IC 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 717 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 4, 2017 

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To promote pro bono legal services as a critical way in 

which to empower survivors of domestic violence. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pro bono Work to Em3 power and Represent Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘POWER Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Extremely high rates of domestic violence, 

7 dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking exist at 

8 the local, State, and national levels and such vio9 lence or behavior harms the most vulnerable mem10 bers of our society. 

11 (2) According to a study commissioned by the 

12 Department of Justice, nearly 25 percent of women 

13 suffer from domestic violence during their lifetime. 

14 (3) Proactive efforts should be made available 

15 in all forums to provide pro bono legal services and 

16 eliminate the violence that destroys lives and shat17 ters families. 

18 (4) A variety of factors cause domestic violence, 

19 dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and a 

20 variety of solutions at the local, State, and national 

21 levels are necessary to combat such violence or be22 havior. 

23 (5) According to the National Network to End 

24 Domestic Violence, which conducted a census includ25 ing almost 1,700 assistance programs, over the 

26 course of 1 day in September 2014, more than 

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1 10,000 requests for services, including legal rep2 resentation, were not met. 

3 (6) Pro bono assistance can help fill this need 

4 by providing not only legal representation, but also 

5 access to emergency shelter, transportation, and 

6 childcare. 

7 (7) Research and studies have demonstrated 

8 that the provision of legal assistance to victims of 

9 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

10 and stalking reduces the probability of such violence 

11 or behavior reoccurring in the future and can help 

12 survivors move forward. 

13 (8) Legal representation increases the possi14 bility of successfully obtaining a protective order 

15 against an attacker, which prevents further mental 

16 and physical injury to a victim and his or her family, 

17 as demonstrated by a study that found that 83 per18 cent of victims represented by an attorney were able 

19 to obtain a protective order, whereas only 32 percent 

20 of victims without an attorney were able to do so. 

21 (9) The American Bar Association Model Rules 

22 include commentary stating that ‘‘every lawyer, re23 gardless of professional prominence or professional 

24 workload, has a responsibility to provide legal serv25 ices to those unable to pay, and personal involvemstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 ment in the problems of the disadvantaged can be 

2 one of the most rewarding experiences in the life of 

3 a lawyer’’. 

4 (10) As representatives of the Department of 

5 Justice, the duty of United States Attorneys is to 

6 present ‘‘equal and impartial justice to all its citi7 zens’’, which should include, especially, survivors of 

8 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

9 and stalking who might not otherwise know how to 

10 seek advice and protection. 

11 (11) As Federal leaders who have knowledge of 

12 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

13 and stalking in their localities, United States Attor14 neys should encourage lawyers to provide pro bono 

15 resources in an effort to help victims of such vio16 lence or behavior escape the cycle of abuse. 

17 (12) A dedicated army of pro bono attorneys fo18 cused on this mission will inspire others to devote ef19 forts to this cause and will raise awareness of the 

20 scourge of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

21 assault, and stalking throughout the country. 

22 (13) Communities, by providing awareness of 

23 pro bono legal services and assistance to survivors of 

24 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

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1 and stalking, will empower those survivors to move 

2 forward with their lives. 

3 SEC. 3. U.S. ATTORNEYS TO PROMOTE EMPOWERMENT 

4 EVENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, and not less often than once 

7 each year thereafter, each United States Attorney, or his 

8 or her designee, for each judicial district shall lead not 

9 less than 1 public event, in partnership with a State, local, 

10 tribal, or territorial domestic violence service provider or 

11 coalition and a State or local volunteer lawyer project, pro12 moting pro bono legal services as a critical way in which 

13 to empower survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, 

14 sexual assault, and stalking and engage citizens in assist15 ing those survivors. 

16 (b) DISTRICTS CONTAINING INDIAN TRIBES AND

17 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—During each 3-year period, a 

18 United States Attorney, or his or her designee, for a judi19 cial district that contains an Indian tribe or tribal organi20 zation (as those terms are defined in section 4 of the In21 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

22 (25 U.S.C. 5304)) shall lead not less than 1 public event 

23 promoting pro bono legal services under subsection (a) of 

24 this section in partnership with an Indian tribe or tribal 

25 organization with the intent of increasing the provision of 

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1 pro bono legal services for Indian or Alaska Native victims 

2 of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

3 stalking. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Each United States Attorney 

5 shall— 

6 (1) have discretion as to the design, organiza7 tion, and implementation of the public events re8 quired under subsection (a); and 

9 (2) in conducting a public event under sub10 section (a), seek to maximize the local impact of the 

11 event and the provision of access to high-quality pro 

12 bono legal services by survivors of domestic violence, 

13 dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

14 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

15 (a) REPORT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not 

16 later than October 30 of each year, each United States 

17 Attorney shall submit to the Attorney General a report 

18 detailing each public event conducted under section 3 dur19 ing the previous fiscal year. 

20 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1 of 

22 each year, the Attorney General shall submit to Con23 gress a compilation and summary of each report re24 ceived under subsection (a) for the previous fiscal 

25 year. 

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1 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Each comprehensive re2 port submitted under paragraph (1) shall include an 

3 analysis of how each public event meets the goals set 

4 forth in this Act, as well as suggestions on how to 

5 improve future public events. 

6 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

7 The Department of Justice shall use existing funds 

8 to carry out the requirements of this Act. 

Passed the Senate August 1, 2017. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 

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