Patrick Leahy

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. LEAHY. I yield back all time.

Mr. LEAHY. The bipartisan Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act already reduces authorization levels and adds important accountability measures. These are careful, appropriate, and effective steps. The Coburn amendment would mandate sweeping cuts which would decimate programs. The amendment is opposed by law enforcement, including the National Association of Police Organizations, and by the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women. Of course we all want to combat fraud, waste, and abuse. But this amendment is not the way to do it. The amendment purports to be based on findings by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO, but it misconstrues those findings. The amendment states that the GAO identified $3.9 billion in ``duplicative'' grants programs. That is simply not the case. The July 2012 GAO report states that the total amount of grants awarded by the Justice Department in fiscal year 2010 was only $3.6 billion. You cannot have $3.9 billion in duplication when the total amount of grant money awarded was less than that. More importantly, the GAO report did not actually conclude that there was duplication. The July report said there was ``the potential risk of unnecessary duplication'' and recommended that the Justice Department conduct an assessment to determine if grant programs could be consolidated to mitigate that risk. The GAO did not recommend any funding cuts and certainly did not recommend the $780 million cut that this amendment would require. As I have noted, our bill already includes a 17-percent cut in authorizations. The amendment offered by Senator Coburn requires the Department of Justice to gut key grant programs. It would mandate that the Department cut at least $780 million from its grant programs, many of which provide critical funding to law enforcement and victim service providers. This would have devastating effects on victims of rape and domestic violence, and I urge Senators to vote against it. The amendment tries to sugarcoat the damage it will do by reference to untested rape kits. In fact, it is the amendment that is duplicative. We have established the Debbie Smith Act to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits and the Leahy-Crapo bill already includes measures to reduce the backlog through core VAWA programs and through the inclusion of the SAFER Act. By gutting grant programs to law enforcement and victims, the Coburn amendment does not help victims of rape, who rely on victim service providers funded with these grants and on law enforcement who count on Federal support. Mandating vast cuts in programs for victims and law enforcement at a time when those programs are already being squeezed is bad policy. These grant programs save lives. The amendment is bad for victims and bad for law enforcement. I urge Senators to oppose it. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record letters in opposition to amendment No. 15 to S. 47, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.

