60 Mayors Urge Congressional Leaders To Include Protections For Domestic Violence In Senate-Passed Bill

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter sent to House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi today, co-signed by 60 of the nation's mayors and USCM Executive Director Tom Cochran, mayors urge the House of Representatives to support the protections for victims of domestic violence included in S. 1925, the bipartisan Senate bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Below is the full text from the letter:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110125/MM36443LOGO)

Dear Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi:

On behalf of the nation's mayors, we strongly urge the House of Representatives to support the protections for victims of domestic violence included in S. 1925, the bipartisan Senate bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Since 1994, this landmark law has provided a comprehensive, coordinated, and community- based approach toward reducing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other forms of violence. VAWA's programs and services have provided lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands of victims and significantly strengthened the ability of the criminal justice system to hold violent perpetrators accountable. Over the past two decades, these efforts have helped dramatically reduce the incidence and impact of violence against women, including an over 50 percent decline in the annual rate of domestic violence.

Despite considerable progress in addressing the epidemic of violence against women, we recognize that much more needs to be done and that this reauthorization presents an opportunity for the Congress to strengthen our national commitment to tackling the challenges that remain. Like the 2000 and 2005 reauthorizations, we believe that the bipartisan Senate reauthorization does just that by expanding services and assistance to those communities who experience the highest rates of violence or who have the greatest difficulty accessing services.

We believe that it is essential that VAWA's vital services be provided to all victims regardless of group status and for that reason we strongly support the establishment of a uniform nondiscrimination provision for VAWA grant programs included in S. 1925. By replacing and clarifying the current patchwork of protections, the nondiscrimination provision will help ensure that victims are not denied services on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. This measure is needed in part to address the significant obstacles that lesbian, gay, and transgendered communities have faced in accessing services in recent years. Despite the fact that they experience domestic violence at the same rate as the general population, 45 percent of lesbian, gay, and transgendered victims are reportedly turned away when they seek help from domestic violence shelters. This type of discrimination is simply unacceptable.

Since its first passage, VAWA has sought to protect immigrant victims whose non-citizen status can make them especially vulnerable to crimes of domestic and sexual violence. We are greatly concerned by a provision included in the VAWA reauthorization proposed by the House of Representatives, H.R. 4970, which would roll back confidentiality protections that enable undocumented women to safely come forward and report violent crimes. Rather than reducing the outlets for these victims, VAWA reauthorization should provide additional ways for law enforcement to work with these victims to investigate and prosecute serious crimes. The Senate version includes a provision that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to draw from a pool of previously authorized but never used U visas so that law enforcement officers have the tools to work with victims and bring violent offenders to justice.

The House bill, unlike the Senate version, also does not address the continuing challenge of violence in tribal communities. A recent study by the Center for Disease Control found that 46 percent of Native American women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. As with immigrant victims, VAWA has aimed to address the terribly high rates of violence against women in tribal communities. Although some progress has been made, we believe the continuing high rates of violence on tribal lands require far greater attention. This reauthorization provides an opportunity to strengthen federal law enforcement tools and to expand the capacity of tribal governments to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

As mayors, we have seen the tremendous impact of the Violence Against Women Act in our communities. The lifesaving programs supported in the legislation should be quickly reauthorized to ensure the continuation and access of vital services for victims. We believe that these Senate provisions will help us better address continuing problems and remaining unmet needs, and strongly urge the House take up and pass the bipartisan Senate bill, S. 1925.

Sincerely,

Antonio R. Villaragosa Mayor of Los Angeles, CA President
Annise D. Parker Mayor of Houston, TX Chair, Criminal & Social Justice Committee
Mark Stodola Mayor of Little Rock, AR
Wayne Powell Mayor of Manhattan Beach, CA
Jerry Sanders Mayor of San Diego, CA
Helene Schneider Mayor of Santa Barbara, CA
Bill Finch Mayor of Bridgeport, CT
James Baker Mayor of Wilmington, DE
Michael A. Nutter Mayor of Philadelphia, PA Vice President
Thomas M. Menino Mayor of Boston, MA Past President
Patrick Hays Mayor of North Little Rock, AR
Mary Ann Lutz Mayor of Monrovia, CA
Ed Lee Mayor of San Francisco, CA
Christopher Cabaldon Mayor of West Sacramento, CA
Pedro Segarra Mayor of Hartford, CT
Susan Whelchel Mayor of Boca Raton, FL
Michael R. Bloomberg Mayor of New York, NY
Tom Cochran CEO and Executive Director
Greg Stanton Mayor of Phoenix, AZ
Kevin Johnson Mayor of Sacramento, CA
Jan Marx Mayor of San Luis Obispo, CA
Michael Hancock Mayor of Denver, CO
Vincent C. Gray Mayor of Washington, DC
Marilyn Gerber Mayor of Coconut Creek, FL
Patricia Gerard Mayor of Largo, FL
Michael Ryan Mayor of Sunrise, FL
Judy Abruscato Mayor of Wheeling, IL
Harvey Johnson, Jr. Mayor of Jackson, MS
William Bell Mayor of Durham, NC
Ken Miyagishima Mayor of Las Cruces, NM
William Moehle Mayor of Brighton, NY
Michael Coleman Mayor of Columbus, OH
Vaughn Spencer Mayor of Reading, PA
Angel Taveras Mayor of Providence, RI
Raul Salinas Mayor of Laredo, TX
Michael McGinn Mayor Seattle, WA
Dan Devine Mayor of West Allis, WI
Lori Moseley Mayor of Miramar, FL
Shawn Connors Pecatonica, IL
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Mayor of Baltimore, MD
John Engen Mayor of Missoula, MT
Antonia Ricigliano Mayor of Edison, NJ
Gerald Jennings Mayor of Albany, NY
Paul Dyster Mayor of Niagara Falls, NY
Sam Adams Mayor of Portland, OR
Thomas Leighton Mayor of Wilkes-Barre, PA
Stephen Wukela Mayor of Florence, SC
Deloris Prince Mayor of Port Arthur, TX
Tom Barrett Mayor of Milwaukee, WI
Andre Pierre Mayor of North Miami, FL
Robert Sanonjian Mayor of Waukegan, IL
William Wild Mayor of Westland, MI
Anthony Foxx Mayor of Charlotte, NC
Susan Cohen Mayor of Manalapan, NJ
Matthew Ryan Mayor of Binghamton, NY
Stephanie Miner Mayor of Syracuse, NY
Ed Pawlowski Mayor of Allentown, PA
Victor Ortiz Mayor of Gurabo, PR
AC Wharton Mayor of Memphis, TN
John Marchione Mayor of Redmond, WA
John Dickert Mayor or Racine, WI

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,309 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors