[Senate Hearing 117-853]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-853
RENEWING AND STRENGTHENING
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 5, 2021
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Serial No. J-117-39
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Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
www.judiciary.senate.gov
www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
55-000 WASHINGTON : 2024
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois, Chair
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa, Ranking
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California Member
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota JOHN CORNYN, Texas
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware MICHAEL S. LEE, Utah
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut TED CRUZ, Texas
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii BEN SASSE, Nebraska
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
ALEX PADILLA, California TOM COTTON, Arkansas
JON OSSOFF, Georgia JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
Joseph Zogby, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Kolan L. Davis, Republican Chief Counsel and Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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OCTOBER 5, 2021, 10:01 A.M.
STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Durbin, Hon. Richard J., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Illinois....................................................... 1
Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa. 3
Leahy, Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Vermont........................................................ 7
WITNESSES
Witness List..................................................... 33
Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, a U.S. Senator from the State of West
Virginia....................................................... 5
Ernst, Hon. Joni Ernst, a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa.... 4
Hyde-Smith, Hon. Cindy, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Mississippi.................................................... 8
Monaco, Lisa O., Deputy Attorney General, Department of Justice,
Washington, DC................................................. 9
prepared statement........................................... 34
QUESTIONS
Questions submitted to Lisa O. Monaco by:
Senator Whitehouse........................................... 44
Senator Kennedy.............................................. 45
Senator Tillis............................................... 46
ANSWERS
Responses of Lisa O. Monaco to questions submitted by:
Senator Whitehouse........................................... 50
Senator Kennedy.............................................. 52
Senator Tillis............................................... 47
MISCELLANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas Letter, October 12, 2021.......... 54
Letter from Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence..... 59
Office of the Attorney General, October 4, 2021.................. 67
Press Release on Justice Department Addresses Violent Threats
Against School Officials and Teachers.......................... 65
Statement from Day One........................................... 57
Statement of Senator Feinstein................................... 62
YWCA Statement................................................... 60
RENEWING AND STRENGTHENING
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
----------
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2021
United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m., in
Room 226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard J.
Durbin, Chair of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Durbin [presiding], Leahy, Whitehouse,
Klobuchar, Coons, Hirono, Padilla, Ossoff, Grassley, Cornyn,
Hawley, Cotton, and Tillis.
Also present: Senators Capito, Ernst, and Hyde-Smith.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD J. DURBIN,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
Chair Durbin. This hearing will come to order.
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing
on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a
game-changing bipartisan piece of legislation that has provided
lifesaving assistance to women across America for nearly three
decades.
I'd like to start things off with a video that provides an
overview of the legacy of this law.
[Video presentation.]
For more than 30 years, October has been recognized as
Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It's a reminder that all of
us have an obligation to stand up and support survivors of
sexual and domestic violence, many of whom had to nurse their
wounds, both physical and emotional, in silence. Over the past
18 months, many survivors have been forced into the most
vulnerable position of all, isolated at home with an abuser.
During this pandemic, nearly four in ten rape crisis
centers and nearly half of the YMCA's domestic violence
programs have reported an increase in demand for services.
Police departments throughout the country have also reported a
spike in arrest and calls related to domestic violence.
In my home State of Illinois, our domestic violence hotline
experienced a 16 percent increase in calls in 2020, sometimes
fielding 150 calls on a single day. A friend of mine and vocal
advocate for survivors of domestic violence, the late Sheila
Wellstone, used to say, and I quote her, ``I find it absolutely
intolerable to think that a woman's home can be the most
violent, most dangerous, and often times the most deadly place
she can be.'' This is unacceptable reality for far too many
women in America. That's why the Senate must, must reauthorize
and strengthen the law that for nearly 30 years has transformed
the way we address sexual and domestic violence in America, the
Violence Against Women Act.
In the years since it was first signed into law, VAWA, as
it's often referred to, has changed and even saved countless
lives. It has opened up new avenues of support and relief for
survivors including domestic abuse hotlines. It has helped
establish protocols for doctors, police officers, judges, and
others to spot the subtle signs of domestic violence and
provide help once they observe those signs. It has funded
resources that allow victims to escape abusive environments.
Unfortunately, in the last Congress, the Senate failed to
reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. While
appropriations to VAWA programs have continued, which is good
news, much needed efforts to improve the law stalled.
Thankfully, in this Congress, there is a strong bipartisan
commitment to join our colleagues in the House and pass VAWA of
2021.
Today, the Committee will have a chance to hear from the
junior senator from Iowa, Senator Ernst. She's been working
closely with Senator Feinstein and me to prepare the Senate's
own version of the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2021 for
introduction. Senator Ernst, thank you so much.
We'll also hear from Senators Leahy, Hyde-Smith, and
Capito. We're then going to have a chance to hear from the
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, a law enforcement leader
who has voiced strong support for this legislation as well. Had
a conversation on the phone last night with Lisa, and she
mentioned that she started her career on the Hill as an intern
in this Committee working on the original VAWA. It inspired her
to go to law school and to embark on a career of public service
which has been remarkable. Lisa, I'm glad you're back home
again.
I want to personally thank Senators Ernst and Feinstein for
their tireless effort. Senator Feinstein, because of a serious
illness in the family, could not join us this morning. She is
here in spirit, and we salute all of her leadership.
A number of our colleagues on this measure have included
Senator Leahy, who we expect to be here momentarily and make a
statement, and Senator Amy Klobuchar who has also been an
invaluable contributor to this effort. I'm grateful for the
shared commitment to produce a strong bipartisan bill.
In March, the House once again passed a VAWA
reauthorization with strong bipartisan support from the
indominable Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, House Judiciary
Committee Chair Nadler, and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. Like
the House-passed bill, our legislation will modernize and
improve this vital law, and it won't roll back the progress
that we've made.
This new version of Violence Against Women Act will not
only provide funding to organizations and resources that
support survivors, it will invest in critical prevention and
education. It will improve access to services for survivors in
rural areas and those who require culturally specific services.
It will enhance protections for Native American women and
children. It will help keep dangerous weapons out of the hands
of abusers, and it will provide survivors with the support they
need by expanding access to legal services and other crucial
programs.
Once we join the House in passing this legislation, we know
we're going to send it to the desk of a leader who is
sympathetic, not just sympathetic, but wildly supportive of
this measure, the man who originally sponsored the first
Violence Against Women Act, President Joe Biden.
I can think of no better way for us to do our part in
honoring Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I turn to Ranking
Member Grassley.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IOWA
Senator Grassley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I welcome
all the witnesses and guests to our hearing on VAWA today.
I supported enactment of the original VAWA Act that was in
1994 and have voted to reauthorize the grant programs
authorized by VAWA multiple times. When I wasn't able to
support a Democrat-led effort to reauthorize, I introduced my
own proposal that would have protected and enhanced the
program.
This year, I again led my colleagues in sending a letter to
the Senate Appropriators urging that Congress continue to
prioritize funding of the VAWA programs. In previous years,
when I sent similar letters to Appropriators, Senator Shelby
and Leahy, leaders of the Appropriators, were incredibly
responsive to my requests and supportive of these programs. I
want to thank them for working with me to champion the funding.
As a member of this Committee, I've made it a top priority
to champion related measures to expand the rights and services
for victims of intimate partner violence. This year, for
example, I joined a number of committee members in cosponsoring
legislation to ensure that the Crime Victims Fund will receive
an additional $1 billion in deposits each and every year.
Services to the victims and survivors of intimate partner
violence, sexual assault, and child abuse are accorded priority
funding under the Victims of Crime Act which created this
important fund.
In 2016 and again this year, I also worked closely with
young sexual survivor--assault survivor Amanda Nguyen and the
organization she founded on bills to enhance the right of
sexual violence survivors in criminal justice system.
In early 2018, I led this Committee's effort to press the
FBI for information in response to allegations of sexual abuse
lodged against Olympic athletes against their former team
doctor. I've been seeking justice for victims of Larry Nassar's
abuse, and I have some timely questions for DOJ who refused to
attend our hearing last month about accountability for those
who failed these victims.
As former Chairman of the Committee, I also worked closely
with Senator Feinstein on legislation to impose mandatory
reporting requirements on coaches and instructors who witness
abuse when working with young athletes.
I also sponsored and led this Committee in approving
legislation to renew and update the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act as many of the victims of sexual trafficking
also are victims of intimate partner violence. I worked with
Senator Cornyn on the Justice of Victims of Trafficking Act
shepherding it through this Committee in the Senate and led our
Committee in approving a measure sponsored by former Senator
Hatch to make more resources available for the victims of child
pornography.
Renewing and extending VAWA is our next priority, and
that's why we've concern--convened this hearing today. Before
we begin, I want to take this opportunity to mention now that
it's Domestic Violence Awareness Month, that it's important
that we adopt an extension of VAWA. A Senate-passed
reauthorization could include the language on which we've
reached consensus. And meanwhile, we could continue to engage
in negotiations on additional important reforms and updates of
VAWA.
I also want to recognize several of my Republican
colleagues who are not members of our Committee but have joined
us here to testify today. Senator Ernst, Hyde-Smith, Capito, I
thank you for being here, and I'd like to thank Ms. Monaco for
attending today's hearing on behalf of the Department of
Justice.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Grassley. Let me lay out the
mechanics of the hearing. We'll begin with a member panel, and
each Senator will have 3 minutes of opening statements. After
that, Deputy Attorney General Monaco will testify, and she will
have 5 minutes. We'll turn to questions from Senators, and each
Senator will have 5 minutes for questioning.