Mr. LEAHY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. The Senator from Oklahoma was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act was considered and approved. He was a member for many years and never came to me to raise this issue. It has not been considered and its potential consequences of cutting 20 percent of Federal assistance grants to states that help law enforcement and encourage arrests in sexual assault and domestic violence cases could be disastrous. It is the wrong way to go. I think we all agree that victims of sexual assault should receive testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. The Leahy- Crapo bill already adds new coverage for HIV testing and services for sexual assault victims. There is also already a five percent penalty in the law for those who don't provide HIV testing. However, the amendment would mandate that states force tests on defendants, those accused of crimes but not tried or convicted. To require such testing within 48 hours of information or indictment is practically difficult or impossible for many states and violates the state constitution in others. This amendment sets up requirements that many state and local governments cannot comply with and will cause states to lose millions in assistance that helps victims of rape and domestic violence. The Senator from Oklahoma has consistently voted against VAWA. That is his right. But we should not make the programs more difficult for law enforcement and victims because he does not support them. This is not the right way to reduce government--by setting up government mandates that law enforcement cannot meet and then cutting their assistance funding when they cannot. I do not believe this one-size- fits-all mandate from Washington to our states is the right way to go. A large majority of states are not in compliance with this provision and would lose crucial funds for preventing rape and domestic violence and helping victims. These funds are particularly important in difficult economic times, and cutting them would be devastating for victims. The amendment's mandate is overly proscriptive and intrusive and would result in a loss of crucial services to many victims. That is why the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women strongly opposes this amendment. I am willing to work on even more ways to ensure that rape victims receive all needed treatment. But doing so with measures that will punish the rape victims themselves by denying them access to needed services is inhumane and counter-productive. I urge Senators to oppose this amendment. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record letters in opposition to amendment No. 16 to S. 47, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, would that it were so simple. The amendment is simply going to take protections away from thousands of women, and that is why I oppose it.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. LEAHY. As the Senate now votes on the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, I hope we will join together in a strong bipartisan majority to pass this important legislation. Enactment of our bill to help all victims of domestic and sexual violence is overdue. Together we can finally finish what we started last year. We are deeply indebted to the women and men around the country who have been working with us and have been steadfast in their commitment to the victims and to our efforts to combat domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault. The Violence Against Women Act has been effective at preventing crimes and protecting victims. But there is so much more to be done. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent survey found that one in four women has been the victim of severe physical domestic violence, and one in five women has been raped in her lifetime. More than half of the homicides in my state of Vermont are related to domestic violence. This is simply unacceptable. We can and we must do better. The Senate overwhelmingly passed the Leahy-Crapo bill last April. In the nearly 10 months since then, thousands of women around the country have been victimized. We have heard of too many cases, yet the vast majority of these crimes are never reported at all. I cannot help but feel that some of those crimes could have been prevented. Some of those victims could have gotten more assistance. Congress should not delay any longer. Our bill offers support for those techniques already proven in the field that help identify high-risk cases and prevent domestic violence homicides. It will increase VAWA's focus on rape victims and push colleges to strengthen their efforts to protect students from domestic and sexual violence. This reauthorization will allow us to make real progress in addressing the horrifying epidemic of domestic violence in tribal communities. This bipartisan bill will allow services to get to those in the LGBT community who have had trouble accessing services in the past. The bill also includes key improvements for immigrant victims of domestic and sexual violence. All of these provisions were included because victims and the people who work with them every day told us they were needed to prevent crimes and provide better assistance to victims. We are trying to help victims and prevent crime. We have been working to get this bill through the Senate and to the House so we can quickly get a good bill to the President for his signature. We cannot afford further delay while more victims suffer unnecessarily. I, again, thank the Majority Leader for making violence against women a priority for the Senate. We have been debating this measure since last Monday. We have considered a number of amendments. In the legislative process we have been able to make additional progress by adopting the bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, as well. I noted at the outset of this debate that by providing new tools and resources to communities all around the country, we have helped bring the crimes of rape and domestic violence out of the shadows. The Federal Government is standing with the women of this country and sent the message that we would no longer tolerate their treatment as second class citizens. Our bill renews and reinforces that commitment. Ending violence against women is not an easy problem to solve, but there are simple and significant steps we can take right now, without delay, by passing this legislation. We have worked hard to make this bill bipartisan and I am proud that it has more than 60 Senate cosponsors. It also has the support of more than 1400 local, state and national organizations from around the country that work with victims every day and know just how critical this law has been. I included their most recent letter of support with my remarks last Monday. I, again, thank them for their tireless efforts. There remain some special interest lobbies and some Senators who do not appreciate the role of the Federal Government in helping improve the lives of Americans. It is disappointed that Heritage Action and the Family Research Council are urging opposition to our bipartisan bill. I hope that Senators will listen, instead, to the victims and to law enforcement and to the more than 1400 national, state, and local organizations that strongly support our Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. If anyone needs a reminder of how important government help can be, just think about the way that Federal and local law enforcement worked together last week to rescue Ethan, a 5-year-old kidnapped boy, from an underground bunker in Alabama, where he had been held hostage for almost a week. Ask the family and local law enforcement if they appreciated the help of the FBI, the Defense Department and so many who contributed to the safe return of that innocent victim. Every day across this nation we are reminded of the importance of programs like the Violence Against Women Act. Our bipartisan bill does more than protect victims of domestic violence. It also contains provisions to protect victims of stalking. This morning the Washington Post reported that a ``man stalking one of his victims shot and killed two women waiting to pass through metal detectors at a courthouse . . . Two male police officers also were struck by bullets . . . but were saved by their bullet-proof vests.'' This episode should remind us all that after working to reauthorize and reinvigorate the Violence Against Women Act, we must also reauthorize the Bullet Proof Vest program so that more of our law enforcement officials can be protected. I spent years in local law enforcement and have great respect for the men and women who protect us every day. When I hear Senators say that we should not provide Federal assistance, we should not help officers get the protection they need with bulletproof vests, or that we should not help the families of fallen public safety officers, I strongly disagree. In our Federal system, we can help and when we can, we should help. And that is exactly the opportunity that is before us today. We have the power to help improve the lives of millions of people in this country by renewing and expanding our commitment to end domestic and sexual violence and strengthen our commitment against human trafficking. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that more than 24 people per minute are the victims of rape, domestic violence and stalking in this country. We can take action to change that and we must. I am proud that our bill seeks to support all victims, regardless of their immigration status, their sexual orientation or their membership in an Indian tribe. As I have said countless times on the floor of this chamber, ``a victim is a victim is a victim.'' The Violence Against Women Act is an example of how the Federal Government can help solve problems in cooperation with state and local communities. The fact is that women are safer today because of this law and there is no excuse not to improve upon it and reauthorize it without delay. We are working to protect victims--all victims--of domestic and sexual violence. I urge all Senators to look past the narrow, ideological opposition of some and join with us. That is what the former senior Senator from Texas, Senator Hutchison, did last year when her Republican substitute was rejected by the Senate. I hope that despite 14 Republican Senators not voting to proceed to consider the bill and 35 Republican Senators supporting what was a poor substitute offered and rejected early in this debate, we will have a strong bipartisan vote for final passage. I urge those who previously opposed our efforts to improve the Violence Against Women Act to join with us and help the Senate send our strong bill to the House of Representatives so that we can get it enacted. Despite the predictions by some that the Republican House of Representatives will refuse to consider the Senate bill, as it did last year, I see reason for hope. Just yesterday 17 Republican members of the House wrote to their own leadership urging immediate reauthorization of VAWA. I thank the many Senators who have helped shape this bill and have spoken is such strong support of it, including Senator Crapo, Senator Mikulski, Senator Murkowski, Senator Murray, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Coons, Senator Collins, Senator Shaheen, Senator Franken, Senator Hagan, Senator Casey, and so many others. I also thank their staffs and my own, including Kristine Lucius, Noah Bookbinder, Anya McMurray, Chris Leopold, Bryan Seeley, and Clark Flynt, for their countless hours of work away from their own families as we try to make all families safer and more secure.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I wanted to thank all my fellow Senators, from both parties, who voted for this bill. If you are someone who has seen firsthand the results of violence against women, it would be almost impossible to vote no on this bill. Will this stop all violence? No. But will it stop a lot of it? Yes; and it will also make possible for those who are caught in violence a chance for support, a chance for someplace to go, a chance to be protected from future attacks. This is the kind of legislation that speaks to the conscience of our Nation. It speaks to the conscience of the Senate. It tells everybody, usually the most defenseless in our society, this body stands with you. I would urge our friends on the other side of the Capitol to move quickly with similar legislation. This is something we should not hold up. This is a way we can say: We oppose violence against women. We oppose it today. We oppose it tomorrow. We will oppose it forever.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 12, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 12, 2013, at 9:45 a.m., in room SD- 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 12, 2013, at 10:00 a.m., in room SD- 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on February 12, 2013, at 10:00 a.m., in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Proposals to Reduce Gun Violence: Protecting Our Communities While Respecting the Second Amendment.''

