To reauthorize the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to join my colleagues on the

floor here to reflect on a piece of legislation. It is a righteous piece of legislation that is time to be reauthorized that has served so many. I really rise today to talk about an issue that affects 1 in 4 women and approximately 15.5 million children every year--domestic violence.

Domestic violence has been cast into the background throughout most of our history, remaining a hidden problem, one that wasn't talked about, and one, certainly, that wasn't properly addressed.

Survivors of domestic violence have often tolerated physical, mental, and emotional abuse in silence, out of fear their spouses or partners would retaliate.

Former battered women, civic organizations, and professionals began to open shelters in the 1970s to provide services to abused women and their children. After seeing the great results from these efforts, Congress led a series of hearings in the early 1980s to understand the scope of this violence and explore possible responses.

This led Congress to pass legislation that touched on all facets of domestic abuse. As part of the Child Abuse Amendments of 1984, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, or FVPSA, was enacted to support lifesaving services, including emergency shelters, crisis hotlines, counseling, and programs for underserved communities throughout the United States, including the United States territories.

This critical legislation has been authorized seven times since its enactment, most recently in 2010 for 5 years, through fiscal year 2015. That is why I, along with 102 of my colleagues, introduced H.R. 6014, which reauthorizes the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act an additional 5 years through fiscal year 2023.

Congress sets aside funding for three purposes under FVPSA, and I am going to look at these a little more in depth. But first, I want to take the opportunity to say I am pleased that I am joined by a couple of my colleagues this evening.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), my colleague who has been an original cosponsor of this reauthorization legislation

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Moore, for sharing Inez's story. It is a story that occurs in a frightening way so many times, where victims of abuse--but at the same time, it is an inspiring story because it illustrates how these important services that we fund through this piece of legislation can help save lives, saved the lives of this woman and her son, to be able to change their lives around, you know, really, being caught in such a long history of abuse and how it makes a difference.

So I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and for sharing that, the story of Inez--much appreciated.

Absolutely. So when they make that courageous decision, they quickly find they are not alone; there is someone there reaching out.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for being a part of this Special Order this evening. Again, I want to thank my colleague and commend her for her leadership on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate the importance of FVPSA. This legislation is at the heart of our Nation's response to domestic violence services. This program ensures that local domestic violence shelters and programs are able to keep their lights on and the doors open to serve more than 1.3 million victims and their children every year.

FVPSA funds nearly 1,600 community-based programs through State formula grants, including 60 programs located throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, my home State. These programs provide the necessary resources to local communities that help educate individuals on healthy relationships, as well as offer legal assistance, crisis intervention, and counseling.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), an esteemed colleague, a good friend of mine. I have the privilege and honor of serving with him on the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) for his leadership on issues related to Education and the Workforce, serving that committee, as you do, and I am proud to serve there with you, but also for having that heart for individuals who are facing abuse and those victims that we know are out there who are struggling as a result of the various types of abuses that occur. I know the gentleman has a heart of service, of trying to provide this, so I am certainly proud to work with him on this important reauthorization of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, as a part of this, of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, Congress sets aside funding for three purposes under FVPSA. This includes a national domestic hotline which receives calls for assistance related to domestic abuse, incredibly important, being able to, 24/7, reach out for help when finding themselves in these tragic circumstances.

Another area, another purpose is direct services like housing, counseling, legal advocacy, and referrals through State grants for victims of domestic abuse and their children and efforts to prevent domestic violence through a program known as Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Allies.

Now, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight one of these programs, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, more commonly referred to as The Hotline.

Beginning in 1996, this 24-hour, 7-day-a-week service provides free and confidential support for individuals who call for assistance related to domestic violence issues. The Hotline also provides referrals and connects individuals to the most comprehensive resource base in the country, with over 4,800 service providers in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam, all possible through the continuous support of FVPSA funding.

The Hotline is the only 24/7 center in the Nation that has access to service providers and shelters across the United States, including our territories. This service also helps with safety planning and support related to questions related to healthy relationships.

