| 1 | 1 | | 86R30601 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 170 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women |
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| 7 | 7 | | Act is critical to protecting Americans from gender-based violence, |
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| 8 | 8 | | including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and |
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| 9 | 9 | | stalking; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Gender-based violence has a devastating impact on |
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| 11 | 11 | | survivors, their families, and their communities; such assaults can |
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| 12 | 12 | | have serious health consequences for survivors and can disrupt |
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| 13 | 13 | | their education, undermine their ability to work, and jeopardize |
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| 14 | 14 | | their ability to maintain stable housing for themselves and their |
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| 15 | 15 | | children; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, Since Congress passed VAWA in 1994, rates of |
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| 17 | 17 | | violence, on average, have decreased; the act has been reauthorized |
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| 18 | 18 | | three times, and H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women |
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| 19 | 19 | | Reauthorization Act of 2019, introduced in the 116th Congress, is a |
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| 20 | 20 | | bipartisan bill that strengthens VAWA with modest yet important |
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| 21 | 21 | | upgrades grounded in a modern understanding of gender-based |
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| 22 | 22 | | violence and the needs of survivors from all backgrounds; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, The VAWA Reauthorization Act would improve services |
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| 24 | 24 | | for victims and responses by health care systems; in addition, it |
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| 25 | 25 | | includes provisions to combat online predators of the young, |
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| 26 | 26 | | prevent campus violence, and reduce homicide rates by lawfully |
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| 27 | 27 | | protecting survivors from abusers with firearms; it would also |
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| 28 | 28 | | enhance legal tools to hold perpetrators accountable and increase |
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| 29 | 29 | | access to justice and safety for American Indian and Alaska Native |
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| 30 | 30 | | women; moreover, it would help mitigate the detrimental impact of |
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| 31 | 31 | | gender-based violence on the economic security of survivors and |
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| 32 | 32 | | support the ability of survivors to maintain or secure safe housing |
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| 33 | 33 | | in public, subsidized, and assisted housing; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, All Americans deserve to live their lives in safety, |
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| 35 | 35 | | free from the threat of violence, and although the nation has made |
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| 36 | 36 | | significant progress in recent years, it can and should do more to |
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| 37 | 37 | | protect the vulnerable and ensure availability of vital resources; |
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| 38 | 38 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 39 | 39 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 40 | 40 | | hereby respectfully urge the U.S. Congress to pass H.R. 1585, the |
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| 41 | 41 | | Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019; and, be it |
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| 42 | 42 | | further |
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| 43 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 44 | 44 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 45 | 45 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 46 | 46 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 47 | 47 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 48 | 48 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 49 | 49 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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