Before we begin, I also want to note again that Senator
Feinstein is unable to be here but has submitted a statement
from the record which will be included without objection.
[The information appears as a submission for the record.]
We are all on both sides of the aisle grateful for her
amazing leadership on this bill and hearing as Chair of the
Subcommittee on Humans Rights and the Law.
We'll first begin with a statement from Senator Ernst who I
mentioned earlier has worked closely with Senator Feinstein and
myself to get this bill introduced, enacted into law. We're
glad you're here today, Senator Ernst. Please proceed.
STATEMENT OF HON. JONI ERNST,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IOWA
Senator Ernst. Thank you very much, Chairman Durbin,
Ranking Member Grassley, Members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
The Violence Against Women Act is now over 25 years old. As
many of us are aware, this law provides desperately needed
resources to tackle domestic and sexual abuse in our
communities. As too often the case with programs like VAWA,
authorization has lapsed. Despite that reality, year after
year, VAWA programs continue to be funded by Congress.
I am a survivor myself. I know firsthand the paralyzing
fear that comes when someone you trust abuses you. You don't
have to be a survivor to understand just how awful violence
against women can be in terms of physical and mental well-
being, in terms of self-image, in terms of our families, and in
terms of the security of our society as a whole.
I wasn't in the Senate in 2013 the last time Congress
authorized VAWA. Since I've been here, I've had a vested
interest in being part of the process and getting this vitally
important bill modernized and reauthorized because I believe we
can always improve the Violence Against Women Act for our
survivors.
For months, I've worked closely with Chairman Durbin and
Senator Feinstein along with Senators Cornyn, Murkowski,
Klobuchar, and Ranking Member Grassley on a bipartisan bill
that would not only reauthorize VAWA but truly modernize it. We
are not there yet, but good things in the Senate often take
time. We will keep working until we come to a bill that won't
just be a talking point for one side or the other but a bill
that can pass the Senate and the House, become a law, and truly
deliver for my fellow survivors.
A modernized Violence Against Women Act that will pass the
Senate must present a renewed focus on rural survivors and
invest in proven programs that reduce violence. When you live
in an area like mine, rural Montgomery County, Iowa, with a
population of just over 10,000 people, the nearest shelter is
an hour away in Council Bluffs. We've got to fix that. We must
provide better resources for survivors in their own
communities. We must also extend critical housing protections
to rural communities allowing survivors protection and
security. It's a critical lifeline and a way out of these
abusive situations.
We also have to focus on successful efforts to prevent
sexual violence like the Rape Prevention and Education Program.
Instead of reacting to these horrific crimes, this program
works to prevent them from happening in the first place. Not
only that, we must ensure not just that survivors are empowered
but that offenders are punished.
My goal has always been to empower survivors, punish
abusers, and enhance the overall purpose behind this important
law. I will continue working with my Democratic partners, folks
on this Committee, and stakeholders to reach a bill that will
help prevent what happened to me from ever happening to another
woman.
It's a lofty goal, but why else are we here? Thank you very
much.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Ernst. I see Senator Hyde-
Smith has arrived. But Senator Capito, would you like to start
and then we'll recognize----
Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Durbin [continuing]. Your colleague.
STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Senator Capito. I appreciate Chairman Durbin, Ranking
Member Grassley for having this hearing today. I'm proud to be
here for this important hearing strengthening the Violence
Against Women Act or VAWA.
I'd like to begin by thanking all of the people that work
in this area across our country. This is tough work. It's so
important, and I want to make sure that and thanking our
survivors for their ability to fight back against this scourge.
Ending domestic violence and other VAWA-related crimes has
been a priority of mine since I became a Senator but also as a
Congresswoman. As a matter of fact, the first time I ever came
over to the Senate was to join with then Senator Biden to
celebrate one of the reauthorizations in the early 2000's.
I've also previously served as the chairman of the board of
a local organization that worked to combat domestic violence.
That's the YWCA in Charleston, West Virginia. This work would
not be possible without the funding and support that VAWA
provides and why it's critical that this bill be reauthorized.
I was told by a leader in West Virginia that these funds are a
lifeline to their work. As a member of the Appropriations
Committee, I'm proud that we've consistently championed and, in
many case, increased the amounts of money available for
services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in a
bipartisan fashion.
Now that the Office of Violence Against Women has announced
the most recent round of grant funding, I am a bit concerned
about how the Department of Justice is allocating some
resources. Senator Ernst alluded to this a bit. Specifically,
my State of West Virginia, while we have great challenges, we
are accorded--I want to make sure we are accorded sufficient
priority under existing statutory funding. As the only State
that lost population, the population-based metrics are not
helpful to meet those demands. One of my concerns, that VAWA
formulas may require updating to better reflect the needs of
our Nation's rural populations.
I'm also concerned about the plight of service providers
that are struggling to recover economically post-COVID. They
need our help now more than ever. I urge the Department of
Justice to update to the maximum extent possible its allocation
methods to better reflect the needs of rural and remote areas
where many victims have unique challenges to reporting these
crimes and seeking assistance.
VAWA reauthorization has historically been a bipartisan
effort as it had been discussed today, and I'm happy to see
many of my colleagues present with us today demonstrating that
willingness to work together to get survivors of domestic
violence the resources they need.
We can pass this bill which encompasses the provisions on
which already there is widespread bipartisan consensus. Doing
so would not end our conversation or our work on behalf of
victims and survivors because we know there are things we must
continually improve to meet the needs and challenges.
I would also like to thank Senators Feinstein and Ernst for
their dedicated--dedicated movement to get this passed. For
example, a few weeks ago or a few years ago, human trafficking
was not a great concern in my State. Sadly, now it is. In
addition to the challenges presented by COVID, we continue to
be overwhelmed by the impact of an opioid epidemic.
We are all here today with a shared goal because I've heard
from individuals and organizations that need our help. We can
provide that help. I'm ready to work together during Domestic
Violence Awareness Month and beyond to see this goal
accomplished so that we can continue to empower victims,
support our survivors, and protect families in every single one
of our states. Thank you.
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Senator Capito. Senator Leahy has
dispensed with his responsibilities on the floor of the Senate
and is able to join us, and he'll be followed by Cindy Hyde-
Smith, Senator from Mississippi.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT
Senator Leahy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I had to
open the Senate this morning and had a little bit of delay in
my replacement getting there. We're here, and I want to thank
you and Ranking Member Grassley for holding this hearing.
The Violence Against Women Act's been a bedrock of the
Federal Government's response to domestic violence and sexual
assault since it was enacted in 1994. As one who was here at
that time, I know that it's one of the most consequential
pieces of legislation within our Committee's jurisdiction. With
our evolving world, there came a need to not only reauthorize
the law but update and strengthen it as well.
In 2013, we passed a strong bipartisan Violence Against
Women Act reauthorization. I was Chairman of the Committee, and
it was a top priority of mine. I proudly partnered with Senator
Crapo, and we did just that. We put together a bipartisan bill
that's cosponsored by 62 senators. It passed the Senate
overwhelmingly with 78 votes. Some thought that we should water
it down to make it easier to pass. Senator Crapo and I stood
with the survivors and victim service professionals who called
for legislation to protect all victims regardless of their
immigration status, their sexual orientation, or their
membership in an Indian Tribe. Unfortunately, I am far less
satisfied with how the Senate's failed to reauthorize the
Violence Against Women Act since 2013.
Nearly 2 years have already passed since I joined my friend
Senator Feinstein in introducing the last reauthorization,
which also passed the House with a strong vote of Republicans
and Democrats. I'm glad that under the new Senate leadership we
seem to be working in a more diligent bipartisan matter, and
we're set to introducing a broadly supported Senate VAWA bill
very soon.
This is not about politics. It's about listening to
survivors and ensuring that those on the front lines working to
prevent domestic and sexual violence have all the tools we
need. There's incredible dangers and stressors with COVID.
As one who's gone to crime scenes when I was a prosecutor
and seen women who had been beaten to death and then we find
that this has been going on for some time but there's no place
to report it, nothing to do, now, that was nearly 50 years ago.
We can do a lot better, and we do. I still remember those--
every one of those scenes like it was yesterday. Social
distancing pushed many survivors living with their abusers
further into isolation during COVID.
Victim service providers are struggling to meet increasing
housing and economic needs. The programs that VAWA supports
make a real difference to these survivors and to their
families. We owe it to work with them and introduce a strong
bipartisan bill without delay.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you for the courtesy and letting me
go forward.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Leahy, for your leadership
over the years for this important legislation. Senator Hyde-
Smith.
STATEMENT OF HON. CINDY HYDE-SMITH,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Chairman Durbin and Ranking
Member Grassley. I certainly appreciate the opportunity to be
here today to speak for the women who are experiencing these
situations.
My concerns are a lot like Senator Capito's. As we consider
this reauthorization, I certainly want us to look at what I
feel like is an overlooked population, the survivors of
intimate partner violence who reside in rural areas. It's a lot
harder to get access to things. These are the particular
challenges faced by so many victims and survivors of domestic
violence in my State of Mississippi.
Before even making the decision to seek help, these
survivors, most often women, have to come--overcome cultural
norms which prioritize family privacy, which is very important
in rural areas, traditional gender roles, and keeping their
families together. When they do decide to get help, they'll
have to travel long distances to receive it and will have fewer
transportation options to get there in many instances.
