On July 26, 2007, the House passed HR 3093, the Commerce, Justice, Science and related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provided FY2008 funding of $459 million for VAWA programs in DOJ. Three amendments were adopted during floor debate that increased VAWA funding $29 million above the level recommended by the Appropriations Committee. An amendment introduced by Representative Capito sought to provide a $10 million increase in funding for the Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement program, for a total of $50 million. Representative Inslee sponsored an amendment that sought to provide an additional $14 million for the Office on Violence Against Women, of which $6 million was to be for services to advocated for and respond to youth, $6 million was to be used to assist children and youth exposed to violence, $1 million for research relating to violence against Indian women, and $1 million for the national tribal sex offender registry. An amendment introduced by Representative Reichert would provide $5 million for the court training and improvements to respond to victims of violence program. The sponsors of these amendments provided spending reductions in other accounts in order to maintain the total spending for the bill. (An update was made to this report in September 2007, but there are no substantial changes.)

President Bush requested $543 million for VAWA programs, $366 million and $177 million for DOJ and HHS programs, respectively. He also signed the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (PL 109-162; HR 3402).

On November 22, 2005, President Bush signed the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, FY2006. It provides $385.5 million for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
On October 4, 2005, the Senate voited to amend S. 1197, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005, as reported earlier by the Judiciary Committee, and subsequently passed the bill by unanimous consent. In addition to making technical corrections, this floor amendment modified housing and other provisions in the bill, and inserted a new Title X related to DNA fingerprinting.
During the 108th Congress, the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 and the PROTECT Act were passed, which, among other provisions, authorized funding of HHS and DOJ transitional housing assistance programs for victims of domestic violence, respectively.

On October 4, 2005, the Senate voted to amend S. 1197, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005, as reported earlier by the Judiciary Committee, and subsequently passed the bill by unanimous consent. In addition to making technical corrections, this floor amendment modified housing and other provisions in the bill, and inserted a new Title X related to DNA fingerprinting.
On September 28, 2005, the House approved H.R. 3402, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009, which contains the House version of the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2005. These bills would reauthorize VAWA; continue to encourage collaboration among law enforcement, judicial personnel, and public and private service providers to victims of domestic violence; address the special needs of victims of domestic and sexual violence, including the elderly, disabled, children, youth, and individuals of ethnic and racial communities; provide emergency leave and long-term transitional housing for victims; make provisions gender neutral; and require studies and reports on the effectiveness of approaches used for certain grants in combating domestic and sexual violence.
During the 108th Congress, the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 and the PROTECT Act were passed, which, among other provisions, authorized funding of HHS and DOJ transitional housing assistance programs for victims of domestic violence, respectively. The Keeping Children and Families Safe Act also extended to FY2008 authorization for the national domestic violence hotline and grants for battered women’s shelters programs.

On October 28, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Violence Against women Act (VAWA) of 2000 as Division B of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. VAWA 2000 reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through FY2005, set new funding levels, and added new programs.
For FY2006, President Bush requests $515 million for VAWA programs, of which $386 million is for programs administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and $129 million for programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
On December 8, 2004, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, was enacted, which provided $387.28 milion in FY2005 funding for violence against women programs administered by DOJ and $129.9 million for those programs administered by HHS.
VAWA established within DOJ and HHS a number of discretionary grant programs for state, local, and Indian tribal governments. DOJ administers VAWA grants designed to aid law enforcement officers and prosecutors, encourage arrest policies, stem domestic violence and child abuse, establish and operate training programs for victim advocates and counselors, and train probation and parole officers who work with released sex offenders. Under HHS, grants include funds for battered women’s shelter, rape prevention and education, reduction of sexual abuse of runaway and homeless street youth, and community programs on domestic violence.

On October 28, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Violence Against women Act (VAWA) of 2000 as Division B of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. VAWA 2000 reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through FY2005, set new funding levels, and added new programs.
For FY2006, President Bush requests $515 million for VAWA programs, of which $386 million is for programs administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and $129 million for programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
On December 8, 2004, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, was enacted, which provided $387.28 milion in FY2005 funding for violence against women programs administered by DOJ and $129.9 million for those programs administered by HHS.
VAWA established within DOJ and HHS a number of discretionary grant programs for state, local, and Indian tribal governments. DOJ administers VAWA grants designed to aid law enforcement officers and prosecutors, encourage arrest policies, stem domestic violence and child abuse, establish and operate training programs for victim advocates and counselors, and train probation and parole officers who work with released sex offenders. Under HHS, grants include funds for battered women’s shelter, rape prevention and education, reduction of sexual abuse of runaway and homeless street youth, and community programs on domestic violence.

