The Violence Against Women Office of the U.S. Department of Justice was created in 1995 to implement the Violence Against Women Act. The creation of this office greatly strengthened the efforts of states to fight domestic violence, because for the first time, they had strong leadership and funding support from the federal government.
Under President Clinton, the Violence Against Women Office was a powerful voice within the Administration. The Director had strong support from the White House, and was a recognized leader in the fight to end domestic violence. It was clear that the safety of women and children was a top priority for the federal government.
Under the leadership of President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft, the Violence Against Women Office has been systematically weakened. Just within the last two months, the policy department of the Violence Against Women Office disappeared, and the Director of the office has no access to the Attorney General or the President and no seat at the table to affect the policies of this Administration with concern to violence against women.
This is one of a series of actions by this Administration to diminish the importance of women's issues.
In one of his first actions, in January 2001, President Bush closed down the White House Office on Women's Initiatives and Outreach. The purpose of this office was to advance policies such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and to serve as a liaison between the White House and advocates for women.
Next, President Bush tried to eliminate funding for the regional Women's Bureau offices in the Department of Labor. The Women's Bureau had a mission of promoting the welfare of working women, improving their working conditions, and advancing their opportunities for profitable employment. This was further evidence of the Administration moving backwards on progress for women.
Violence against women doesn't rate highly in the Bush budget either. The President's budget falls $111.3 million short of fully funding critical programs such as transitional housing for victims of domestic violence, shelter services, and rape education and prevention. Obviously, President Bush does not support full funding of the Violence Against Women Act.
Today we have the chance to send a clear message to the conferees, that ending violence against women is a top priority. To do that, we need to restore a strong, independent Violence Against Women Office with the authority to impact critical public policy decisions. This is not a time to backtrack on our commitment to ending domestic violence against women.
I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this motion.