Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) to add or expand definitions of several terms for purposes of such Act, including : (1) "culturally specific services" to mean community-based services that offer culturally relevant and linguistically specific services and resources to culturally specific communities; (2) "personally identifying information or personal information" with respect to a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; and (3) "youth" to mean a person who is 11 to 24 years old.
Modifies or expands grant conditions under such Act, including requirements relating to: (1) nondisclosure of personally identifying information or other client information, (2) information sharing between grantees and subgrantees, (3) civil rights and nondiscrimination, (4) audits, and (5) nonprofit organizations.
Requires the Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a biennial conferral process with state and tribal coalitions, technical assistance providers, and other key stakeholders on the administration of grants and related matters.
Makes specified provisions of this Act effective at the beginning of the fiscal year following the enactment of this Act.
Title I: Enhancing Judicial and Law Enforcement Tools to Combat Violence Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations through FY2017 for grants to combat violent crime against women (STOP grants). Expands the purposes for which STOP grants may be used to include training of law enforcement personnel and prosecutors, addressing backlogs of sexual assault evidence collection kits, and providing protections for male victims of sexual assault crimes. Revises the application process for STOP grants.
Requires states receiving funds under the STOP grant program to develop and submit to the Attorney General implementation plans for using grant funds.
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the grant program to encourage governmental entities to treat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law. Requires such entities to use grant funds for: (1) training programs with respect to domestic violence and sexual assaults against women; (2) developing best practices for responding to domestic violence and sexual assault crimes; (3) developing, implementing, or enhancing sexual assault nurse examiner programs and Sexual Assault Response Teams; (4) providing human immunodeficiency virus testing programs; and (5) identifying and inventorying backlogs of sexual assault evidence collection kits. Requires not less than 25% of grant funding to be used for projects that address sexual assault. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such grant program through FY2017.
The summary continues for 80 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 27, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 26, 2012: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Gwen Moore (D-WI) introduced it on March 27, 2012, and 101 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 101 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 27, 2012, 5280 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5097 days ago, on September 26, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers