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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Tlaib). The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran) for 5 minutes.
Mr. O'HALLERAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
As a former law enforcement officer, some of the very first calls I responded to involved domestic violence. During my years as a young officer, I saw firsthand the damage this uniquely heinous crime can do to survivors and their families. As a homicide investigator later, I saw it on a continual basis through the court system and the devastation that it means to families across America.
This is an issue close to my heart and one I have focused my public policy efforts on from day one of my public service. Beginning with my time as a member of the Arizona legislature, all the way to the Halls of Congress, I have advocated for survivors, their children, and the resources needed to get whole families into stable and safe situations.
That is why, as a member of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, I am proud to cosponsor a resolution to recognize the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to have championed legislation that uplifts survivors across Arizona.
Together, as a Congress, we must commit to working to do whatever is in our power to secure justice for survivors both in and out of the courtroom.
This week I will reintroduce my Help End Abusive Living Situations or HEALS Act.
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My bill will assist survivors of domestic violence to rapidly secure safe housing situations by directing the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to prioritize funds for transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
No person experiencing these crimes should be forced to stay in a dangerous situation because they do not have housing elsewhere.
The horrible legacy of domestic violence affects communities across our Nation, including Tribal communities.
As the Representative of Arizona's First Congressional District, I am humbled to represent 12 Sovereign Tribal Nations. Federal data indicates that 55 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner.
However, it is estimated that less than 1 percent of the Crime Victims Fund reaches Tribes.
This Congress, I reintroduced two of my bills that address domestic violence in Tribal communities.
First, the SURVIVE Act, a bill to provide legal, medical, and counseling resources to women and children in Tribal communities who are survivors of domestic violence. This bill also corrects the Crime Victims Fund's allocation to Tribes, ensuring they receive a fair percentage of resources.
Second, my Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act, bipartisan legislation that ensures children and law enforcement officials in Tribal communities are protected when present at domestic violence incidents.
Currently, Tribes can convict non-Indian perpetrators of protection order violations, domestic violence, and dating violence.
But under current law, both the children of survivors and law enforcement officers who risk their lives to save victims are not protected by these same laws. My bill extends this Tribal jurisdiction to cover kids and cops, who so often deal with dangerous domestic situations.
I am committed to continued work with my colleagues in Congress, advocates on the ground in Arizona, and brave survivors. We hear you, and we believe you.
To those experiencing domestic violence and to those who have lost a loved one to this heinous and deeply personal form of violence, let me say this: I know that we cannot ever truly know your pain, but we will keep fighting for change at every level.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 188
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