POWER Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 717, the Pro bono Work to Empower and Represent Act of 2018, or the POWER Act as, as amended.

It seeks to promote pro bono legal services as a way to empower survivors of domestic violence. We all know that domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking affect the people of every single one of our communities in profound ways.

Alas, the demand for legal services to assist victims who find themselves in a domestic violence situation far exceeds the availability of free or low-cost legal services, and yet research consistently shows, as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee just pointed out, that if you have got a lawyer, then you are significantly better equipped to prevent future domestic violence than if you don't have a lawyer. In fact, those victims who have a lawyer are three times more likely to be able to prevent future violence than those who are without a lawyer.

So this measure is consistent with the spirit and the goals of the legal profession. The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct encourage attorneys to bridge the gap in representation by providing free legal services to people who are unable to pay them, and this is an especially

vulnerable and often destitute population.

One bar jurisdiction that has stepped up in a very profound way to meet this professional standard and challenge is the District of Columbia Bar which has an extraordinary and successful project created by Karen Barker Marcou and Kathleen Buhle Biden which is called the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project. They just celebrated their 10th anniversary. They have 2,100 lawyers who have signed up pro bono to offer their assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, date rape, and so on.

They serve more than 1,000 clients every single year. They were just given an award by the D.C. Bar for the work that they have put together solely through the volunteer efforts of lawyers in the District of Columbia Bar.

So this legislation would modestly and simply direct the chief judge in each Federal judicial district to organize at least one public event annually for the next 4 years to promote pro bono legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the districts in which the court serves its jurisdiction.

In the case of districts containing an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, chief judges in partnership with the Tribes would have to lead at least one public event promoting such pro bono legal services during each 2-year period.

People who have experienced and survived these types of violence deserve and will benefit from all the information and assistance that can be provided in such public events. Too often survivors simply don't know what resources are out there and are available to help them. S. 717 will help survivors of domestic violence vindicate their rights and protect themselves from future assaults which are still a scourge on the land.

I support this legislation. Obviously, there is a lot more we can do. Congress should work to allocate resources to the recruitment, training, and placement of pro bono attorneys through the myriad of already existing bar association programs like the one in the District of Columbia.

Of course, Congress should work to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act which provides an indispensable array of programs that help address domestic violence and sexual assault. We should not let the authorization for these important protections lapse.

All of these efforts are important, and the measure before us today will support a comprehensive response to these types of crimes. I support this bill, and I commend my colleague, Representative Joe Kennedy, for his leadership in authoring the House companion to the Senate bill.

I want to thank the chairman for his leadership, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this legislation so we may bring it one step closer to enactment.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy), who is my friend and colleague. Representative Joe Kennedy is not only a distinguished champion of the rights of women and a foe of domestic violence, but he is a former prosecutor who spent a lot of time in Massachusetts prosecuting domestic violence cases.

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

Domestic violence is a reign of terror for people who are caught up in it. Historically, of course, domestic violence was bolstered by a compliant or indifferent, sexist criminal justice system and laws that were inadequate to the task.

Even today, in many parts of the world, from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia to India, women are still subject to domestic violence and to indifferent and hostile treatment from their legal systems. But in America, we have advanced far beyond that. Still, there is a lot more we can do to address the problems of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

One thing we know we can do is to get lawyers for women when they have been attacked. The information and the assistance that they will get from the lawyers will help them get out of a desperate situation.

The information and assistance that we provide under this legislation in public events will indeed advance the power of survivors to get out of domestic violence, dating violence, or a stalking reign of terror.

We support enactment of this legislation as well as the additional efforts we have mentioned to provide counsel for survivors, to promote their ability to access the resources of our criminal justice system.

We look forward to working with Chairman Goodlatte and other colleagues on the other side of the aisle for rapid passage of this important, bipartisan measure and further legislative efforts that will strengthen the position of people who are victims of domestic violence.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 717) to promote pro bono legal services as a critical way in which to empower survivors of domestic violence, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 717, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to be voting on S. 717, the Pro bono Work to Empower and Represent Act of 2018, otherwise known as the POWER Act.

The POWER Act directs that each year the chief judge in each judicial district across the country hold at least one event in partnership with domestic violence service providers or volunteer lawyer projects to promote pro bono legal services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Lawyers play a critical role in combating domestic violence. Not only do government prosecutors enforce criminal laws, but in the civil realm, lawyers may provide legal representation in matters such as civil protection order applications which ultimately help keep victims safe from their abusers.

While victims are able to apply for these orders pro se, as this bill makes clear, legal representation increases the possibility of successfully obtaining a protective order against an attacker, which prevents further mental and physical injury to a victim and his or her family. One study has found that 83 percent of victims represented by an attorney were able to obtain a protective order, whereas only 32 percent of victims without an attorney were able to do so.

