II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3124 

To expand and improve the Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program 

to ensure legal assistance is provided for survivors in proceedings related 

to domestic violence and sexual assault, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To expand and improve the Legal Assistance for Victims 

Grant Program to ensure legal assistance is provided 

for survivors in proceedings related to domestic violence 

and sexual assault, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Representa5 tion for Survivors Act’’. 


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•S 3124 IS

1 SEC. 2. ENSURING ACCESS TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN PRO2 CEEDINGS RELATED TO DOMESTIC VIO3 LENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. 

4 Section 1201 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

5 2000 (34 U.S.C. 20121) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub7 section (g); 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(f) GRANTS TO STATES TO ENSURE ACCESS TO

11 LEGAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—In each fiscal year, the 

14 Attorney General shall award to each State sub15 mitting an application under paragraph (3) a 

16 grant in an amount equal to .5 percent of the 

17 total amount appropriated pursuant to sub18 section (g) for the fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(B) USE.—A State that receives a grant 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall use amounts 

21 from the grant to provide legal assistance to 

22 survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, 

23 stalking, and sexual assault, with the goal of 

24 every survivor of domestic violence, dating vio25 lence, stalking, and sexual assault receiving 

26 legal assistance. 


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•S 3124 IS

1 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts received by 

3 a State under this subsection shall be distrib4 uted by the State to public or private entities 

5 within the State to implement, expand, and es6 tablish efforts and projects to provide legal as7 sistance, including pro bono representation and 

8 legal advocacy, to help survivors of domestic vi9 olence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual as10 sault— 

11 ‘‘(i) initiate or respond to motions to 

12 vacate or expunge a conviction, or similar 

13 actions, if the jurisdiction permits such a 

14 legal action based on a person’s status as 

15 a crime victim; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) with other civil legal actions, 

17 other than tort actions, which are reason18 ably necessary as a direct result of the vic19 timization, such as— 

20 ‘‘(I) civil legal assistance with di21 vorce, child custody, child welfare, and 

22 support proceedings with cor23 responding enforcement; 

24 ‘‘(II) assistance with and rep25 resentation at proceedings for protecVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Oct 26, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124

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•S 3124 IS

1 tive orders, restraining orders, or 

2 other stay-away orders; 

3 ‘‘(III) assistance with contract, 

4 housing, employment, education, 

5 healthcare, benefits, and privacy mat6 ters; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) intervention with creditors, 

8 law enforcement officers, and other 

9 entities on behalf of survivors of iden10 tity theft and financial fraud. 

11 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—A public or private 

12 entity seeking distribution of amounts from a 

13 grant received by a State under this subsection 

14 shall meet the eligibility requirements described 

15 in subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—Each State seeking a 

17 grant under this subsection shall submit an applica18 tion to the Attorney General at such time and in 

19 such manner as the Attorney General may reason20 ably require.’’; and 

21 (3) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by 

22 striking ‘‘$57,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 

23 through 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘$80,000,000 for each 

24 of fiscal years 2024 through 2028’’. 

Æ 


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