responses to domestic violence and urges Members to vote YES on final passage. FVPSA provides critical support for shelters, coalitions, training and technical assistance centers, children's services, emergency response hotlines, and prevention initiatives.
In addition to its broader systems impact, for over 25 years FVPSA has been a critical resource to NRCDV's efforts to provide training, technical assistance, and resource development. Through programming such as the National Capacity Building Center on Safe and Supportive Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors and web resource repositories such as VAWAnet, which receives 300,000 site visits per day-- an average of 800 visits per day from 210 countries and territories around the world, NRCDV can lead innovative and equitable solutions that address the housing needs of survivors and resource needs of organizations serving them.
FVPSA also supports NRCDV's work to prevent domestic violence through the PreventlPV Project. This project enhances the capacity of state/territory domestic violence coalitions and community-based domestic violence programs to advance a comprehensive national prevention agenda and broaden support for the full implementation of the agenda at the national, state, territory, and local levels. Additionally, the platform provides communities with access to an inventory of searchable tools and materials utilized and developed by prevention experts from across the country.
Finally, FVPSA supports NRCDV's work to support the facilitation, coordination, and strategic collaboration amongst the Domestic Violence Resource Network (DVRN). The DVRN informs and strengthens domestic violence intervention and prevention efforts at the individual, community, and society levels through a network of two national resource centers, four special issue resource centers, three culturally specific resource centers, five emerging issue resource centers, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. These examples are only a minor representation of the ways FVPSA supports the work of NRCDV and enhances the impact of on the ground advocacy efforts.
As you lead the efforts to pass H.R. 2119, Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvements Act, we thank you again for your leadership on behalf of survivors, their families, and their communities around the country. Sincerely, Shenna Morris, M.A.,
Director of Policy, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. ____ National Network to End Domestic Violence, Washington, DC, September 27, 2021. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Rep. Bobby Scott, Chairman, House Committee on Education & Labor, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Rep. Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Chairman Scott, and Republican Leader McCarthy: On behalf of our 56 member state and territorial domestic violence coalitions, their more than 2,000 local programs, and the millions of victims they serve, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) commends the Education and Labor Committee for passage of the bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSA), H.R. 2119. H.R. 2119 would bolster existing FVPSA programs and increase authorized funding, while expanding access to tribes, tribal coalitions working to end domestic violence, culturally specific programs, and other underserved communities. We write today to express NNEDV's strong support for the bill as reported out of Committee and to urge all Members to vote yes on final passage.
FVPSA is at the heart of our nation's response to domestic violence services and supports lifesaving services including emergency shelters, crisis hotlines, counseling, legal assistance, and prevention education for communities throughout the United States, American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and U.S. territories. First authorized in 1984 and administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, FVPSA is the only federal funding source dedicated to domestic violence shelters and programs. FVPSA expired in 2015 and must be reauthorized with key enhancements in order to meet the growing needs of survivors.
Over 1,500 local, public, private, nonprofit, and faith- based organizations domestic violence programs rely on FVPSA- funding to keep their doors open to more than 1.3 million victims seeking safety each year. NNEDV's 15th Annual Domestic Violence Counts reports that on just one day in 2020, 76,525 domestic violence victims and their children received essential services ranging from shelter to counseling to legal advocacy. However, on that same day, 11,047 requests for services went unmet due to lack of resources. Many communities and tribes currently have very limited access to FVPSA funds. H.R. 2119 would bolster existing FVPSA programs and increase authorized funding, while expanding access to tribes, tribal coalitions working to end domestic violence, culturally specific programs, and other underserved communities. It is vital that access to FVPSA funds be expanded through the passage of this bill.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, and family violence. Survivors are at risk in a time of heightened economic, health, familial, and emotional trauma. Direct service providers are also grappling with the unprecedented challenge of housing survivors and providing life-saving services while following distance and separation protocols. The improvements made in this bill will greatly help meet the needs of survivors in the current crisis and beyond.
The important improvements in H.R. 2119 reflect the priorities of the domestic violence field and the diverse needs of survivors. These improvements include:
Bolstering and investing in lifesaving core victim services and shelters;
Expanding support for and access to culturally specific programs by authorizing a new grant program to provide enhanced access to services for racial and ethnic minority populations;
Strengthening the capacity of Indian tribes to exercise their sovereign authority to more fully respond to domestic violence in their communities by increasing resources for tribes, authorizing funding for tribal coalitions, and authorizing the currently funded Alaska Native Women's Resource Center;
Meaningfully investing in domestic violence prevention by increasing support for evidenceinformed prevention projects and funding new initiatives that bring these approaches to more communities across the country;
Creating a new underserved populations grant program; and
Increasing the funding authorization level to respond to very low per-program funding levels and adjusting the current formula to increase access to FVPSA funds for programs not currently funded.
The bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (H.R. 2119) provides meaningful investments in and expanded support for lifesaving domestic violence shelters and services, including prevention, throughout the country. NNEDV strongly endorses H.R. 2119 as reported out of Committee and urges all Members to vote yes on final passage. Sincerely, Deborah J. Vagins, NNEDV President and CEO.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source