Bill Text: MI SR0017 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution to memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to pass the reauthorization legislation for the Violence Against Women Act expeditiously and without partisanship.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-02-19 - Referred To Committee On Judiciary [SR0017 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-SR0017-Introduced.html
Senators Warren, Hopgood, Anderson, Bieda, Nofs, Marleau, Booher, Jones, Hood, Brandenburg and Whitmer offered the following resolution:
Senate Resolution No. 17.
A resolution to memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to pass the reauthorization legislation for the Violence Against Women Act expeditiously and without partisanship.
Whereas, The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was created by Congress with the purpose of helping curb the epidemic of domestic violence in the United States and was reauthorized with bipartisan support in 2000 and 2005; and
Whereas, The act provides critical funding for shelters and other services and targets resources toward prosecution of violent crimes against women, who are often without the necessary resources to navigate the legal system or cannot afford legal representation; and
Whereas, The programming and funding provided in the act have been highly successful. Since it was first signed into law, the number of women killed nationwide by their intimate partner has fallen 30 percent, and the annual rate of domestic violence against women fell more than 60 percent; and
Whereas, Even after the success of VAWA, 1 in 4 women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime. Moreover, more than 2 million adults and 15 million children are exposed to such violence annually. In Michigan, 68,500 women were victims of domestic violence in 2011 alone, and over 100 domestic violence-related homicides occur in Michigan each year, proving that reauthorization of VAWA is essential to women’s health and safety in this country and in this state; and
Whereas, The U.S. Senate has now introduced legislation to reauthorize VAWA. The standoff over the House and Senate versions of the VAWA reauthorization last year resulted in the legislation expiring for the first time. However, significant compromises have been incorporated into the reintroduced bill in the Senate in order to make progress on this important piece of legislation. Given that compromise, there is no excuse to let VAWA reauthorization continue to drag on; and
Whereas, The consequences of domestic violence are evidenced in the lives of countless women who are at risk daily. Such violence is happening around the world, in this country, and in our own state; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to pass the reauthorization legislation for the Violence Against Women Act expeditiously and without partisanship; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of State, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