Not only does The Hotline answer calls from victims, but it also provides services and support to helpers, who are individuals who contact The Hotline on behalf of a person who is now or has previously been the victim of abuse, in addition to abusive partners, service providers, and law enforcement officials.

One project The Hotline has introduced is the Love Is Respect program. The purpose of this program is to engage, educate, and empower young people to prevent and end abusive relationships. This online resource helps millions of teens and 20-somethings learn about healthy relationships and dating violence. Providing hotline services to youth is also authorized as a part of FVPSA, another critical need covered by this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, in 2017, The Hotline and Love Is Respect answered over 300,000 calls for help, 300,000 calls, texts, and chats from survivors of domestic abuse on a range of issues, including physical abuse, emotional and verbal abuse, economic and financial abuse, digital abuse, and sexual abuse.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline also partners with the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center's expertise to operate the StrongHearts Native Helpline.

This important program provides culturally appropriate, confidential services for Native Americans affected by domestic abuse and dating violence.

Although The Hotline has made significant strides over its lifetime offering support to victims, more than 98,000 contacts in 2017 went unanswered due to a lack of resources and capacity.

Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable. It is imperative that we pass this legislation to continue funding programs like these that have a proven record of success.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight one of the organizations that provides great resources on domestic violence issues, the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

Each year, this organization releases a report entitled ``Domestic Violence Counts: A 24-hour National Census of Domestic Violence Services.'' This report revealed that, in just one day, Mr. Speaker, one day in 2017, more than 72,000 victims of domestic violence received services.

In my home State and your home State, Mr. Speaker, of Pennsylvania, in that State alone, 1,278 victims of domestic violence found refuge in emergency shelters or transitional housing provided by local domestic violence programs; 1,208 victims of domestic violence received support through counseling, legal assistance, and children's support programs; 760 hotline calls received that day were answered, which equals about 32 calls answered per hour; and 1,841 individuals, Mr. Speaker, attended prevention and education training sessions on that day across Pennsylvania, gaining critical information on domestic violence prevention, early intervention, and other related services.

Although this report showed the great success of our local community- based programs, more than 11,000 requests for services went unmet that day because programs lacked the resources and the funding to carry out these services.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear these programs are working for the American public. Let us pass this legislation to continue supporting victims of domestic violence and providing them with all the necessary resources they need on their way to recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representative Moore and Representative Walberg, for taking time out of their busy schedule to talk about this important issue with us today. And, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the more than 100 Members of Congress who have stepped up and stepped forward to put their name on this legislation as cosponsors of this reauthorization bill. It is a strong bipartisan bill for a righteous purpose.

FVPSA was the first Federal law to address domestic violence. Since its enactment in 1984, it has continued to have a primary focus on providing shelter and services for survivors and has increasingly provided support to children exposed to domestic violence and teen dating violence.

It is my hope this legislation will continue to support those who are facing domestic violence and continue to create healthy and safe pathways to recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Thompson, and, indeed, it is my pleasure to join him in cosponsoring the reauthorization of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act of 2018.

Mr. Speaker, I am so very, very pleased that this is a piece of bipartisan legislation introduced by Glenn Thompson, Elise Stefanik, and Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, we have found the need to stick together in a bipartisan manner because violence against women and children, unfortunately, is not a partisan issue. It is not an issue that is relegated to one race of people and to one economic class. It is pervasive, and it is a detriment to our entire American community.

But fortunately, Mr. Speaker, since 1984, Congress has passed the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act as the primary Federal funding source to support emergency shelters and related assistance for victims of domestic violence and their families. We have updated it based on best practices that we have seen, and the monies are available to community-driven solutions and a network of programs and services dedicated to responding to domestic violence across the country.

This reauthorization would follow current authorization levels for fiscal years 2019 through 2023. FVPSA, is, of course, at the heart of the Nation's response to domestic violence, ensuring, Mr. Speaker, that these shelters and programs are able to keep their lights on and their doors open to serve more than 1.3 million victims of domestic violence and their children every year.

Again, it serves nearly 1,600 community-based programs through State- formula grants.

