Floor Statements
Floor Statement on the Jessica Gonzalez Victim Assistance Program
Washington, DC,
July 25, 2007
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows: Amendment offered by Mr. Nadler: Page 83, after line 6, insert the following new section: Sec. 529. For ``OFFICE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN--VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PREVENTION AND PROSECUTION PROGRAMS'' for the Jessica Gonzales Victims Assistance program, as authorized by section 101(b)(3) of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-162), and the amount otherwise provided by this Act for ``DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE--GENERAL ADMINISTRATION--SALARIES AND EXPENSES'' is hereby reduced by $5,000,000. Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order. The CHAIRMAN. A point of order is reserved. Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, this amendment will increase the Violence Against Women Prevention Programs by $5 million intended to fund a specific provision, namely the Jessica Gonzalez Victim Assistance Program. To offset this cost the Department of Justice general activities accounts will be reduced by the same amount, $5 million. The Jessica Gonzalez program places special victim assistants to act as liaisons between local law enforcement agencies and victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in order to improve the enforcement of protection orders. It develops, in collaboration with prosecutors, courts and victim service providers, standardized response policies for local law enforcement agencies, including triage protocols to ensure that dangerous or potentially lethal cases are identified and prioritized. Victims of domestic violence need the Jessica Gonzales program because the current system has undermined the effectiveness of restraining orders. In Castle Rock v. Gonzalez, the Supreme Court held that the police did not have a mandatory duty to make an arrest under a court-issued protective order to protect a woman from her violent husband. This case came as a result of an incident in 1999 involving the kidnapping of Ms. Gonzalez's children by her estranged husband. Despite her numerous pleas to the police to arrest her husband for violating a protection order, including providing them with information on his whereabouts, the police failed to do so. Later that night, Mr. Gonzalez murdered their three children. The Jessica Gonzalez Victim Assistance Program restores some of the effectiveness of restraining orders that the Supreme Court took away with its ruling. This is the first opportunity we have had to grow the Jessica Gonzalez Victim Assistance Program since it was first funded last year after its initial authorization in the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization of 2005 in order to strengthen the effectiveness of restraining orders. This program strengthens the efficacy of restraining orders against the prevalent matter of domestic violence. Tragically, as we know, violence against women is a pervasive problem which goes beyond class, culture, age or ethnic background. Every 9 seconds a woman is battered in the United States, and every 2 minutes someone is sexually assaulted. According to the Department of Justice, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day. More than 2 1/2 million women are victims of violence each year, and nearly one in three women experience at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood. Many more cases go unmentioned as women, fearing to come forward, leave the assaults unreported. The Jessica Gonzalez Victim Assistance Program helps to enforce restraining orders and protect women who are victims of domestic violence, and it is a great step forward from when we authorized it 2 years ago and when we first funded it last year. Mr. Chairman, we need more funds for this program. I am aware that this bill, because of the good work of the chairman and the committee members, includes approximately $430 million to support grants under the Violence Against Women Act which is $47 million more than the current budget and $59 million above the President's meager request for fiscal year 2008. I'm also aware that in amendments we passed last night, we increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act by about 40 or $45 million, and I hope that some of that will survive in conference. And in light of that, I will now withdraw the amendment, but urge my colleagues to support the CJS appropriations amount granted to programs that protect women and their families, especially the Jessica Gonzalez Victim Assistance Program, and hope that in conferences all of these matters are hashed out, that a little more money can be spared for this program, especially in light of the amendments approved last night. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment. |