By one account, more than 25 percent of the women in rural
settings reside at least 40 miles from the closest service
provider compared to less than 1 percent in rural--in urban
areas. Perhaps the most daunting, due to geographic isolation,
these survivors, they don't have the ability to remain
anonymous that they wish that they would have when they're
seeking their help and they're so concerned of what the
community would think of them.
All of us in Congress can agree that our goals should be to
ensure that these women in rural areas and indeed all victims
of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and stalking are protected,
and they receive the services that they need.
To this end, these programs are funded generously each and
every year by the Appropriations Committee, which I serve on.
Earlier this year, we also came together as a Chamber and
unanimously adopted a measure to significantly increase
deposits into the Crime Victims Fund. This cooperative
achievement will go a long way to sustaining the fund over
time, but we need to harness that same cooperative spirit now.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time when
we should come together to develop bipartisan relationships to
address this and have meaningful chances that this would be
signed into law by the President. We're not yet there, and
that's extremely frustrating. The other Chamber this year
passed a reauthorization bill that has little chance of
reaching 60 votes in this Chamber.
That bill is yet to overcome objectives from prosecutors
who fear it will limit their abilities to successfully pursue
repeat offenders of domestic violence. It is yet to address
concerns that it could destabilize some states' unemployment
systems. It has yet to address provisions that may reduce giant
grant eligibility for providers serving victims of elder abuse
or commercial sexual exploitation. Ironically, the bill's
gender identity provisions can make it more challenging for
grant recipients to best to serve the rape victims and sex
trafficking victims for whom they provide space to heal
emotionally and physically.
Therefore, I call on this Committee and Senate leadership
to adopt the reauthorization bill this month that embodies
language on which we agree, including a greater emphasis on
serving victims and rural areas. In the meantime, I believe we
should continue to work together in good faith to resolve the
remaining areas where we've yet to reach consensus. We need to
do it for the sake of survivors, of victims of domestic and
sexual violence everywhere.
Thank you for allowing me to be here to speak on such an
important issue. I certainly appreciate it.
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Senator Hyde-Smith. Senator
Capito, before you leave, I want to make a shameless plug for
our RISE from Trauma Act bill that you joined me in introducing
to effectively treat the root causes of violence by focusing on
the impact that exposure to trauma has on our children and
providing them the services they need to help heal. Thank you
so much for being cosponsor. Thank you for joining us this
morning.
We now are going to call before us, Lisa Monaco. Let me get
to the appropriate page here so I don't say the wrong thing at
this moment. As the witness table is being prepared, I welcome
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Before you sit down,
let's--let me administer the oath if I might.
[Witness is sworn in.]
Thank you very much. Note that the Deputy Attorney General
answered in the affirmative. She serves as the Justice
Department's second ranking official. She's responsible for the
overall supervision of the Department. In this role, Deputy
Attorney General Monaco advises and assists the Attorney
General in formulating and implementing the Department's
policies and programs. She was confirmed by the Senate with
bipartisan support in April, previously served as a career
Federal prosecutor and several leadership positions across the
Department, served as Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Advisor of President Obama. Born and raised in Massachusetts,
graduate of Harvard and the University of Chicago Law School.
Deputy General, please proceed.
STATEMENT OF HON. LISA O. MONACO,
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
WASHINGTON, DC
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman, Ranking Member Grassley, Members of the Committee.
I appreciate very much this opportunity to speak to you
today. The Violence Against Women Act has had an enormous
impact in combating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, and stalking. I'm here to urge Congress to reauthorize
and to strengthen it.
Before we get started though, Mr. Chairman, with your
indulgence, I would like to recognize several tragedies that
the Department of Justice has suffered in recent days.
Yesterday, in Tucson, Arizona, a DEA agent was shot and killed,
and a second DEA agent and a taskforce officer were shot and
wounded. Separately, last Friday, a Deputy U.S. Marshal
succumbed to injuries from a vehicle accident that occurred
while he was assisting with a law enforcement operation. These
sacrifices remind all of us of the risks law enforcement takes
every day to protect the communities that they serve. My
thoughts and prayers are with their families and the men and
the women of the DEA and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Grassley, the original passage
of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, as you have noted,
Mr. Chairman, had a major impact on my own life. At the time, I
was a young staff member on this Committee working for then
Chairman Biden. One of my responsibilities included responding
to letters from people who wrote to the Committee. Time and
again, I read firsthand accounts not only about the violence
that too many people, mostly women, suffered at the hands of
their intimate partners but also about the lack of
accountability for these crimes.
Statistics the Committee reported during that period
painted a very grim picture: 98 percent of rape victims never
saw their attacker caught, tried, and imprisoned meaning almost
all of the perpetrators of rape walked free. Fewer than half of
the people arrested for rape were convicted, and almost half of
convicted rapists could expect to serve only a year or less in
jail.
My conversations with individual survivors, rape crisis
centers, domestic violence shelters, emergency rooms and police
stations put a human face on those statistics. And that
experience led me to want to go to law school, Mr. Chairman. It
led me into public service, and it drew me to a career in law
enforcement and criminal justice.
With the passage of VAWA, I saw how a law could make a real
difference in people's lives, and I saw what Congress could
accomplish through thoughtful policy driven by courageous
voices, experts, and bipartisan leadership. Congress
reauthorized VAWA in 2000, 2005, 2013, each time with
bipartisan support. Over the years, we've made substantial
progress. The need for VAWA's programs and protections is as
critical as ever. I'd like to highlight just a few of the items
the Department of Justice sees as priorities for the
reauthorization bill.
First, reauthorizing VAWA's vitally important grant
programs at the $1 billion funding levels included in the
President's fiscal year 2022 request. This will ensure
communities can provide critical services to survivors as well
as the right tools and training to make sure that responses to
these crimes are survivor-centered and trauma-informed.
I'm pleased to announce today that the Office of Violence
Against Women has issued this year more than $476 million in
grants to help State, local, and Tribal organizations support
survivors as they heal, promote victim access to justice, and
train professionals to respond to domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Second, we need to find ways--new ways to reach and improve
services for underserved populations including culturally
specific communities.
Third, expanding the ability of Tribes to protect their
communities from domestic and sexual violence through expanded
jurisdiction.
Fourth, reducing homicides through Federal firearms laws
including by closing the so-called boyfriend loophole that
leaves countless victims at risk.
Before I take your questions, Mr. Chairman, I want to speak
to two recent issues that have received considerable national
attention and which I think underscore the continued importance
of VAWA.
The tragic murder of Gabby Petito has been at the forefront
of many people's minds. While I won't speak to the ongoing
investigation regarding her death, I am struck by two critical
lessons we should take away from the publicly reported
information, not just in this case, but in the thousands of
other cases that don't receive public attention.
First is the importance of the bystander's 911 call which
prompted law enforcement to respond to reports of violence
between Ms. Petito and her boyfriend.
The second, as we learned from watching the public video
footage of interviews conducted by those officers, is the vital
importance of having trained law enforcement who understand the
dynamics of domestic violence when responding to such
incidents.
We should not forget that Gabby Petito is not alone. There
are more than 89,000 missing persons' cases in this country.
Roughly 45 percent of them involve people of color including
too many missing and murdered indigenous persons. Gender-based
violence is too often a precursor to these cases. While these
cases often don't receive public attention, the Department of
Justice will continue its work to prevent these crimes and to
bring perpetrators to justice.
Finally, I want to recognize the many courageous women
athletes who have spoken out and testified on behalf of the
hundreds of survivors of Larry Nassar's horrific sexual abuse
and, most recently, the four brave women athletes who came
before this Committee last month.
I also want to thank this Committee for its work and that
of the Inspector General in bringing to light a system that
inexcusably failed them and the scores of other survivors. As
the Deputy Attorney General, as a lawyer, as a former FBI
official, and as a woman, I was outraged by the Inspector
General's findings, and I was horrified at the experiences
Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman
recounted in their powerful testimony.
I am deeply sorry that in this case the victims did not
receive the response or the protection that they deserved. I've
discussed with the FBI Director the full scope of the changes
he's instituting to ensure this never happens again. I've also
directed additional measures inside the Department of Justice
to ensure that where there is an ongoing threat, violence, or
abuse, especially when that involves vulnerable victims, that
our prosecutors understand that they have a duty to coordinate
with other local law enforcement partners to address it. I've
made clear that it is a priority of the Department of Justice
to provide victims and witnesses of crime the support that they
need.
My experience working on VAWA for this Committee many years
ago taught me a key principle that guides me still today. Our
government has a moral obligation to protect its citizens and,
when it falls short in that effort, we must listen to those who
we have let down to better understand where we can improve.
Survivors who come forward to report abuse must be met with
competent and compassionate professionals who have the
resources, training, and institutional support to do their
jobs. That's the promise of VAWA and one the Department of
Justice is committed to carrying out in our own organization
and in VAWA-funded programs and work throughout the country.
I appreciate the time and attention of the many Members of
Congress who have contributed to this important legislation,
many for decades. I look forward to continuing that work with
this Committee and to answering your questions today. Thank
you.
[The prepared statement of Deputy Attorney General Monaco
appears as a submission for the record.]
