I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4848

To establish the Violence Against Women Office within the Department of

Justice.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 13, 2000

Mr. FORBES (for himself, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. CONYERS, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr.

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr.

ETHERIDGE, Mr. FROST, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mrs.

MALONEY of New York, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. BALDACCI,

Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Ms. KILPATRICK,

Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. CARSON, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. EVANS, Ms.

PELOSI, Mr. STARK, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr.

REYES, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. HILLIARD, Ms. DEGETTE,

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ROTHMAN,

Ms. LEE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FARR of California, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms.

BROWN of Florida, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Ms.

MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. BERMAN, Ms.

ROYBAL-ALLARD, and Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish the Violence Against Women Office within the

Department of Justice.

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 ‘‘Violence Against

3 Women Office Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

5 OFFICE.

6 (a) OFFICE.—There is hereby established within the

7 Department of Justice, under the general authority of the

8 Attorney General, a Violence Against Women Office (in

9 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Office’’).

10 (b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by a Di11 rector (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Director’’), who

12 shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice

13 and consent of the Senate. The Director shall report to

14 the Attorney General through the Associate Attorney Gen15 eral. The Director shall have final authority for all grants,

16 cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded by the Of17 fice. The Director shall not engage in any employment

18 other than that of serving as the Director, nor shall the

19 Director hold any office in, or act in any capacity for, any

20 organization, agency, or institution with which the Office

21 makes any contract or other arrangement under this Act.

22 SEC. 3. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF DIRECTOR OF VIO23 LENCE AGAINST WOMEN OFFICE.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall have the fol25 lowing duties:
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1 (1) Serving as special counsel to the Attorney

2 General on the subject of violence against women.

3 (2) Maintaining liaison with the judicial

4 branches of the Federal and State Governments on

5 matters relating to violence against women.

6 (3) Providing information to the President, the

7 Congress, the judiciary, State and local govern8 ments, and the general public on matters relating to

9 violence against women.

10 (4) Serving, at the request of the Attorney Gen11 eral or Associate Attorney General, as the represent12 ative of the Department of Justice on domestic task

13 forces, committees, or commissions addressing policy

14 or issues relating to violence against women.

15 (5) Serving, at the request of the President,

16 acting through the Attorney General, as the rep17 resentative of the United States Government on

18 human rights and economic justice matters related

19 to violence against women in international forums,

20 including, but not limited to, the United Nations.

21 (6) Carrying out the functions of the Depart22 ment of Justice under the Violence Against Women

23 Act of 1994 (title IV of Public Law 103–322) and

24 the amendments made by that Act, and other func25 tions of the Department of Justice on matters relat-
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1 ing to violence against women, including with re2 spect to those functions—

3 (A) the development of policy, protocols,

4 and guidelines;

5 (B) the development and management of

6 grant programs and other programs, and the

7 provision of technical assistance under such

8 programs; and

9 (C) the award and termination of grants,

10 cooperative agreements, and contracts.

11 (7) Providing technical assistance, coordination,

12 and support to—

13 (A) other elements of the Department of

14 Justice, in efforts to develop policy and to en15 force Federal laws relating to violence against

16 women, including the litigation of civil and

17 criminal actions relating to enforcing such laws;

18 (B) other Federal, State, and tribal agen19 cies, in efforts to develop policy, provide tech20 nical assistance, and improve coordination

21 among agencies carrying out efforts to elimi22 nate violence against women, including Indian

23 or indigenous women; and
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1 (C) grantees, in efforts to combat violence

2 against women and to provide support and as3 sistance to victims of such violence.

4 (8) Exercising such other powers and functions

5 as may be vested in the Director pursuant to this

6 Act or by delegation of the Attorney General or As7 sociate Attorney General.

8 (9) Establishing such rules, regulations, guide9 lines, and procedures as are necessary to carry out

10 any function of the Office.

11 SEC. 4. STAFF OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN OFFICE.

12 The Attorney General shall ensure that the Director

13 has adequate staff to support the Director in carrying out

14 the Director’s responsibilities under this Act.

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