IV
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 195
To express the sense of the Congress that any welfare reform legislation
enacted by the Congress should include provisions addressing domestic
violence.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 27, 1996
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MYRICK, Ms. WOOLSEY,
Mrs. MORELLA, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr.
HILLIARD, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mrs. KENNELLY,
Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr.
FARR of California, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. ACKERMAN,
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Mr. OLVER, Mr.
FRAZER, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. MILLER of California,
Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. STARK, Mr. OWENS, Mr.
FILNER, Ms. WATERS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. MALONEY, and Mr.
GUTIERREZ) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To express the sense of the Congress that any welfare reform
legislation enacted by the Congress should include provi-
sions addressing domestic violence.
Whereas, in enacting the Violence Against Women Act, the
Congress recognized the epidemic of violence that affects
all aspects of women’s lives;
•HCON 195 IH
Whereas violence against women is the leading cause of phys-
ical injury to women, and the Department of Justice esti-
mates that every year more than 1,000,000 violent
crimes against women, including assault, rape, and mur-
der, are committed by intimate partners of the women;
Whereas the American Psychological Association has reported
that violence against women is usually witnessed by the
children of the direct victims, and that such child wit-
nesses suffer severe psychological, cognitive, and physical
damage, and studies have shown that children residing in
battered mothers’ homes are 15 times more likely to be
physically abused or neglected, and male children residing
in such homes are 3 times more likely to be violent with
their female partners when they reach adulthood;
Whereas violence against women dramatically affects women’s
workforce participation, insofar as 1⁄4 of battered women
surveyed reported that they had lost a job due, at least
in part, to the effects of domestic violence, and that over
1⁄2 of battered women reported that they had been har-
assed by their abuser at work;
Whereas violence against women is often exacerbated as
women seek to gain economic independence, and often in-
creases when women attend school or training programs,
and batterers often prevent women from attending such
programs, and often sabotage their efforts at self-im-
provement;
Whereas numerous studies have shown that at least 60 per-
cent of battered women suffer from some or all of the fol-
lowing symptoms: terrifying flashbacks, sleep disorders,
inability to concentrate, as well as other symptoms, all of
which can impair a victim’s ability to obtain and retain
employment;
•HCON 195 IH
Whereas several recent studies indicate that over 50 percent
of women in welfare-to-work programs have been or cur-
rently are victims of domestic violence, and a study by
the State of Washington indicates that over 50 percent
of recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC) in that State have been so victimized;
Whereas the availability of economic support is a critical fac-
tor in a woman’s ability to leave abusive situations that
threaten themselves and their children, and over 1⁄2 of
battered women surveyed reported that they stayed with
their batterers because they lacked resources to support
themselves and their children;
Whereas proposals to restructure the AFDC program may
impact the availability of the economic support and the
safety net necessary to enable poor women to flee abuse
without risking homelessness and starvation for their
families; and
Whereas proposals to restructure the AFDC program by im-
posing time limits and increasing emphasis on work and
job training should be evaluated in light of data dem-
onstrating the extent to which domestic violence affects
women’s participation in such programs, and in light of
the Congress’ commitment to seriously address the issue
of violence against women as evidenced by the enactment
of the Violence Against Women Act: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) when the Congress considers proposed wel-
fare legislation, it should seriously evaluate whether
such welfare measure would exacerbate violence
•HCON 195 IH
(3) any welfare legislation enacted by the Con-
gress should include a provision requiring that the
Comptroller General should develop and implement a
comprehensive study of the incidence and effect of
domestic violence on AFDC recipients, including a
study of the extent to which domestic violence both
precipitates and prolongs women’s and children’s
poverty and the need for AFDC; and
(4) any welfare reform legislation adopted by
the States that contains a welfare-to-work, edu-
cation, or job placement program should take do-
mestic violence into account, by providing, among
other things, mechanisms for—
(A) screening and identifying recipients
with a history of domestic violence;
(B) referring such recipients to counseling
and supportive services;
(C) tolling time limits for recipients victim-
ized by domestic violence; and
(D) waiving other program requirements,
pursuant to a determination of good cause,
such as residency requirements, child support
cooperation requirements, and family cap provi-
sions, in cases where compliance with such re-
quirements would make it more difficult for the
•HCON 195 IH
recipients and their children to escape domestic
violence or unfairly penalize recipients victim-
ized by or at risk of further violence.
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