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Deputy Attorney General. It's been
my honor to serve on this Committee for over 20 years. Three
weeks ago, we heard, as you recounted, the incredibly
compelling and heartbreaking testimony from four survivors of
sexual violence who were abused by disgraced USA Gymnastics
team doctor Larry Nassar. The reaction across the Nation to
that testimony was incredible, resounding, powerful. The
American people want child predators like Larry Nassar and
anyone who aids in their crimes held accountable.
The Department of Justice has a special responsibility in
this regard. We had the Director of the FBI present during the
entire testimony of the gymnasts, and he testified later I
think making no excuses for what they experienced when they
finally summoned the courage to bring their grievance to the
proper legal authorities. The FBI failed them. Our government
failed them. We failed them. It was very clear.
In addition to managing millions of dollars in funds
earmarked for survivors of abuse, the Department of Justice
overseas individual prosecutions of predators and their
abettors. Many people, including myself and my colleagues, and
the gymnasts who testified expressed shock and dissatisfaction
with the Department's decision to decline prosecution of the
FBI agents who not only mishandled the Nassar investigation but
clearly lied to the Inspector General's Office. People who are
charged with the crime of lying to the Government are held
accountable and some are in prison for the very acts which
appear to have taken place here. Yet the decision not to
prosecute is one which most of us clearly don't understand.
What is your response to the criticism over the
Department's decision not to prosecute these FBI agents? If the
Department is committed to bringing justice to survivors of
sexual violence, what is your plan to better demonstrate that
commitment going forward?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First, let me reiterate. The survivors who testified so bravely
last month deserved better than they got from the FBI and from
the Justice Department. The IG documented inexcusable,
unacceptable failures, some of them quite fundamental failures,
a lack of urgency, a lack of care for the victims who we have a
duty to protect. It is a core mission of the Department to
protect those victims. As you know, the FBI Director testified
about a number of measures he's putting in place from
strengthened policy, strengthened training, mandatory reporting
when such abuse comes to light in the future. I've also put in
place the measures I referenced in my opening statement.
With regard to the understandable interest and frustration
with regard to the Department's long-standing policy to protect
appropriate decision-making and not commenting on declination
decisions, I can inform the Committee today that the recently
confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
is currently reviewing this matter, including new information
that has come to light.
In light of that review, I think you'll understand, Mr.
Chairman, that I am constrained in what more I can say about
it. I do want the Committee and, frankly, I want the survivors
to understand how exceptionally seriously we take this issue
and believe that this deserves a thorough and full review.
Chair Durbin. I might ask you this. Is there any sense of
urgency or timetable to this new criminal review about the
wrongdoing by the FBI agents?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. We take exceptionally
seriously our duty to protect victims. Yes. I think you can be
assured there is a sense of urgency and gravity with the work
that needs to be done.
Chair Durbin. I'd like to ask you about one other issue in
the remaining minute. I mentioned while she was still here that
Senator Capito and I have cosponsored legislation, the RISE
from Trauma Act. When you read the statistics of the number not
only of spouses but children of those spouses who are either
victims of violence or exposed to violence in their lifetime,
it is a showstopper.
As a parent, you think back on the experiences of your own
youth and those memorable events. Hopefully, God willing, they
are positive memories. In many cases, they're not. There's a
scar on the souls and minds of these children that has to be
addressed or we see terrible outcomes.
We're going through a spate of gun violence across America
and in the city of Chicago, which I dearly love, which is just
incredible. You wonder who are these kids that get so mixed up
with the gangs and turn to guns and violence, the fight or
flight syndrome, and everything that follows. What can you tell
me about your announcement this morning, the additional
resources that are going toward the issue of dealing with
trauma?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Mr. Chairman, as you know,
one of the founding principles of the Violence Against Women
Act when it was first enacted in 1994 and continuing on for 25
years has been to ensure that prosecutors, court systems,
victim advocates on all who encounter children who were exposed
to violence in the home, victims themselves of domestic
violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, to ensure
that when they encounter the system in all of its myriad forms
that those individuals receive, the service that they are due,
meaning that service providers, the prosecutors, the judges
have been trained to understand the unique experience that a
survivor of domestic violence or children exposed to violence
in the home, what that trauma is like and how that should
impact their movement, if you will, and what they get in the
system. They shouldn't be retraumatized, Mr. Chairman, by
coming forward and by seeking to hold their perpetrator
accountable.
Chair Durbin. I've gone over my time, and I'm sorry. Just
to close by saying but resources have to be available for
analysis, for counseling, for remediation, for mentorship to
put these--give these kids a second chance. Otherwise, I'm
sorry to say the results are going to be terrible. I'm glad to
work with you and the Attorney General and the President in
that issue. Senator Grassley.
Senator Grassley. Yes. Before I start my questions, I want
to emphasize what's been said here. You've already responded to
it as positively and updated as you could about reconsidering
prosecution of these people that weren't doing their job and
taking action appropriate. I sent a letter to Attorney General
Garland along the same line the very same day I think that we
had this hearing.
To my first question, it starts out with the fact that
VAWA's passed the House of Representatives. On that bill,
certain prosecutor groups have flagged for us something
concerning with that. The business community has raised
questions about unemployment benefits that are in that program
can undermine the stability of the unemployment system. I hope
that we can reach at a bipartisan agreement to move a bill
forward. Short of that, I hope we can continue to do what we've
done to reauthorize VAWA because it's a very important program
that must be continued.
My question is based on the fact that I believe 90 to 95
percent of what's on the table in regard to VAWA is agreed to.
Then there's certain outstanding things. Is the Department
supportive of ensuring that the existing VAWA programs are
extended, for example, through the end of the year so that the
bipartisan negotiations can continue on a longer-term
reauthorization message?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Mr. Ranking Member, first,
I want to thank you for your support in the past of the
reauthorization of VAWA and the exceptionally important
provisions not only the--the major funding and the formula
grant programs and important grant programs that provide
services to victims but also the rural grant programs which I
know is exceptionally important to you.
I thank you for your work and your support in the past, and
we look forward to continuing to work with you and the other
bipartisan Senators who were before. I think it's very
important that we move urgently to reauthorize the Violence
Against Women Act. Of course, we are grateful that Congress--
when the Violence Against Women Act lapsed, that the funding
programs were continued to be funded because they, as we know,
provide urgent services.
As Senator Ernst and others said, it is very important that
we strengthen, improve, and indeed modernize the Violence
Against Women Act. We stand ready to work with you, Senator,
and others to make sure we can get that done.
Senator Grassley. Okay. Some years ago, this Committee
approved the Survivors' Bill of Rights for Sexual Assault. This
year, I'm working with colleagues on related legislation that
would provide states with additional funding under the STOP
Formula Grant Program authorized by VAWA. If they adopt
legislation to implement these same rights at the State level,
I remain concerned however that only a minority of sexual
assault victims come forward and report the crime. Other than
adopting the Survivors' Bill of Rights, what additional steps
might Federal, State, local authorities take to encourage more
victims of sexual assault to report the crime and cooperate in
its investigation?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. First, Senator, thank you
for your leadership on ensuring survivors, regardless whether
in the State system or the Federal system, receive the services
and the rights that they deserve. I think the simple answer to
your question, Senator, is reauthorization of VAWA, and it is
as the levels that the President has sought because that will
expand the much needed, indeed urgently needed, services.
I spent some time with a number of advocates last week, and
I heard from them that frankly, and unfortunately, the demand
for services is far outpacing the availability of those
services. We have waiting lines at places like rape trauma and
rape crisis centers, critical rape crisis centers that VAWA
funds. I think the simple answer, Senator, is reauthorization
and the increased funding that the President is seeking.
Senator Grassley. Okay. My last question will have to be
about the Federal courts having authority to award restitution
for certain losses incurred by victims of crime in Federal
cases, and the Governmental--Government Accountability Office
recommended several years ago that the Department of Justice
implement performance measures and goals for the collection of
restitution. To what extent has DOJ implemented those reforms,
and what can you tell us about the subject?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, I'll have to go
back and look at that specific report and our responses,
although I know that we take very seriously reports from
whether it's the GAO or the IG and particularly when it comes
to stewardship of Federal dollars.
Senator Grassley. Could you respond to that in writing
then?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I'd be happy to, sir.
Senator Grassley. Okay. Thank you.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Grassley. Senator Leahy.
Senator Leahy. Thank you, Chairman. Deputy Attorney
General, it's great to see you here. I've had the pleasure
working with you over the years. You talked about being a
junior staff member here. You were a very vital staff member
right from day one, and I appreciate----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you.
Senator Leahy [continuing]. You being here on this. I can't
think of anybody better to be talking about Violence Against
Women Act. It's one of the most consequential pieces of
legislation within our Committee's jurisdiction unfortunately
last time successfully reauthorized in 2013. I was glad in that
one when Senator Crapo and I brought the bill through. We had
students, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, those in Tribal lands,
and it passed overwhelmingly.
Those--those of us who, our days as prosecutors, saw what
happened in violence against women, not a statistic but
actually saw the victims and talked with the victims, those who
were still alive and could talk. I'm glad you're here. I think
you would agree that it's important to not only reauthorize but
improve and strengthen the law. Would you agree with that?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I do, Senator.
Senator Leahy. I--you know, I think back often to my own
experience. Many of us have experience as prosecutors. We see
the impacts of domestic and sexual violence on individuals, on
their communities. We also know that one size doesn't fit all
in the criminal justice system. I've been looking at things
like restorative justice principles and practices. Maybe they
can help. Those empower survivors to have a voice in shaping
the response to harm. It gives them and the communities an
opportunity to make sure that those who cause the harm be
accountable for their actions.
