Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011 -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I too rise today to discuss the incredible importance of the Violence Against Women Act.

For nearly 18 years, the Violence Against Women Act has been the centerpiece of our Nation's commitment to end domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual violence. Congress authorized the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and again in 2005 with overwhelming bipartisan support.

I am a longtime champion of the prevention of domestic violence because I have seen the impact of this abuse firsthand in Idaho. The act provides critical services to victims of violent crime as well as agencies and organizations that provide important aid to those victims.

The Violence Against Women Act has been called by the American Bar Association ``the single most effective federal effort to respond to the epidemic of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in our country.''

This legislation provides access to legal and social services for survivors. It provides training to law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, attorneys, and advocates to address these crimes in our Nation's communities. It provides intervention for those who have witnessed abuse and are more likely to be involved in this type of violence. It provides shelter and resources for victims who have nowhere else to turn, who are literally victims in their own homes.

There is significant evidence that these programs are working. In Idaho, the number of high school students reporting that they have experienced violence by a dating partner has dropped since the Center for Healthy Teen Relationships began its work in 2006. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that the number of women killed by an intimate partner decreased by 35 percent between 1993 and 2008.

The legislation is working and our collective efforts across this country to respond to this epidemic are working, but our fight against domestic violence is far from over. Last year in my State 22 people were killed by a domestic partner. Approximately one in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner. Nearly 1 in 10 high school students Nationwide was hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend or girlfriend.

Future tragedies of the kinds we have seen in Idaho and across this country have to be prevented. And while we may not all agree on the specifics of this reauthorization, all of us agree on one very important aspect; that is, we must end domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the United States.

No bill is ever perfect. As we go through the process of working through this bill on the floor, we will see amendments brought seeking to perfect and improve it. I will support some of those amendments, others will support some of those amendments, and the bill will be addressed, as all bills should be, on the floor of the Senate. But when we are done and the debate is over and the voting on the amendments is concluded, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting the reauthorization of this critical program. We must continue the life-changing work this legislation helps us accomplish.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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