Collins statement on H.R. 1585 markup

“The goals of VAWA remain as important today as they were when the bill was first enacted — to prevent domestic violence and to serve victims. Unfortunately, rather than working with us to find agreement on how to move this critical law forward, Democrats decided to rush to markup a bill that could actually endanger women.”

WASHINGTON — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, made the following statement at today’s markup of H.R. 1585 the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2019. Below are the remarks as prepared. Ranking Member Doug Collins: Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this markup of H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, authored by my friend Congresswoman Bass. I’m sad to say that today is a missed opportunity. I, like the vast majority of my colleagues, believe that the Violence Against Women Act should be reauthorized. In fact, I supported a short-term extension of the Violence Against Women Act, through the end of the fiscal year, to ensure the law remained authorized while we negotiated about how best to improve it. As you know, Congresswoman Lesko introduced a short-term extension and tried to have it added to the funding bill, but Democrats blocked that extension. The Violence Against Women Act funds critical programs that protect vulnerable women. The goals of VAWA remain as important today as they were when the bill was first enacted — to prevent domestic violence and to serve victims. Unfortunately, rather than working with us to find agreement on how to move this critical law forward, Democrats decided to rush to markup a bill that could actually endanger women. Even if this bill had a glide path in the Senate, that wouldn’t make sense — but Democrats can’t even argue that because the Senate is engaged in its own set of negotiations. It is my sincere hope we can ultimately work together to reauthorize VAWA in a thoughtful, meaningful way that preserves the intent of the law. I cannot, however, support the legislation my colleagues have put forward. It politicizes and weaponizes a program and a law that, for years, was non-controversial and bipartisan. My goal is to reauthorize VAWA, and I remain ready to do that in a way that protects women and girls, assists law enforcement as they respond to domestic violence and prevent violence, and provides services to the vulnerable. We can find a path forward that doesn’t sacrifice the safety of women and girls in the process.