I've been working with your Justice Department to establish
the federally backed National Center on Restorative Justice.
I'm familiar with it because it's housed within the Vermont Law
School. The Center receives initial funding from the Office of
Justice Programs, received another Justice Department grant
earlier this year to continue. I appreciate that. Both the
House of Representatives and the White House have expressed
support for continuing and expanding it as needed.
My--a long way round to come to the question. We have to
reauthorize. We have to improve the existing law. I think
utilizing restorative justice approaches is one of those
necessary improvements. Deputy Attorney General Monaco, we're
working to put finalized restorative justice language within
the Senate VAWA legislation. Will you support exploring
restorative justice as another approach to reducing domestic
and sexual violence in our communities?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Yes, Senator. Just to give
you a sense of my thinking on this, I start from the premise
that the original Violence Against Women Act at its core was
about improving responses as we've talked about, improving
responses to domestic violence, dating violence, stalking,
sexual assault, and improving the response of law enforcement
and the courts.
It had been treated as a private matter, and we had to
innovate. We had to change our thinking. As has been noted
before earlier this morning, the hallmark of reauthorizations
of VAWA in the past has been filling gaps and innovating and
improving and modernizing our services.
What I have heard from advocates and from experts is that
some survivors are reticent to seek help from the criminal
justice system. They need other options. I think those options
need to be evidence-based. They need to be voluntary. I think a
hallmark of violence against women in the past and in the
future ought to be being willing to study and innovate and be
responsive to what we're seeing on the ground.
Yes, Senator. I'm very pleased that OJP and the Bureau of
Justice Assistance has been able to fund the Restorative
Justice Center you mentioned in Vermont.
Senator Leahy. I appreciate that. I have a feeling that at
least the Senate Appropriations Committee will make sure the
money is there that you may need on this.
I--and just--and you alluded to this. I'll close with this.
I think back and with a distressed memory on a number of cases
when I was a prosecutor when a victim of violence against women
sometimes is no longer alive and come forward, we find this had
been going on for some time. That person never felt they had a
place they could go to report it. I have often said I was
distressed in my office of the State attorney to hear about it
for the first time as we're ordering the autopsy. Thank you.
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Senator Leahy. Senator Cornyn.
Senator Cornyn. Deputy Attorney General Monaco, thank you
for being here today.
I'm actually a little surprised to see you given the fact
that you refused to attend the hearing where the heinous
conduct of Larry Nassar was exposed again and where even the
FBI Director personally apologized saying he was deeply and
profoundly sorry to the victims of these repeated sexual
assaults while they were Olympic athletes.
Let me just ask you to respond to a statement that was
reported in The Hill. This is by one of the witnesses there,
former U.S. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman. She attended a news
conference that Senator Blumenthal and Senator Grassley held.
As you know, Senator Blumenthal, Senator Feinstein had both
written a letter to you and the Attorney General asking serious
questions, asking for you to appear at the hearing that we held
3 weeks ago.
Ms. Raisman, one of the victims of repeated sexual assault
by the Olympic team doctor, said, ``The message by them not
showing up sends that child abuse doesn't matter.'' She's
talking about the Department of Justice, talking about you. ``I
think it's completely shocking and disturbing that they didn't
think it was important.'' What's your response?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, I think that the
women who came and testified here last month are exceptionally
brave. Their voices were powerful. Their voices----
Senator Cornyn. They're talking about you not showing up.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I----
Senator Cornyn. That that was essentially a disrespectful
act which did not view the allegations that they have made
against Mr. Nassar as sufficiently significant for the
Department of Justice to actually show up for the hearing.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I am deeply and profoundly
sorry for the fact that the victims and courageous survivors,
both the women who testified last month, and the scores--
unfortunately, scores of other survivors of Larry Nassar did
not receive----
Senator Cornyn. Why didn't you or the Attorney General show
up at the hearing?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, I think the
Committee--and I thank the Committee for its work--was able to
hear from Director Wray and the Inspector General.
Senator Cornyn. Don't you know that you----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I also----
Senator Cornyn [continuing]. Demonstrated profound
disrespect for these victims of sexual assault by your refusal
to respond to Senator Blumenthal, Senator Feinstein's letter or
to even show and express your personal apology as the public
official responsible for supervising the FBI at the Department
of Justice. Don't you think you showed them disrespect by
refusal to show?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I mean no disrespect,
Senator. I am here to answer whatever questions the Committee
has with regard to the steps the Department is taking to ensure
that the failures, the inexcusable failures, fundamental
failures, do not happen again. I welcome the Committee's
questions here today on that subject.
Senator Cornyn. You're about 3 weeks too late by my count.
A lot of the initial failures of the FBI occurred in 2015.
We're now in 2021. Despite the Department of Justice's refusal
to act on the criminal referral by the Inspector General, now
you tell us 6 years later that the Department of Justice is
reviewing new information and has a sense of urgency and
gravity over these--over these potential criminal prosecutions.
You know, I've been in Washington long enough to know
there's a difference between what people say and what they do.
When you're talking about a 6-year delay between the time that
the outcry of these victims of sexual assault is made and 6-
year delay between then and now, it's pretty hard to understand
or to believe that there is any sense of urgency or gravity on
the part of the Department of Justice.
What is the statute of limitations for lying to the FBI or
from some of the other potential criminal activities that have
been charged by the Inspector General in this case?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I believe the statute of
limitations, want to confirm for 1001 which I think is the
statute we're referencing, is 5 years.
Senator Cornyn. Here we are 6 years later. Isn't it likely
that any criminal charges for lying to the FBI would be barred
by the statute of limitations?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator--Senator Cornyn, I
really don't want to get into the specifics about what legal
theories could be pursued, what evidence may----
Senator Cornyn. No. I'm asking----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco [continuing]. Be pursued.
Senator Cornyn [continuing]. About the statute of
limitations. You said it's 5 years for lying to the FBI. Here
we are 6 years later, and the Department of Justice has done
nothing. You have the audacity to tell us that you are
experiencing a sense of urgency and gravity over this. It's
simply not credible.
Chair Durbin. Senator Whitehouse.
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you. Welcome, Ms. Monaco. Good to
have you back in the Committee again.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Whitehouse. We had another exceptionally brave and
powerful witness with allegations of sexual assault in this
Committee before the Olympic athletes, and that was Dr.
Christine Blasey Ford. In response to that testimony, the
Republicans hired a prosecutor to try to punch holes in her
testimony. When that failed, it appears that the FBI tanked the
background investigation.
Just for starters, is there any reason that sexual assault
allegations should be taken less seriously in the context of a
background investigation than in the context of a criminal
investigation?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Sexual assault allegations
should always be taken seriously, Senator.
Senator Whitehouse. Let me thank you for the trickle of
information that has begun to flow about the FBI's conduct in
that matter. As you know, Director Wray maintained a complete
stone wall on information about that investigation during the
Trump administration while at the same time maintaining a fast
lane for FBI information related to the Crossfire Hurricane
investigation. Why there should be two different gates at the
FBI for information related to these two investigations is
something that we'd like to try to understand further, and I'll
hope you'll continue to cooperate in extracting from the FBI
the information that we need to understand what took place.
Will you?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. We will, Senator. I'm
pleased that the FBI's responded to, I think, your most recent
letter on this matter, has offered a briefing on the matter,
and you have my commitment. We will continue to make sure that
we do our very best to answer your questions.
Senator Whitehouse. More generally, I have a letter that
I'd like to put into the record, Mr. Chairman, from----
Chair Durbin. Without objection.
[The information appears as a submission for the record.]
Senator Whitehouse. It's been anonymized, which I think is
appropriate from a victim of domestic violence, related to her
experience with the Rhode Island group called Sojourner House,
which among its other services provides transitional housing so
that the victim of violence can go and find a place to live
while she or he works through all the changes in their lives
that dealing with that violence threat requires. I'd like to
put that in the record without objection.
Chair Durbin. Without objection.
Senator Whitehouse. Relatedly, years ago, the last time I
guess we reauthorized the VAWA Act, we got my SMART Prevention
Act into it which provides funding to help kids, right? The
woman is often the direct victim of domestic violence. A child
witnessing that violence has been through a terrible ordeal
also that can affect them for a long time.
Could you speak please to the role of housing in providing
adequate support for victims of domestic violence and the
support that children, particularly very young children, need
when they may not be the subject of the violence itself, but
they are nevertheless witness to it and traumatized by that
experience in their family?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Senator. I'm
glad you highlighted this issue, because I think too often it's
overlooked, the ripple effect from domestic violence. As you
rightly point out, the woman is often the direct victim, but it
does ripple out. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable, the
children, are often in that wake and feeling those effects as
acutely as the primary victim.
Toward that end, the Violence Against Women Act and its
transitional housing program funds much needed, frankly, refuge
for people fleeing domestic violence and violent situations. I
think the latest figure I saw, Senator, is some two million
housing nights a year that the Violence Against Women Act's
transitional housing program funds through its grant
recipients. The President's budget request seeks additional
funding, an increase in that. It's much needed.
As I said, I've heard directly from advocates in the last
week just how much demand is outpacing supply. I think you've
hit on a very critical issue, and I look forward to working
with the Members of this Committee to really making sure we
address that issue of transitional housing and having a refuge
for women and their children who are too often in the line of
fire so to speak when it comes to domestic violence.
