I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6034 

To criminalize stalking using an unauthorized geotracking device, modify 

the 10-year marriage rule relating to spouse’s and surviving spouse’s 

insurance benefits in cases of domestic violence, ensure that healthcare 

providers can assist survivors of domestic violence, provide additional 

housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 24, 2023 

Mrs. SYKES introduced the following bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To criminalize stalking using an unauthorized geotracking 

device, modify the 10-year marriage rule relating to 

spouse’s and surviving spouse’s insurance benefits in 

cases of domestic violence, ensure that healthcare providers can assist survivors of domestic violence, provide 

additional housing protections for survivors of domestic 

violence, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safer Homes and 

3 Families Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. STALKING PENALTY. 

5 Section 2261A of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

8 IN GENERAL.—Whoever’’; 

9 (2) by inserting after ‘‘uses the mail,’’ the fol10 lowing: ‘‘uses an unauthorized geotracking device’’; 

11 and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘geotracking device’ means an 

15 electronic or mechanical device that permits a person 

16 to remotely determine or track the position and 

17 movement of another person. 

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘unauthorized’ means, with re19 spect to a geotracking device, that the person on 

20 whom the geotracking device is being used has not 

21 consented to such use or otherwise revoked consent 

22 to such use.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF 10-YEAR MARRIAGE RULE IN 

2 CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 216(d) of the Social Secu4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 416(d)) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(9)(A) In the case of a divorced woman de7 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) or a divorced man 

8 described in paragraph (4) or (5) who provides to 

9 the Commissioner of Social Security a finding made 

10 by a court of law that the divorced woman or di11 vorced man was the victim of domestic violence com12 mitted by the spouse during the course of the mar13 riage, such paragraph as may be applicable with re14 spect to such divorced woman or divorced man shall 

15 be applied for purposes of this title by substituting 

16 ‘5 years’ for ‘10 years’. 

17 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

18 term ‘domestic violence’ has the meaning given such 

19 term in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against 

20 Women Act of 1994.’’. 

21 (b) TERMINATION OF WIFE’S INSURANCE BENE22 FITS.—Section 202(b) of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 402(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(5) In the case of any divorced wife who provides 

26 to the Commissioner of Social Security a finding made by 


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1 a court of law that the divorced wife was the victim of 

2 domestic violence (as defined in section 216(d)(9)(B)) 

3 committed by the spouse during the course of the mar4 riage, clause (ii) of paragraph (1)(G) shall be applied by 

5 substituting ‘5 years’ for ‘10 years’.’’. 

6 (c) TERMINATION OF HUSBAND’S INSURANCE BENE7 FITS.—Section 202(c) of the Social Security Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 402(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(5) In the case of any divorced husband who pro11 vides to the Commissioner of Social Security a finding 

12 made by a court of law that the divorced husband was 

13 the victim of domestic violence (as defined in section 

14 216(d)(9)(B)) committed by the spouse, clause (ii) of 

15 paragraph (1)(G) shall be applied by substituting ‘5 years’ 

16 for ‘10 years’.’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply with respect to monthly insurance 

19 benefits for months beginning at least 18 months after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON TRAUMA-IN22 FORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED TRAINING FOR 

23 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle Q of title IV of the Vio25 lent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 


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1 U.S.C. 12513 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 41702. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON TRAUMA-IN4 FORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED TRAINING FOR 

5 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Attorney General’ means the At8 torney General, acting through the Director of the 

9 Office on Violence Against Women; 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Secretary’? means the Secretary 

11 of the Department of Health and Human Services; 

12 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in13 dividual who interfaces with victims of domestic vio14 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, 

15 including— 

16 ‘‘(A) an individual working for or on behalf 

17 of an eligible entity; 

18 ‘‘(B) an administrator or personnel of a 

19 school, university, or other educational program 

20 or activity (including a campus police officer or 

21 a school resource officer); and 

22 ‘‘(C) an emergency services employee; 

23 ‘‘(4) the term ‘eligible entity’ means a facility 

24 as described in paragraph (1), (2), (4), (5), or (6) 


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1 of section 1624 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 300s–3); and 

3 ‘‘(5) the term ‘mandatory partner’ means a na4 tional, regional, or local victim services organization 

5 or agency working in collaboration with a facility de6 scribed in paragraph (4). 

7 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in 

9 consultation with the Secretary, shall award grants 

10 on a competitive basis to eligible entities to collabo11 rate with their mandatory partners to carry out the 

12 demonstration program under this section by imple13 menting evidence-based or promising investigative 

14 policies and practices to incorporate trauma-in15 formed, victim-centered techniques designed to— 

16 ‘‘(A) prevent re-traumatization of the vic17 tim; 

18 ‘‘(B) ensure that covered individuals use 

19 evidence-based practices to identify, respond to, 

20 and treat cases of domestic violence, dating vio21 lence, sexual assault, and stalking; 

22 ‘‘(C) increase collaboration among stake23 holders who are part of the coordinated commu24 nity response to domestic violence, dating vio25 lence, sexual assault, and stalking; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) evaluate the effectiveness of the 

2 training process and content. 

