U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp Tuesday voted with a bipartisan majority in the Senate to extend the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for two months to prevent it from expiring at the end of September. But she also called on Congress to quickly pass a long-term reauthorization to give certainty to victims of domestic violence and law enforcement agencies that depend on VAWA programs to crack down on abuse.
“Since serving as Attorney General for North Dakota in the 1990’s, I’ve committed to never stop fighting to end domestic violence and protect victims of these horrible crimes,” Heitkamp said. “That’s why VAWA was the first bill I cosponsored in the U.S. Senate in 2013 – and ensured that provisions for landmark protections of Native women and tribal authority were included. For too long, crimes of domestic violence hid in the shadows – and VAWA helped make major changes so abusers could no longer get away with such terrible actions. But there is still much work to do. Now, Congress must quickly pass a long-term extension of VAWA to give victims of abuse the resources they need to seek justice and recover from the trauma they’ve endured. Law enforcement agencies and victim service providers rely on VAWA to bring justice to criminals. It is also critical that we continue to increase the protections for Native women and look at expanding tribal authority where appropriate so that abusers can no longer escape punishment in Indian Country.”