ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER'S COMMENTS ON SENATE PASSAGE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

FROM: U.S. DEPATMENT OF DEFENSE
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder on the Senate Passage of the Violence Against Women Act

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the Senate passage of the Violence Against Women Act:

"I am extremely pleased the Senate has passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which contains important new provisions to expand access to justice for all victims of violence and strengthen law enforcement and prosecutorial tools to hold accountable those who commit these crimes. Notably, the tribal provisions included in the VAWA reauthorization and originally proposed by the Department of Justice, will close a significant jurisdictional gap that has left too many Native American women, precisely because they are Native American, exposed to violence for far too long. The status quo is simply unacceptable and the Senate has today acted courageously on behalf of our society’s most vulnerable, who deserve not only equal justice but also our unquestionable resolve to protect them. As the House of Representatives now moves to consider reauthorizing this critical law, I urge lawmakers to come together, as they have historically, to pass an improved and strengthened VAWA that continues its 18 years of progress towards ending the scourge of violence against all victims in our society
."