3 ‘‘(2) AWARD BASIS.—The Attorney General, in 

4 consultation with the Secretary, shall award grants 

5 under this section to multiple eligible entities for use 

6 in a variety of settings and communities, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) urban, suburban, Tribal, remote, and 

8 rural areas; 

9 ‘‘(B) college campuses; or 

10 ‘‘(C) traditionally underserved commu11 nities. 

12 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

13 a grant under this section shall use the grant to— 

14 ‘‘(1) train covered individuals associated with 

15 the eligible entity to use evidence-based, trauma-in16 formed, and victim-centered techniques to identify 

17 and treat individuals who have experienced domestic 

18 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 

19 including by— 

20 ‘‘(A) customizing treatment approaches to 

21 ensure a culturally and linguistically appro22 priate approach to the community being served; 

23 ‘‘(B) becoming proficient in understanding 

24 and responding to complex cases, including 


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1 cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sex2 ual assault, or stalking— 

3 ‘‘(i) facilitated by alcohol or drugs; 

4 ‘‘(ii) involving strangulation; 

5 ‘‘(iii) committed by a non-stranger; 

6 ‘‘(iv) committed by an individual of 

7 the same sex as the victim; 

8 ‘‘(v) involving a victim with a dis9 ability; 

10 ‘‘(vi) involving a male victim; or 

11 ‘‘(vii) involving a lesbian, gay, bisex12 ual, or transgender (commonly referred to 

13 as ‘LGBT’) victim; 

14 ‘‘(C) developing collaborative relationships 

15 between— 

16 ‘‘(i) healthcare providers, law enforce17 ment officers, and other members of the 

18 response team; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the community being served; and 

20 ‘‘(D) developing an understanding of how 

21 to define, identify, and correctly classify a re22 port of domestic violence, dating violence, sex23 ual assault, or stalking; and 

24 ‘‘(2) promote the efforts of the eligible entity to 

25 improve the response of covered individuals to doVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Nov 07, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6034.IH H6034

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1 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

2 stalking through various communication channels, 

3 such as the website of the eligible entity, social 

4 media, print materials, and community meetings, in 

5 order to ensure that all covered individuals associ6 ated with the eligible entity are aware of those ef7 forts and included in trainings, to the extent prac8 ticable. 

9 ‘‘(d) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TRAININGS ON

10 TRAUMA-INFORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED APPROACHES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in 

12 consultation with the Secretary, shall identify 

13 trainings for covered individuals, in existence as of 

14 the date on which the Attorney General begins to so15 licit applications for grants under this section, 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(A) employ a trauma-informed, victim18 centered approach to domestic violence, dating 

19 violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and 

20 ‘‘(B) focus on the fundamentals of— 

21 ‘‘(i) trauma responses; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the impact of trauma on victims 

23 of domestic violence, dating violence, sex24 ual assault, and stalking; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) techniques for effectively treat2 ing the medical consequences of domestic 

3 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

4 and stalking. 

5 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—An eligible entity that re6 ceives a grant under this section shall select one or 

7 more of the approaches employed by a training iden8 tified under paragraph (1) to test at the eligible en9 tity. 

10 ‘‘(e) EVALUATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General and 

12 the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 

13 the National Institute of Justice, shall require each 

14 eligible entity that receives a grant under this sec15 tion to identify a research partner, preferably a local 

16 research partner, to— 

17 ‘‘(A) design a system for generating and 

18 collecting the appropriate data to facilitate an 

19 independent process or impact evaluation of the 

20 use of the grant funds; 

21 ‘‘(B) periodically conduct an evaluation de22 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

23 ‘‘(C) periodically make publicly available, 

24 during the grant period— 


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1 ‘‘(i) preliminary results of the evalua2 tions conducted under subparagraph (B); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) recommendations for improving 

5 the use of the grant funds. 

6 ‘‘(2) GAO REPORT.—Not later than three years 

7 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

8 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub9 mit to the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy 

10 and Commerce, and Judiciary of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committees on Judiciary and 

12 on Finance of the Senate a report summarizing the 

13 implementation of this section. 

14 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

16 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 

17 to carry out this section.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

19 for the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 

20 of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 10101 note) is amended by inserting 

21 after the item related to section 41701 the following: 

‘‘41702. Demonstration program on trauma-informed, victim-centered training 

for healthcare providers.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPOSITION OF FEES FOR 

2 EARLY LEASE TERMINATION. 

3 Section 41411 of the Violence Against Women Act 

4 of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON THE IMPOSITION OF FEES FOR

7 EARLY LEASE TERMINATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) VOLUNTARY EXIT.—An applicant for or 

9 tenant of housing assisted under a covered housing 

10 program may voluntarily exit a lease for housing 

11 earlier than the end date of such lease on the basis 

12 that the applicant or tenant has been a victim of do13 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

14 stalking. 

15 ‘‘(2) FEE PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any 

16 lease agreement, an applicant or tenant described in 

17 paragraph (1) may not be charged a fee for exiting 

18 a lease for housing earlier than the end date of such 

19 lease on the basis described in paragraph (1).’’. 

Æ 


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