Shaheen Urges Senate Consideration of House-Passed VAWA Reauthorization Legislation

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement in response to the House of Representatives’ passage of legislation that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which expired in February. The reauthorization includes important updates and reforms to the existing law to ensure women are protected and that survivors don’t face discrimination.

“The Office on Violence Against Women plays a pivotal role in ensuring our local organizations in New Hampshire, and in communities throughout the nation, have the resources they need to protect and support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. It is egregious that Congress allowed the Violence Against Women Act to expire in the first place and it’s imperative that Republican Senate leadership move expeditiously to consider legislation passed today by the House of Representatives,” said Shaheen. “Securing and boosting funds for the programs operated under the Violence Against Women Act has always been a top priority of mine, and as the appropriations process moves forward, I’ll continue to fight for additional funds that help our groups on the ground working every day to prevent and stop violence against women.”

Shaheen has led efforts in Congress to safeguard the Office on Violence Against Women and programs operated under the Violence Against Women Act. The only woman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen has been a relentless advocate for women and girls in the United States and around the world. In the last Congress, Senator Shaheen led the bipartisan effort to reintroduce the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), which would ensure combating gender-based violence around the world remains a top diplomatic and development priority for the United States. As the lead Democrat of the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Shaheen has repeatedly negotiated record-level federal funding to support grants provided through the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). In the fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding legislation, Shaheen procured $497.5 million, the highest level to date, for VAWA grants administered by the OVW. Shaheen fought to reauthorize VAWA in 2013, working to help end the gridlock that had prevented its passage.