Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Announcement Of A Bipartisan Agreement To Reauthorize The Violence Against Women’s Act

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding yesterday’s announcement that a bipartisan agreement has been reached to reauthorize the Violence Against Women’s Act. Senator Schumer expressed hope the Senate will have the support to move forward with the legislation in the near future. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday, our colleagues from both sides of the aisle also came together to announce an agreement on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women’s Act, which was last acted nearly a decade ago by this chamber.

I want to commend my colleagues Senators Feinstein and Durbin—as well as Senators Ernst and Murkowski—for all the work they’ve done to bring us closer to reauthorizing VAWA. I also want to thank my colleagues who are cosponsoring this legislation. And I have a particular interest because when I was in the House, I helped carry the original VAWA legislation that became law and has now lapsed.

Most importantly, I want to thank every single person who participated in yesterday’s press conference who shared their own experiences of abuse.

The Violence Against Women Act is one of the most important laws passed by Congress in the last 30 years, and it is my hope that the Senate can take action on this bill in the near future.

There are nine Republicans cosponsoring this legislation, so we need one more at least in order to clear a path forward. If we can find more support for VAWA I would expect that the Senate would seek to take action.

VAWA must be reauthorized. We cannot allow inaction to persist for a moment longer, and with yesterday’s bipartisan announcement we are closer than ever to achieving that goal. 

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