Rep. Haaland Celebrates House Passage of the VAWA Reauthorization

Rep. Deb Haaland speaks in support of VAWA

Published April 7, 2019

WASHINGTON — Immediately after the U.S. House passed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, Congresswoman Deb Haaland, Vice Chair of the Democratic Women’s Women’s Caucus, celebrated its passage joining women congressional leaders at a press conference.

Haaland’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Thank you, for the introduction. Congresswoman Debbie Dingle and Congresswoman Gwen Moore, thank you for your leadership – I’m so honored to be here.

 Every human being deserves to feel safe.

 And every person whose safety has been threatened by violence deserves justice. But, our communities are facing a harsh reality – there is a cycle of violence that plagues them.

 The Violence Against Women Act provides critical protections for families who are in the cycle of domestic violence, and has proven to be effective preventing violence from happening in the first place, providing resources for families in the cycle of violence, and ensuring there are tools to seek justice.

 Previous versions of this bill had a blind spot.

 I belong to a community where women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than the national average – and the silent crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women is linked to violence.

 The VAWA we passed today is more inclusive and there are provisions targeted specifically at getting justice for women in Indian Country.

 The protections for tribal communities will have an important impact for children, tribal officers, and the silent crisis of missing and murdered Native women.

 We’re taking steps for the people, and I’m pleased that today we can deliver good news to our communities.