Unfortunately, efforts to finish work on the two federal funding bills that provide critical resources for programs within the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill and the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS) Appropriations bill have come to a screeching halt.
October 27, 2007 Includes funding levels for programs affecting sexual and domestic violence for Fiscal Year 2008.
CJS
While the House and Senate have both passed their versions of the CJS bill, so far, attempts to “conference” the two bills together have not been successful. An issue involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the “sticking point” in conference negotiations. While the issue has nothing to do with issues affecting victims of sexual and domestic violence, it is holding up the bill that contains the majority of VAWA programs INCLUDING $10 million for the Sexual Assault Services Act (SASP).LHHS
On November 13, President Bush vetoed the LHHS funding bill which included an increase for the Rape Prevention and Education Program (RPE) as well as the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). On November 15, the House tried to override President Bush’s veto of the LHHS funding bill and was unsuccessful in securing the needed two-thirds support with a vote of 277-141.
Next Step
The entire FY2008 federal budget remains unfinished and advocates are forced to participate in a game of wait and see. The only federal agency that has a completed budget is the Department of Defense as the President signed that appropriations bill on November 13th. While we are continuing to communicate with Congressional staff and other organizations about the importance of completing work on the CJS and LHHS appropriations bills, advocates are now caught up in the midst of a tremendous power struggle between the White House and Democratic leadership of the Congress.
Omnibus Strategy
It appears that House and Senate appropriators are reportedly coming up with a strategy to roll many, if not all of the 11 remaining spending bills, into one large “omnibus” spending bill totaling $484.2 billion. This number is $10.6 billion less than Democrats had hoped for before veto threats finally forced them to reconsider. It has been reported that Democrats are hoping enough moderate Republicans will tire of the fight when they return from their Harvest break (Nov. 15 – Dec. 3) to either persuade the President to negotiate with Congress or they’ll have enough votes to override a second Presidential veto.
Take Action
We will keep you updated as this process moves forward. In the meantime, while Congress is back home during the next two weeks, please look for opportunities (perhaps at a town hall meeting or “listening” session) to communicate the work you do for victims of sexual assault and how desperately federal dollars are needed to serve these individuals – men, woman and children – effectively and comprehensively. In addition, remember to educate policy makers about the importance of prevention as well.
