Leahy And Grassley Head Bipartisan Letter Asking The President To Support The Violence Against Women Act In The Trump Budget

As President Donald Trump prepares to submit a federal budget proposal to Congress, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy, is calling for the White House to prioritize programs that assist victims of sexual and domestic abuse. In a letter today, the senators urge Trump to support programs established by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

VAWA was enacted in 1994 to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The law makes federal resources available for programs that assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, including children, teenagers, the elderly, persons with disabilities and Native Americans. VAWA has been reauthorized by Congress and Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who signed the Leahy-Crapo Bill into law in 2013.

“We encourage this Administration to again partner with Congress to champion critical VAWA programs aimed at preventing abuse, improving the law enforcement response to violence against women and children, and supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence,” the senators said in the letter. “Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we support victims and survivors by investing in VAWA to ensure that service providers and law enforcement personnel are equipped with the necessary tools to protect victims and to bring perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence to justice.”

Grassley and Leahy’s letter is also signed by Senators Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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