President Bush Signs Violence Against Women Act; Solis Attends Signing of Law in Oval Office

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32), Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, attended the signing of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization at the White House. As a longtime advocate for women who are victims of domestic violence, Solis? participation in the signing of VAWA is a result of her continued work on behalf of women and families.

I am very proud of the strong, bipartisan efforts that have produced the comprehensive VAWA reauthorization bill. With increased access to services to help women who are victims of domestic violence and more education and awareness, we can ensure that women receive the help they need, no matter their race, socio-economic status or background,? said Congresswomen Solis. ?By enacting this legislation, we will make huge strides towards ending violence against women in all communities.?

At the end of December, Congress renewed the landmark legislation, which includes provisions authored by Solis to combat domestic violence. The first Solis provision will provide grant money to establish specialized domestic violence courts, which will expedite the processing of domestic violence court cases, decrease the backlog of court cases and raise the conviction rate. The second Solis provision will provide grants to develop informational public media campaigns for underserved and immigrant communities about domestic violence in multiple languages and in a culturally-sensitive manner.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed as part of H.R. 3402, the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Solis was an original cosponsor of H.R. 3402, as a part of her continued efforts to combat domestic violence, especially in communities of color. Throughout her career in state and federal elected office, Solis has been closely involved with enacting laws to end violence against women. While in the California State Assembly and Senate, she authored a seventeen state laws aimed at combating domestic violence.