Senator Whitehouse. Last point in my 15 seconds remaining.
The--I hope the administration will support the proposed
increase in the SMART Prevention funding related to child
witnesses of domestic violence from 15 million to 45 million
dollars. It's a bit hard when we're talking about 2 trillion
here and 3.5 trillion there to imagine that for this
population, we're at 15 million. I hope the administration will
support increasing that.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Whitehouse. Senator Hawley.
Senator Hawley. Mr. Chairman, I'll let Senator Cotton go
next. He was here before me.
Chair Durbin. Senator Cotton.
Senator Cotton. Ms. Monaco, last week, the National School
Board Association wrote to President Biden asking the
administration to bring the full force and weight of the Feds
down onto parents who are protesting various school policies at
school board meetings including the indoctrination of children
with an anti-American doctrine known as Critical Race Theory or
protesting the requirement that children as young as two be
required to wear masks. I think we can all agree that violence
is not an acceptable form of political protest and violence can
never be used to achieve policy or political goals.
That's not what the School Board Association letter focuses
on. In fact, in one example of what the association thinks
warrants Federal criminal charges, they cite--and this is a
direct quote--``An individual who prompted a school board to
call a recess because of opposition to Critical Race Theory.''
A recess.
The association is asking the administration to use the
Patriot Act, a law that this Congress passed and has repeatedly
reauthorized primarily to stop the threat of Islamic jihadists,
to bring criminal charges for domestic terrorism against
parents who attend school boards to oppose things like Critical
Race Theory or mask mandates resulting in a recess being
called.
Ms. Monaco, is it domestic extremism for a parent to
advocate for their child's best interests?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, as you readily
point out that violence is not the answer. There can be very
spirited public debate, and there should be very spirited
public debate on a whole host of issues. When that tips over
into violence or threats, there is a role for law enforcement.
Senator Cotton. Ms. Monaco, I'm sorry. My time is limited
here. I asked a simple yes or no question, and I have several
of them that I want to ask. I'd like a yes or no answer. Is it
domestic extremism for a parent to advocate for their child's
best interests?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I think the--what you have
described, no, I would not describe as domestic extremism.
Senator Cotton. Is it domestic extremism for a parent to
want to have a say in what their child is taught at school?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I think it's important--
although obviously not my field in the Justice Department to
opine on education policy, it's important for parents' voices
to be heard. Senator, I want to talk about what the Attorney
General did do in response to that.
Senator Cotton. I want to go to----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. The issue of threats----
Senator Cotton. Ms. Monaco, I want to go through my
question. I grant you that no one should ever threaten violence
or use violence to try to achieve political or policy goals.
They shouldn't, for instance, follow Democratic Senators into
the bathroom violating State laws. No one should ever use
threats of violence or violence to achieve political goals. I'm
asking very simple questions here and trying to get the bottom
of what was on the Attorney General's mind or the Department's
mind. Is it domestic extremism for parents to oppose their
children being taught to treat people differently because of
race?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. The Justice Departments'
job, Senator, is to apply facts to law, not to opine on letters
that are put forward or--you know, I think it's very important
for the Justice Department to----
Senator Cotton. Ms. Monaco, it's a fact that the School
Board Association just sent this letter to President Biden.
Then conveniently the Attorney General released his letter
yesterday describing his series of measures to confront this
grave and growing threat of parents protesting their kids being
indoctrinated and the school board having to call recess. Is
there any connection between those two things?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I want to be very clear. In
the memorandum that's publicly available the Attorney General
issued, it talks about the importance of bringing Federal,
State, local law enforcement to make sure that there is
awareness of how to report threats that may occur and to ensure
that there is an open line of communication to address threats,
to address violence, and to address law enforcement issues in
that context, which is the job of the Justice Department,
nothing more.
Senator Cotton. The United States just saw the largest
single-year increase in murders on record. Has the Attorney
General issued a memorandum describing a special series of
measures that the Department of Justice should take to try to
address this record increase in murders?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Yes, indeed, Senator. In
fact, I issued a directive to the field----
Senator Cotton. You did?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco [continuing]. Earlier this
year----
Senator Cotton. Has the Attorney General?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. It was on behalf of the
Attorney General and the rest of the leadership of the Justice
Department to address the alarming rise in violent crime and to
lay out a strategy for violent crime reduction, which includes
going after and using Federal resources to target the most
violent offenders including those operating with guns,
including those responsible for murders and violence in our
communities.
Absolutely. We take the alarming rise in violent crime
exceptionally seriously. Indeed, I've heard from the many hours
I have spent with law enforcement leaders across this country
how urgently they feel it is to address this rise in violent
crime. We are working every day----
Senator Cotton. Sorry, Ms. Monaco. My time is almost----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco [continuing]. To address
that challenge.
Senator Cotton [continuing]. Up. I just want to finish with
one final question. Did anyone at the FBI express disagreement
or any reticence at all about investigating disagreements
between parents and school boards over curriculums and school
policies?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I don't understand that to
have been the--absolutely it was not the subject of the
Attorney General's memorandum. The answer to your question is
no.
Senator Cotton. Nobody at the FBI expressed any reticence?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I'm sorry, Senator. If you
are asking me what was the response to the Attorney General's
memorandum, I've heard no reticence, no concern. The job of
U.S. Attorneys and FBI special agents in charge to be conveners
in their community, to address violent issues in their
community, is the core job of the Justice Department.
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Senator Cotton. Senator Klobuchar,
prior to your arrival, we said good things about you and your
work on VAWA.
Senator Klobuchar. Better than bad things. Thank you very
much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for your leadership. I apologize
for being late. We're having a incredible hearing over in the
Commerce--Commerce Committee on the whistleblower's allegations
and statements about Facebook.
I was thinking as I sat there despite all of the hearings
that we've had in this Committee, it may be that one person is
going to be the catalyst to finally passing bills not just in
the privacy area which she herself said isn't enough but in
transparency for algorithms and also consolidation which was
specifically mentioned with the dominant platforms.
Ms. Monaco, I know we're going to have a confirmation
hearing on your new nominee for antitrust. I only lead with
that because the violent content is part of this story as well.
I would start with the fact that this has always been a
bipartisan reauthorization so many times in the past. This bill
is so important. In your view, has the pandemic where we saw in
my own State intimate partner violence rose for more than 40
percent--rose more than 40 percent in 2020. Has the pandemic
increased the urgency to reauthorize VAWA?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Absolutely. It has,
Senator. I have been remarking this morning on my discussions
with advocates and service providers, the people on the ground
doing the work that is so urgently funded by the Violence
Against Women Act. They have told me that the demand for
services is outpacing the ability to provide those services.
It's only become more so as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
which stands to reason. People are at home and really with
their abuser in many respects. That is a horrible situation
that we need to rectify.
Senator Klobuchar. Okay. For many years, I've worked with
Senator Cornyn on the Abby Honold Act, something that Senator
Franken was originally involved in introducing. This bill would
encourage law enforcement's use of trauma-informed techniques
when responding to sexual assault crimes to avoid
retraumatizing the victim. Can you speak to why it's important
that law enforcement uses these types of techniques? This bill
was actually included in the House-passed reauthorization of
VAWA.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Senator. Thank
you for your leadership on that issue. It is such an
exceptionally important part of the Violence Against Women Act
and our approach to these issues understanding from the
survivors' perspective what they are going through when they
are interviewed by law enforcement, when they interact with the
court system, when they go to get their medical exam as a
result of a sexual assault that they have suffered, making sure
that at every step along the way the individuals they are
encountering understand the trauma that the victim and survivor
has encountered so that they can take appropriate steps, so
they can recognize and have their services be, as we say,
trauma-informed where the victim's experience is at the center
of the training that service providers provide.
Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. I'm going to--I want to move
on----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Please.
Senator Klobuchar [continuing]. To something really
important to me, and that is the fact that every year more than
600 American women are killed with a gun by intimate partners
and half of the women killed by intimate partners are killed by
dating partners. Under--when Senator Leahy was chairing this
Committee, we had a hearing on what's called the ``boyfriend
loophole'', which always sounds too positive to me actually for
what it means.
A conservative witness--actually, all the Republican
witnesses, I remember Senator Grassley being at this hearing as
well, supported changing this situation. The--they said,
``Dangerous boyfriends can be just as scary,'' the sheriff from
Racine County, Wisconsin said, ``as dangerous husbands. They
hit just as hard, and they fire their guns with the same deadly
force.'' Yet Federal law only prohibits domestic abusers from
buying a gun if they are currently or formerly married, if they
have ever lived together, if they had a child with the victim.
Do you agree that we should update the law--and I know you
addressed this earlier--in order to protect dating partners in
the same way we protect married partners?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Absolutely, Senator. The
danger and the violence and the risk to the women who are
suffering and who are killed--we know that women are more
likely to be killed if the abuser has a gun. It's no different
if that abuser is in a dating relationship than if they are a
spouse.
Senator Klobuchar. I also note when the Congress first took
action to prohibit convicted domestic abusers--this was on a
bipartisan basis--from buying or owning a gun, the restriction
applied to people who, of course, already had convictions on
the books. They didn't wipe the slate clean. Do you agree that
fully addressing the threat means that abusive dating partners
with prior domestic violence convictions should be prohibited
from buying a gun? That's what in the bill now, the bill that
by the way passed the House with dozens of Republican votes.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I think it's exceptionally
important that we address this loophole. The individuals, as
you said, are people who would be affected by this, are people
who have been adjudicated, who have been convicted and found to
be a threat by a court. That's the issue that we have to
address and--because failure to close this loophole is
resulting in too many women dying.