Federal courts already promote many pro bono programs in their judicial districts and have access to local attorneys who may be able to volunteer to work with domestic violence victims. This bill not only requires a public event in each Federal judicial district for every year during a 4-year period, it also requires an additional public event to be held every 2 years during the 4-year period in districts that contain Tribes or Tribal organizations that specifically focus on encouraging pro bono legal services for Indian or Alaska Native victims of domestic violence.

I would like to thank Senator Sullivan from Alaska for introducing this bill and shepherding it through the Senate. And I would like to thank Mr. Kennedy from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts for introducing this bill in the House. This is an extremely important issue, and I hope it will make a real difference in increasing legal services to victims.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the POWER Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers), who is the Republican Conference chair.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the dean of the House who has been a real champion in combating domestic violence.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a very good bill. I thank the Senator from Alaska, Mr. Sullivan, for working with me and my staff. On the minority side as well, I thank Congressman Kennedy, Mr. Raskin, and the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee.

This is truly a bipartisan effort to help educate people who are the victims of domestic violence about better ways that they can protect themselves and avail themselves of good representation in court.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Raskin, for his kind words and for his leadership on this bill and legislation in bringing it to this point and for all of his efforts in combating domestic violence as well.

I also want to thank my colleagues, in particular Congressman Young; Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers, the Republican Conference Chair; Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard; Congresswoman Brooks; as well as the chairman, Mr. Goodlatte, for his leadership in making sure that this bill comes to the floor today; as well as Senator Sullivan from Alaska who is the original author of this legislation and has been working with me on this for the past several years. I am grateful for his leadership as well.

Mr. Speaker, I remember far too many times in a courtroom as a State- level prosecutor the challenges of bringing domestic violence cases to trial. I remember to this day talking to victims and seeing perhaps a paragraph in a police report and something that didn't quite seem right; doing an interview with the victim and peeling back layer after layer after layer of isolation and of control, and of the creation of a state of dependence and of perpetual fear.

I remember getting ready to try a case one day. The victim came in with her daughter. The victim had a black eye. She sat next to her husband, the defendant, throughout the entire morning of the case. She blamed the black eye on a newborn child who was sleeping in her bed.

I remember watching countless efforts for a restraining order as the attorney badgered a victim, and watching a victim get so disenchanted with our court system that she said she would never come back.

Standing in a courtroom, Mr. Speaker, with those survivors, you start to see our justice system through their eyes. It is, at times, an endless and impossible maze where abuse and injustice is relived and replicated on every single occasion.

That is why we as a Congress must ensure that no survivor is ever forced to stand alone before a judge, because we know and the data well proves that, oftentimes, these cases can be a matter of life and death. It is, in fact, the most predictable form of homicide we have in our Nation.

We know how prevalent and pervasive it is. Nearly 8 million women are raped, assaulted, or stalked every year by a current or former intimate partner. We know that low-income women and men are at higher risk of domestic violence and rape. We know that more than 80 percent of survivors with access to a lawyer successfully obtain restraining orders, while those who stand alone obtain one less than one-third of the time.

Mr. Speaker, passing the POWER Act will begin to restore our sacred promise of an equal justice system. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kindness in recognizing me, but also for bringing up this bill. I also thank Mr. Kennedy for his support. This is Senator Sullivan's bill, although I had a companion bill on the House side.

What has been said here prior to me is really what we are addressing. Domestic violence is a terror on our society. No one is immune to it, be they rich or poor, whatever race or ethnic group you may belong to. It cuts across the aisle.

Unfortunately, far too many Alaskans have firsthand experience in this reality. In 2015, a survey of Alaskan victims found that, out of every 100 adult women, 40 experienced intimate partner violence, 33 experienced sexual violence, and one in three adult women in Alaska have been a victim of stalking in their lifetime.

Not only must we do more to prevent this epidemic from growing, we must also do more to help the survivors, and that is what the POWER Act does. It allows the victims to have pro bono

legal representation from the legal profession to take and present their cases.

I believe this bill is well and long overdue.

If I can refer to what Mr. Kennedy said, I have a little experience myself. A dear friend of mine, who was a friend of my late wife, used to get beat up by her husband because he was drinking all the time. My wife asked: Why don't you just hit him?

She said: Well, I couldn't do that. Violence begets violence.

Well, my wife at that time was very young, and she said: Well, I wouldn't put up with it.

About 2 weeks later, there was a knock on our door and my wife answered. She opened the door and our friend said: I did it.

She said: What did you do?

The woman said: My husband beat me up. He passed out, and I hit him with a frying pan when he was asleep.

I wouldn't suggest that solution, but she had no other recourse, no way to be represented legally to go to the courts.

I am saying this should be passed. To have representation in the courtroom is a good piece of legislation.

Again, I thank Mr. Goodlatte for bringing this bill to the floor, Mr. Sullivan, and all those people involved with it. It is long overdue.

Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the House message to accompany S. 717.

The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives:

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 717) entitled

``An Act to promote pro bono legal services as a critical way

in which to empower survivors of domestic violence.'', do

pass with an amendment.

I move to concur in the House amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.