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 12, 2013, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. LEAHY

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, am I correct that we are on the Violence Against Women Act?

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I hope all Senators will join in adopting the trafficking victims protection amendment that is before us today. This is crucial to reauthorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. We can make real progress in helping victims of human trafficking by adopting the amendment today and then proceeding to pass both the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act without delay. One hundred and fifty years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and long since ratification of the 13th amendment to our Constitution, slavery is illegal. What we are fighting now is human trafficking, which can amount to modern day slavery. This still occurs throughout the world--including in the United States of America. The Polaris Project estimates that there are more than 27 million victims of human trafficking worldwide today. To put that in perspective, that is more people than the population of Texas. The amendment before the Senate today is drawn from our Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, a bipartisan bill that was written with the input of victims and service providers to make critical improvements to existing law. I have worked hard to try to address concerns expressed by Republican Senators and to ensure bipartisan support for this legislation, which Congress has reauthorized three times before. The result is that last year this legislation had 57 cosponsors, including 15 Republicans. It is a parallel effort to our reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. I was preparing to move it separately but other Senators offered trafficking-related amendments to the VAWA bill. That is what led to this amendment being offered at this time. This is now our opportunity to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and take a giant stride forward to help trafficking victims. Our effort is to stop human trafficking at its roots by supporting both domestic and international efforts to fight against trafficking and to punish its perpetrators. We provide critical resources to help support victims as they rebuild their lives. This amendment includes new measures to ensure better partnership and coordination among Federal agencies, between law enforcement and victim service providers, and with foreign countries to better address every facet of this complicated problem. It also strengthens criminal anti trafficking statutes to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to effectively combat all forms of trafficking. It includes measures to encourage victims to cooperate with law enforcement, which leads to more prosecutions, and to identify victims and alert law enforcement. We have included accountability measures to ensure that Federal funds are used for their intended purposes, and we have streamlined programs to focus scarce resources on the approaches that have been the most successful. Last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported the measure and it was cleared for passage by every Democratic Senator. We worked closely with Chairman Kerry, now Secretary of State Kerry, and the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee. We have updated it with modifications cleared with the State Department and the new Foreign Affairs chairman, Senator Menendez, to the first title. I want to acknowledge Senator Rubio's efforts last year trying to help us clear this bill for Senate passage. Regrettably, this important legislation, like so many others, was held up last year by the objection of one anonymous Republican Senator. This is now our opportunity to pass it. Let us join together today to take this important step to help trafficking victims and prevent human trafficking. The United States remains a beacon of hope for so many who face human rights abuses. We know that young women and girls, often just 11, 12, or 13 years old, are being bought and sold. We know that workers are being held and forced into labor against their will. I urge all Senators to join in passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. People in this country and millions around the world are counting on us. Mr. President, I ask that the time be equally divided, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask unanimous consent that the time be equally divided.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to yield back all time on both sides.

Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, the yeas and nays have not been requested, have they?