Senator Klobuchar. Really appreciate your leadership and
your testimony today. Thank you very much.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Senator.
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Senator Hawley.
Senator Hawley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Monaco, I want
to come back to this extraordinary letter and memorandum that
the Attorney General of the United States issued yesterday.
Practically every day brings new reports about this
administration weaponizing the Federal bureaucracy to go after
political opponents. Frankly, I don't think we've seen anything
like it in American history. I mean, for those of us who missed
the McCarthy era, I guess this President is intent on bringing
it to us but with new force and new power and new urgency
unlike anything we've ever seen.
Are you aware of any time in American history when an
attorney general has directed the FBI to begin to intervene in
school board meetings? Local school board meetings?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I'm not aware, and I'm not
aware that that--and that is not going on. Let me be very, very
clear.
Senator Hawley. Really? This isn't about local school board
meetings? That's not the subject of the memorandum. I thought
that was in the memorandum.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. The memorandum is quite
clear. It's one page, and it asks the U.S. Attorney community
and the FBI special agents in charge to convene State and local
law enforcement partners to ensure that there's an open line of
communication to address threats, to address violence, and
that's the appropriate role of the Department of Justice to
make sure that we are addressing criminal conduct and violence.
Senator Hawley. At local school board meetings. Let me just
ask you this. Is parents waiting sometimes for hours, to speak
at a local school board meeting to express concerns about
Critical Race Theory or the masking of their students,
particularly young children, is that in and of itself--is that
harassment and intimidation? Is waiting to express one's view
at a school board meeting harassment and intimidation?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. As the Attorney General's
memorandum made quite clear, spirited debate is welcome, is a
hallmark of this country. It's something we all should engage
in and be free to engage in.
Senator Hawley. No. I don't think so, Ms. Monaco. With all
due respect, it didn't make it quite clear. It doesn't define
those terms, nor does it define harassment or intimidation. It
talks about violence. I think we can agree that violence
shouldn't be condoned or looked aside from in any way swept
under the rug at all. Harassment and intimidation, what do
those terms mean in the context of a local school board
meeting?
I mean, this seems to--in the First Amendment context, we
talk about the ``chill,'' the ``chill to speech.'' If this
isn't a deliberate attempt to chill parents from showing up at
school board meetings for their elected school boards, I don't
know what is. I mean, I'm not aware of anything like this in
American history. We're talking about the FBI. You're using the
FBI to intervene in school board meetings. That's
extraordinary.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, I have to
respectfully disagree. That is not what----
Senator Hawley. Point me to an instance.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. The--the Attorney General's
memorandum made quite clear that violence is not appropriate.
Spirited public debate on a whole range of issues is absolutely
what this country is all about. If----
Senator Hawley. Then why is it being investigated by the
FBI?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. When and if--it is not.
When and if any situation turns to violence, then that is the
appropriate role of law enforcement to address it. What----
Senator Hawley. The memorandum covers more than violence.
It talks about intimidation. It talks about harassment. I'm
asking you to draw some lines. We do this all the time in the
First Amendment context. This is the sum and substance of First
Amendment law, so I expect that you'll be available and willing
to do it now.
Tell me where the line is with parents expressing their
concerns, waiting for hours in these school board meetings.
We've all seen the videos. This happened to my State. Parents
have waited for hours. Sometimes the school board meetings had
been ended before they can speak because the school board
doesn't want to hear it. Now, parents are told that if they
wait and they express their views that they may be investigated
for intimidation?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I don't know who's telling
them that, Senator. The job of the Justice Department is to
investigate crimes when a situation turns to violent--when and
if a situation turns to violence, it's the job of the Justice
Department and local law enforcement to address that.
The Attorney General's memorandum simply asked the U.S.
Attorney community, the FBI, and their counterparts to ensure
that State and local law enforcement has an open line of
communication to report threats, whether they happen in the
context of election officials being threatened, whether they
happen in the context of Members of Congress being threatened,
which the FBI responds to on a regular basis as is appropriate.
The job of the Justice Department is to address criminal
conduct.
Senator Hawley. You know, all I can say is this is truly
extraordinary. I think you know it is. It's unprecedented. You
can't point to a single instance where anything like this has
happened before.
I think parents across this country are going to be stunned
to learn, stunned, that if they show up at a local school board
meeting, by the way, where they have the right to appear and be
heard, where they have the right to say something about their
children's education, where they have the right to vote. You
are attempting to intimidate them. You are attempting to
silence them. You are attempting to interfere with their rights
as parents, and, yes, with their rights as voters.
This is wrong. This is dangerous, and I cannot believe that
an Attorney General of the United States is engaging in this
kind of conduct. Frankly, I can't believe that you are sitting
here today defending it. I intend to get answers to these
questions. You won't answer my questions. I'm going to get
answers to these questions.
Mr. Chairman, we need to have a hearing on this subject. We
need to hear from the Attorney General himself. He needs to
come here, take the oath, sit there, and answer questions. We
have never seen anything like this before in our country's
history. Frankly, I want to say I think it is a dangerous,
dangerous precedent.
Chair Durbin. This hearing on Violence Against Women Act
will continue. Senator Coons.
Senator Coons. Thank you, Chairman Durbin. Great to be with
you, Deputy Attorney General Monaco, and I appreciate your
appearing before us on a hearing that is about the
reauthorization and strengthening of the Violence Against Women
Act, a tremendously positive and important law that you helped
shape when it was first brought forward by then Senator Biden
in this Committee.
It's one of the most important pieces of legislation
Congress has passed in recent memory. It's improved and
protected the lives of millions of Americans and transformed
the way that our country and law enforcement advocates, victims
think about and respond to domestic violence.
It's also in my view a testament to President Biden's
vision and character, someone who has always had an intense
opposition to those who abuse their power over others. It still
remains far too pervasive in our country, and domestic
violence, in many ways, has been worsened by the COVID-19
pandemic. I've gotten calls from the Delaware nonprofit
organizations that are both advocates and service providers. I
think it's more critical than ever that Congress strengthen and
reauthorize this bill.
Let me ask you a few questions on that topic if I might.
Gun violence is a pervasive and tragic, brutal part of domestic
violence and gender-based violence. Studies show domestic
violence is five times more likely to be deadly if a--if an
abuser has access to a firearm. I was glad to see that the
bipartisan House-passed VAWA reauthorization would require the
Federal Government to tell State and local authorities when a
person with a domestic abuse conviction has failed a background
check.
Similarly, Senator Cornyn and I introduced in this Chamber
the NICS Denial Notification Act which would require
information sharing between Federal, State, and local law
enforcement when a person prohibited tries to purchase a
firearm and fails a background check. Would you agree that
giving State and local authorities timely information about
individuals who've lied and tried and been denied a firearm can
help make our communities safer?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Absolutely, Senator. What
we need to make sure is we've got the requisite information in
the systems to ensure that those who pose a risk, those who
pose a lethal risk, cannot possess a firearm and do deadly
damage in our communities.
Senator Coons. One of the roles I play here is as a member
of the Appropriations Committee and, in particular, the
Subcommittee that provides funding for Federal law enforcement
and for the implementation of VAWA. The authorization levels
haven't gone up as rapidly as the need. I've heard from
providers like the YWCA, CHILD, Inc., community legal aid in my
home State about how this makes a daily difference, the
resources that they receive through VAWA. How can we continue
to support nonprofit organizations all over the country, an
established network of providers and advocates, and account for
the extra need that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on them?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, you've hit at the
heart of the matter which is the really dangerous increase and
the need that survivors of domestic violence, dating violence,
stalking, sexual assault have. It's increased during the
pandemic as we've observed. Those who are stuck at home housed
with their abuser are suffering and suffering sometimes in
silence. The simple answer to your question, Senator, is
reauthoring--reauthorizing--excuse me--the Violence Against
Women Act and doing so at the $1 billion levels that the
President has requested in his fiscal year 2022 budget request.
It will provide much needed, indeed urgent, services to
survivors, training to law enforcement so they respond and when
they do so they've got the tools, the training they need not to
retraumatize the survivors who they're encountering. And it
will do the same with regard to court systems, increased rural
funding for these same services. Senator Ernst rightly pointed
out that we need to make sure that rural communities get these
services as well, and the Office of Violence Against Women's
rural program does that. We need to increase those funds as
well. So reauthorizing the critical and frankly landmark
programs of the Violence Against Women Act is really what we
need to be doing.
Senator Coons. I was glad this hearing began with a panel
of three Republican Senators here testifying to the
significance of VAWA and, in particular, Senator Ernst talking
about her own experiences and now her engagement and advocacy.
Let me ask a last question on this if I might. Many
survivors of domestic violence struggle to find rental housing.
Often, they have poor credit or employment or rental histories
directly as a result of their abuse. How can Congress ensure
survivors don't face needless barriers to accessing affordable
housing, which is one of the main reasons those who are abused
stay with their abusers is they don't see a path forward toward
being able to house their family free from abuse?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. You're quite right,
Senator. We need to make sure that there is a refuge, there is
a safe haven, if you will, for people, women and their children
oftentimes, fleeing an abuser. There needs to be a place for
them to go. The transitional housing program that the Violence
Against Women Act funds and has funded historically provides
millions of housing nights a year for just that exact purpose,
to give that safe haven. We need to reauthorize it and we need
to increase the funding to it.