On October 28, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Violence Against women Act (VAWA) of 2000 as Division B of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. VAWA 2000 reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through FY2005, set new funding levels, and added new programs.
For FY2006, President Bush requests $515 million for VAWA programs, of which $386 million is for programs administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and $129 million for programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
On December 8, 2004, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, was enacted, which provided $387.28 milion in FY2005 funding for violence against women programs administered by DOJ and $129.9 million for those programs administered by HHS.
VAWA established within DOJ and HHS a number of discretionary grant programs for state, local, and Indian tribal governments. DOJ administers VAWA grants designed to aid law enforcement officers and prosecutors, encourage arrest policies, stem domestic violence and child abuse, establish and operate training programs for victim advocates and counselors, and train probation and parole officers who work with released sex offenders. Under HHS, grants include funds for battered women’s shelter, rape prevention and education, reduction of sexual abuse of runaway and homeless street youth, and community programs on domestic violence.

On October 28, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Violence Against women Act (VAWA) of 2000 as Division B of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. VAWA 2000 reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through FY2005, set new funding levels, and added new programs.
For FY2006, President Bush requests $515 million for VAWA programs, of which $386 million is for programs administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and $129 million for programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
On December 8, 2004, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, was enacted, which provided $387.28 milion in FY2005 funding for violence against women programs administered by DOJ and $129.9 million for those programs administered by HHS.
VAWA established within DOJ and HHS a number of discretionary grant programs for state, local, and Indian tribal governments. DOJ administers VAWA grants designed to aid law enforcement officers and prosecutors, encourage arrest policies, stem domestic violence and child abuse, establish and operate training programs for victim advocates and counselors, and train probation and parole officers who work with released sex offenders. Under HHS, grants include funds for battered women’s shelter, rape prevention and education, reduction of sexual abuse of runaway and homeless street youth, and community programs on domestic violence.

A memorandum regarding the impact of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and 2000.

During the last decade, Congress has enacted special immigration provisions to assist the battered alien spouses (most of whom are women) and children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. To deter immigration-related marriage fraud, Congress, in 1986 had established a two-year conditional status for alien spouses and children who obtained permanent residence based on a recent marriage. In most cases, the alien and his or her spouse had to submit a joint petition at the end of the two-year period to have the condition removed. This requirement posed problems for battered aliens, who spouses often refused to cooperate in the filing of joint petitions. The 1990 Immigration Act created a special waiver of the joint petition requirement for battered spouses and children.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 provided additional relief to noncitizen victims of family violence. It allowed them to file self-petitions for immigration preference status, rather than having to rely on their batterers to file initial petitions on their behalf. VAWA also established special requirements for battered alien spouses and children seeking relief from deportation.
In 1996, Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility ACT (IIRIRA), which contained strong measures to deter illegal immigration. Under IIRIRA, battered aliens were eligible for various exemptions. IIRIRA also amended the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which had placed restrictions on alien eligibility for federal benefits.
The 106th Congress enacted the Battered Immigrant Protection Act (BIWPA) as part of the VAWA reauthorization bill. The Act provides relief in various areas, including cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, and self-petitioning. BIWPA included language from several similar bills that proposed to expand existing protections for noncitizen victims of family violence. They include measures to prevent violence against women, as well as bills to provide economic security and safety for battered women and to provide protection for battered alien women.

On October 26, 2000, the President signed a five-year reauthorization of appropriations for the Violence Against Women Act, expired at the end of FY2000, together with an expansion of its programs (VAWA, Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, P.L. 103-322). On October 11, 2000, the Senate approved the conference report, H Rept 106-939, for the Sexual Trafficking Victims Protection Act (H.R. 3244/Smith, Christopher). Approved by the House on October 6, 2000, the measure contains language to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), as amended. The conference report notes that the bill reauthorizes through FY2005 the leading VAWA programs, and makes “targeted improvements,” such as authorizing grants for legal assistance for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault, providing funding for transitional housing assistance, improving full faith and credit enforcement and computerized tracking of protection orders, strengthening and redefining the protections for battered immigrant women, and expanding existing grant programs to cover violence that arises in dating relationships.

Gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence against women in the workplace and society generally have assumed new legal and political significance as a consequence of recent high profile proceedings involving alleged misdeeds by elected government officials, members of the military, public school teachers and students, and the private corporate sectors. This report reviews the judicial evolution of sexual harassment law, including a discussion of four recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that dealt with the issue of same-sex harassment and determined the liability of employers and school districts for harassment by supervisory employees and acts directed against public school students.

Domestic violence generally refers to overt physical abuse, sexual violence, or psychological violence between spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends. Estimates of the level of domestic violence nationwide vary depending on how the term is defined, with most researchers agreeing that the majority of domestic violence victims are women.
The federal government administers two Acts to address domestic violence: the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and the Violence Against Women Act. A third federal program, the Victims of Crime Act, also includes services for victims of domestic violence. This report presents statistics on domestic violence, and discusses federal programs to deal with the problem.

Each year women report approximately 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults, according to a recently designed Bureau of Justice Statistics survey. The extent and seriousness of the problem of violence against women first was addressed in 1990 by legislation proposing a federal response. Over the next several years, Congress began to address mounting public concern about gender-related crime, culminating in the enactment of new penalties under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the establishment of several grant programs under its Tile IV, the Violence Against Women Act (P.L. 103-322). Since passage of P.L. 103-322, Congress has been supportive regarding funding. In FY1997, Congress approved VAWA funding for selected programs at the Department of Justice at $197.5 million and at the Department of Health and Human Services for $61 million. In FY1998, Congress approved VAWA funding for selected programs at the Department of Justice at $270.75 million and at the Department of Health and Human Services at $154 million.

Domestic violence generally refers to overt physical abuse, sexual violence, or psychological violence between spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends. Estimates of the level of domestic violence nationwide vary depending on how the term is defined, with most researchers agreeing that the majority of domestic violence victims are women.
The federal government administers two Acts to address domestic violence: the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and the Violence Against Women Act. A third federal program, the Victims of Crime Act, also includes services for victims of domestic violence. This report presents statistics on domestic violence, and discusses federal programs to deal with the problem.

Gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence against women in the home, workplace, and society at large have received increasing legislative and judicial attention in recent years. Legal doctrines condemning the extortion of sexual favors as a condition of employment or job advancement, and other sexually offensive workplace behaviors resulting in a “hostile environment,” continue to evolve from judicial decisions under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and related federal laws. The courts and EEOC have interpreted Title VII to protect both men and women against workplace sexual harassment by the opposite sex. In 1994, Congress broke new legal ground by creating a civil rights cause of action for victims of “crimes of violence motivated by gender.” The new law also made it a federal offense to travel interstate with the intent to “injure, harass, or intimidate” a spouse, causing bodily harm to the spouse by a crime of violence.

According to a newly designed Bureau of Justice Statistics survey, “women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults…” Legislation proposing a federal response to the problem of violence against women was first introduced in 1990. Over the next several years, congressional actions to address public concerns about this problem culminated in the enactment of new penalties under the Violence Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the establishment of several grant programs under its Title IV, the Violence Against Women Act (P.L. 103-322). In FY1996, Congress approved VAWA funding for selected problems, including the Department of Justice ($165 million); and the Department of Health and Human Services ($54 million). In FY1997, Congress approved VAWA funding for selected programs including the Department of Justice ($197.5 million), and the Department of Health and Human Services ($61 million).

There is now available new and more accurate data about the extent of violence against women. According to a newly designed Bureau of Justice Statistics survey, “women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults…” Legislation proposing a Federal response to the problem of violence against women was first introduced in 1990. Over the next several years, congressional actions to address public concerns about this problem culminated in the enactment of new penalties under the Violence Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the establishment of several grant programs under its Title IV, the Violence Against Women Act (P.L. 103-322). Within the FY1996 appropriations process, the House and Senate have approved funding for several programs under the Violence Against Women Act.