Not only do they serve shelters, the hotline, and crisis intervention, but they also provide legal assistance and police services as well. It is a multistate strategy, and we are very proud of its effectiveness.

In fact, the National Institute of Justice funded a multistate study, and it shows conclusively that the Nation's domestic violence programs address not only the most urgent safety needs of victims to protect themselves and their children, but it also asserts that, if this funding did not exist, the consequences for the victims would be dire, including homelessness; serious losses, as in mothers losing custody of their children; and continued abuse.

As Mr. Thompson has pointed out, the abuse is not simply confined to physical abuse, but the emotional abuse and economic abuse as well, and even, sadly, death of some of these women.

Each year, the National Network to End Domestic Violence releases a report called ``Domestic Violence Counts: A 24-hour National Census of Domestic Violence Services.'' Sadly, it reports that in just 1 day last year, 2017, 72,245 victims of domestic violence were happily receiving services.

But you know what, Mr. Speaker? Another 11,441 requests for services were left unmet because of the lack of funding and resources.

So we do a pretty good job with this program, but there are always, always, always a dearth of resources.

I appreciate Mr. Thompson providing me with the time, and I have examples, if time will allow, for me to just share some of the stories, just to give some face, Mr. Thompson, to some of the people who are served by the local shelters, programs, coalition, funding for Tribal governments to provide essential services to survivors.

In the State of Washington, we have Inez, who was 14 years old and the only survivor of a fire that killed her entire family. She was taken in by relatives, only to be raped by her uncle at age 15, as so- called ``payment for her care.''

She gave birth to a son, Manuel, who was never allowed to call her ``Mother.'' At 16, she met Tomas, thinking this would be an escape for her and Manuel. He promised her a life of love and security but, in reality, that security meant a locked closet where she and Manuel were routinely starved and sexually assaulted. When her second son, Miguel, was born, Inez decided that she just had to get a way before she and her two sons were further victimized.

Inez learned of the domestic violence hotline from women she had worked with in the orchards, and a coworker called and helped Inez and her children go to a local YWCA shelter. She lived there for 2 years to get back on her feet while she gained her U visa and rebuilt her life. Inez now has her green card and a home of her own, and her boys are thriving in school and preschool.

You know, there are many, many stories that I can go on with. I just want to say that the #MeToo movement has given all of these survivors a renewed hope and courage to come forward to tell their stories.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Thompson so much for his time, for his stewardship over this important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to stand with these survivors by cosponsoring H.R. 6014, the FVPSA Reauthorization Act, and to push for the passage of this bipartisan legislation in this 115th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, if I just might add, Mr. Thompson, it is because of us. I mean, as legislators, we get a bum rap sometimes. We don't know Inez necessarily, but it is because of us and this funding that there is someone on the other end of that telephone who can answer the call. It is because of the work and this authorization that there is a place for Inez to go.

This did not always exist before 1984. And while we can't end every single act of violence, we do deserve the credit for creating the space and the opportunity for these victims to be able to come

forward and, when they gain the courage, to leave these domestically violent situations.

The most dangerous moment for any of these women is that point in time when they decide to do something about their situation, and that is the point in which there has just got to be a resource there.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Thompson for this Special Order but, even more importantly, for sponsoring this legislation and giving many of us the opportunity to join with him because, indeed, this is not simply a piece of legislation that changes lives and saves lives, as it does, but it also changes history--the history of individuals, the history of families we trust, and the history of communities and this country--by doing the right thing.

This Special Order on the importance of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act takes this from just simple legislation and the effort that goes there and puts human faces on it, and so I thank the gentleman for that.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this vital legislation that, for over 30 years, has been protecting and seeking justice for victims of domestic violence, especially women and children, though also for men and parents who are caught in a trap that, sadly, too often takes place within a so-called family situation.

FVPSA was the first Federal law to address domestic violence; and since the law was enacted in 1984, it has continued to focus on providing shelter and services for survivors and children exposed to domestic violence.