Senator Coons. Thank you, Deputy Attorney General. Mr.
Chairman, can I ask for 1 minute of forbearance?
Chair Durbin. I guess. Yes. Of course.
Senator Coons. The Senator who preceded me in questioning
you accused the Attorney General and the administration of an
unprecedented level of FBI harassment and intimidation of
citizens at school board meetings. Is there any foundation to
this?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. No, sir.
Senator Coons. Just thought I'd give you a chance to answer
that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Durbin. Thank you, Senator Coons. Senator Tillis.
Senator Tillis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
holding this hearing. Also thanks to Ranking Member Grassley. I
look forward to us moving ahead and providing more resources
and more support to families and victims of domestic violence.
I think over the last 18 or 20 months COVID has not only taken
lives as a result of the disease, but we've seen an increase in
domestic violence and child abuse. It's very timely that we
have this hearing and very important that we make progress.
I want to talk, Ms. Monaco, about some of the plumbing that
we should look at. You know, we installed the plumbing back in
1994. We had a GAO report in 2012 that talked about the DOJ
lacking visibility over the extent to which the programs
overlap. I think in 2018 we had another Inspector General
report that 42 percent of VAWA grants had not been closed on a
timely basis.
As we're looking ahead at maybe well-intentioned programs
but maybe they need to repurposed, modernized, consolidated, do
you have any thoughts about what we should focus on in terms of
the plumbing of VAWA so that we can get maximum resources to
those who need it and free it up to address and rural and other
concerns that were expressed in the hearing today?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thanks very much, Senator.
I think you're quite right to focus on the specifics of how we
are making sure we're getting that funding out to the people
who need it and how we make sure that we're using that--those
dollars to their best effect. As you know, the Violence Against
Women Act funds these critical programs. Then recipients of
those grants have to file regular financial reports and reports
on the services they are providing. The fact that I could tell
Senator Whitehouse that there are two million transitional
housing nights a year with those grant recipient fundings is
because of those reports.
I think we have to be exceptionally diligent in how we are
monitoring the use of those funds, and I'm confident that we
have the capability to do that. I'm also pleased that we have
been able to get out the funds for the Violence Against Women
Act for the Office of Violence Against Women's 2021 funding
that would have expired on September 30th of this year had we
not gotten it all out the door to the people who need it. We've
been able to do that and nearly half a billion dollars in those
funds as of September 30th.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. The--I think as we go through
this process it would be very important just to see how the
administration of the program and the future oversight can be
improved and modernized. We would appreciate that feedback.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Happy to work with you,
Senator, on that. I know this is an area of particular focus
for you.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. Also just kind of curious about
DOJ audits on grantees and victims. Can you give me an update
on the audit process and generally speaking how the outcomes--
or generally speaking to the outcomes?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Senator, as I said, the
VAWA programs themselves and the Office of Violence Against
Women does require regular reporting on the use of the funds,
how those funds are being distributed, what services are
happening as a result. That's a very, very important part of
the success of VAWA, being able to see where dollars are
effective and add to those and, where they're not, to look at
other innovative ways to expand and to provide services.
Senator Tillis. What about things that could help us as we
move forward with reauthorization and modernization in the area
of best practices? I went to a facility that just recently
opened in western North Carolina which is extraordinary. Their
safe transition, their employment outcomes are--they have to be
in the top quartile if not the top decile.
How could we better understand programs that seem to be
working and really try to set that bar high--everybody's trying
to do good. I understand that. Some programs are clearly
producing better results than others. What information can we
get from the DOJ to really instruct us on the kinds of things
that we believe are leading edge and making sure that our
resources are going to the ones that are producing the best
results?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. First, I'd say that I'd be
happy to give you a more in-depth briefing about how we
identify the best programs and best practices. I view it as the
job of the Department of Justice to Office of Justice Programs,
Violence Against Women Office, the COPS Office to basically be
a force multiplier and an identifier of best practices to lift
those up, see where great innovative work is being done in the
States and local communities because that's what it's all
about. The Federal Government absolutely doesn't have the best
information on this. We need to identify the great work that is
going on locally, fund it, and then expand it and give it a
broader audience.
Senator Tillis. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Tillis. Before I recognize
Senator Hirono, since it has been a recurring theme from some
members about the memorandum that was issued yesterday by the
Attorney General, I now have a copy of it in hand, as well as a
press release from the Department of Justice, which without
objection I'm going to enter into the record so everyone can
read the actual words printed.
It is worth noting that the opening of the memo is quote,
``In recent months, there has been disturbing spike in
harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against
school administrators, board members, teachers, staff who
participate in the vital work of running our Nation's public
schools.'' It goes on to--and with more specifics how the
Attorney General is seeking to coordinate with local and State
law enforcement for the protection of all school personnel.
That is clearly the intent of this.
Those who believe that somehow or another violence or
something close to it is a valid use of constitutional right, I
couldn't disagree more. There are many who describe the January
6th occurrence here on the Capitol as just a visit by ordinary
tourists. For those us who lived through it, we know better.
Anyone who wants to characterize that as an ordinary
constitutional process wasn't here and isn't being honest,
whether they have said that publicly or outside cheering the
group on. I want to make a record of that, and I'm going to add
the press release as well from the Department of Justice which
goes into more detail on the subject.
[The information appears as a submission for the record.]
Chair Durbin. Senator Hirono, thank you so much for your
patience.
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
clarifying what's actually in the letter or memorandum that was
issued by the Attorney General yesterday. It's always
surprising to me that lawyers on this Committee don't seem to
understand the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights
and people who are threatening violence, and, in fact, who
engaged in assaults on people.
You would think that we would all be able to come together
to pass VAWA. I thank you, Ms. Monaco, for your testimony and
your responses to the urgent need to reauthorize VAWA and at an
increased level because the need is definitely there.
One group that I wanted to call your attention to is that
there is an unfortunately high instance of intimate partner
violence within the Native Hawaiian community, which as an
indigenous community parallel the high instances of domestic
violence experienced by and exhibited within American Indian
and Alaskan Native communities. As we move forward with
combating domestic violence, I'd like to get your commitment to
work with my office to address this disparity and better serve
Native communities because we can do a far better job----
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I absolutely----
Senator Hirono [continuing]. For these communities.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I absolutely agree,
Senator. It's one of the priorities I laid out in my opening
testimony is exactly this, making sure that we are addressing
the underserved to include----
Senator Hirono. Yes.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco [continuing]. Indigenous
communities.
Senator Hirono. Thank you. In particular, we need to fix
VAWA to ensure that Native Hawaiian organizations are eligible
for funding from the Office of Violence Against Women's Tribal
Coalitions Program. I hope that you'll give your support to
that change.
There was some discussion already about how women in these
situations often do not have options. Often, they will leave
their job not because they're fired but because of domestic
violence. We want to make sure that these victims and survivors
have access to unemployment insurance benefits. I think that
that is an important aspect of what we need to do with the VAWA
reauthorization. Would you agree?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Senator. I know
that the Office of Justice Programs is exploring how we can
ensure that individuals have the assistance they need to kind
of be a bridge to the services they need to get to.
Senator Hirono. You know, so I think that we need to view
UI benefits as more than just in the circumstances where
someone loses a job or is fired. We know that protecting
immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault,
dating violence, and stalking is particularly a concern for the
immigrant community. Can you talk about how important it is for
VAWA to be there for all survivors and also how it's been able
to assist immigrant victims of violence?
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. I think what's really
important, Senator, and you rightly point out that an
individual shouldn't be kind of held hostage by their abuser
and be able--they need to be able to seek immigration relief as
it were on their own. I think some of that we'll see where the
Senate bill--what that yields. I think it's something that we
very much want to be supportive of making sure that an
individual who--not have to rely on their abuser to file a
petition for immigration status.
Senator Hirono. Yes. I think immigrant women are
particularly vulnerable, those who are undocumented.
Immigration has become a very divisive issue, and it is really
important that we continue to provide these protections and
services for immigrant women and for undocumented women in
VAWA. I'd ask for your continuous support in that. Mr.
Chairman, those are the questions that I have for the moment.
Chair Durbin. Thanks, Senator Hirono. Once again, thanks
for your patience in waiting----
Senator Hirono. Sure.
Chair Durbin [continuing]. During this hearing. I want to
thank Deputy Attorney General Monaco as well as Senators Ernst,
Hyde-Smith, and Capito for joining us today.
Statistics suggest that an average of nearly 20 people per
minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the
United States. 20 per minute. That means that over the course
of this hearing hundreds of Americans experienced domestic
violence. With the passage of VAWA in 1994, we reduced
incidents of domestic violence and significantly improved
support services, but there's still much more to do.
I couldn't start to list the number or names of the
organizations that provide services in support to survivors of
domestic violence and sexual assault. Many of them have
submitted testimony for the record today. Without objection,
their statements will be not only entered in the record but
valued for their content.
[The information appears as a submission for the record.]
I look forward to introducing the Violence Against Women
Act Reauthorization Act with Senators Ernst and Feinstein and
many of our colleagues quickly. We want to move on this. We
need to get this bill to a President who's anxious to receive
it as well and sign into law for reauthorization. Welcome back
to the Judiciary Committee, and I really value your presence
and testimony today. The Committee will stand adjourned.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Whereupon, at 11:44 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
[Addional material submitted for the record follows.]
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