Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) voted to pass the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) along with the annual government appropriations package. VAWA was originally drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden and first signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, but its protections expired in December 2018. The legislation now goes to President Biden’s desk, and when signed into law, will modernize and extend VAWA’s programs through 2027.
The modernized VAWA legislation which passed the Senate today now includes the NICS Denial Notification Act, bipartisan gun safety legislation led by Senator Coons and cosponsored by Senator Carper. The NICS Denial Notification Act requires federal authorities to alert state and local law enforcement within 24 hours when an ineligible individual tries to purchase a firearm and fails a background check, which can be a warning sign of future criminal behavior.
“Nearly 28 years ago, the Violence Against Women Act was first drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden to help protect women and families across America. I’ve long supported this common sense bipartisan legislation throughout my time in Congress—and I’m glad we could come together once again to reauthorize this critical bill,” said Senator Carper. “Now President Biden will sign this modernized VAWA into law, which will continue to help combat domestic violence and sexual assault and bolster protections for survivors.”
“Every single Delawarean deserves to live free from fear, abuse, and violence,” said Senator Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The reauthorization of VAWA is critical to ensure that we continue to prevent domestic violence and protect survivors of gender-based violence in homes across America. This isn’t just a reauthorized VAWA, it’s a modernized bill with critical new bipartisan protections to address modern challenges. That includes my commonsense bipartisan gun safety legislation with Senator Cornyn that will help prevent tragic acts of violence perpetrated by individuals who are prohibited from obtaining a gun under existing law.”
The reauthorization of VAWA:
- Provides services, protection, and justice for young victims of violence, including extending the Rape Prevention and Education grant program and improving grants focused on prevention education for students in institutions of higher education.
- Enhances judicial and law enforcement tools through reauthorization of the Justice Department’s STOP Violence Against Women Formula Program, known as the STOP Program, and expands the STOP Program to better support survivors who are 50 years of age or older and survivors with disabilities.
- Reauthorizes and updates the SMART Prevention Program to reduce dating violence, help children who have been exposed to domestic violence, and engage men in preventing violence.
- Provides economic security assistance for survivors by reauthorizing the National Resource Center on Workplace Response and expands the program to support sexual harassment victims and ensure that the program’s resources are available to private-sector businesses with fewer than 20 employees in addition to public-sector entities.
- Improves the medical response to instances of domestic violence and sexual assault, including expanding access to medical forensic examinations after a sexual assault for survivors who live in rural communities.
- Improves tribal access to federal crime information databases and clarifies the existence of tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indigenous perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual violence, sex trafficking and stalking that takes place on tribal lands.
- Authorizes a grant program to provide community-specific services for LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.
- Directs the Office on Violence Against Women to provide technical assistance and training to victim service providers and organizations that are seeking to work with survivors.
The NICS Denial Notification Act:
- Requires federal authorities to alert state and local law enforcement of background checks denials, so that these authorities can decide whether to investigate or prosecute these denied individuals for signs of future criminal activity.
- Requires the Department of Justice to publish an annual report with statistics about its prosecution of background check denial cases, so Congress and voters can hold officials accountable.
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