Every year, the National Network to End Domestic Violence conducts its annual census, which provides snapshot of domestic violence services provided nationwide during a 24-hour period. Last year, the survey found that, in Michigan, my home State, on just 1 day, 2,359 Michigan residents were given shelter or provided services through a domestic violence program. These are lives. 2,359 lives were touched with this program. This included over 1,600 victims finding refuge at a shelter or temporary housing arrangement, and over 400 calls to the Michigan Domestic Violence Hotline.

I have had the opportunity to visit the SIREN/Eaton Shelter, which provides indispensable services to the community surrounding Charlotte, Michigan. The mission of SIREN/Eaton Shelter is to promote the elimination of domestic violence and homelessness by providing temporary housing, support, advocacy, education, counseling, and information to victims and the community.

Whenever a victim reaches out for help, it is vitally important that they have access to safe refuge, the support services they need to protect themselves and their family, and hold their abusers accountable.

Congress plays an important role in protecting victims of domestic violence as well as children who are the victims of abuse. This important legislation helps keep the lights on at domestic violence shelters across the country so they can continue their efforts to break the cycle of abuse for generations to come and, ultimately, change history.

Mr. Speaker, a thank-you again to Representative Thompson for sponsoring this bill and giving us the opportunity to join with him, and also for holding this Special Order tonight to put faces, connect faces and lives to legislation that can make a difference.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the House's action last Friday to pass legislation (H.R. 6014) to reauthorize the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, FVPSA, a bill that was introduced with bipartisan support by Rep. Glenn Thompson, myself, and Reps. Elise Stefanik and Lisa Blunt Rochester. I am pleased that the House, on a bipartisan basis, was able to reach agreement and expedite passage of this key law. I again want to thank Rep. Thompson, Rep. Stefanik, and Rep. Blunt Rochester for joining with me and their hard work in getting us to this moment.

FVPSA, originally enacted in 1984, is at the heart of our nation's response to domestic violence, ensuring that local domestic violence shelters and programs are able to keep their lights on and doors open to serve more than 1.3 million victims and their children every year.

FVPSA funds nearly hundreds of community-based programs. These programs provide emergency shelter, counseling, legal assistance, crisis intervention, and domestic and dating violence prevention education. FVPSA also provides funding for tribal governments to deliver essential services to survivors and supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which is often the first call made by survivors. H.R. 6014 would simply extend the current programs at current funding levels through FY 2023.

It's critical to remember that the most dangerous moment for women experiencing intimate partner violence is that point in time when they decide to do something about their situation, and that is the point in which there has just got to be a resource there. That is what the programs and funding through FVPSA helps to provide.

Mr. Speaker, recent high-profile cases have brought a national focus on domestic violence, but such violence isn't limited to Hollywood. The #MeToo movement has given all survivors a renewed courage to come forward for help. I cannot underscore enough that it is critical that Congress act to ensure that the resources and supports are in place to help them when they do. Passing FVPSA is a good step forward.

In that vein, I hope my colleagues will take the next step and bring VAWA reauthorization legislation (H.R. 6545), introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and myself and over 170 of our colleagues, that would strengthen and improve those critical programs, to the floor as quickly as possible. No more needless delay.

I applaud colleagues on both sides for their work to help move this commonsense and noncontroversial bill out of the House last Friday. While we can't end every single act of violence, we must help create the space and the opportunity for these victims to be able to come forward and to leave these situations.

I hope that the Senate will act expeditiously to send this bill to the President's desk for signature into law.

Mr. Speaker, too many Americans find themselves in dangerous and life-threatening situations as a result of domestic violence.

Victims need access to emergency shelter, crisis counseling, and advocacy services.

That is why I was proud to introduce H.R. 6014, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act of 2018, with my colleagues, Representatives Gwen Moore, Elise Stefanik, and Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Since it was enacted in 1984, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act has addressed domestic violence through community-driven solutions and a network of programs and services dedicated to responding to domestic violence across the country.

One example is the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is available in 170 languages. It provides crisis intervention, counseling,

and safety planning, and can directly connect calls to a seamless referral system of more than 4,500 community programs across the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. Domestic violence has no place in our society, and we must stand up for victims and work to eradicate domestic violence for good.