VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022 Signed into Law! 

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March 15, 2022

VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022 Signed into Law! 

Today Legal Momentum celebrates the passage and signing into law of S.3623, the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, as part of the omnibus appropriations bill. S.3623 reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) until 2027 and includes a number of enhancements to increase access to VAWA-funded programs and improve VAWA’s responsiveness to the needs of survivors.

A summary of what's included in the bill can be found here

In 1991, Legal Momentum began working closely with then-Senator Biden and his Senate Judiciary Committee staff to draft the landmark VAWA, which passed in 1994 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The current reauthorization process began in 2016 with field assessments to determine what changes needed to be included in a VAWA reauthorization bill well in advance of VAWA’s original expiration date of October 1, 2018. S.3623, and its companion bill, H.R.1620, are the outcome of six years of bipartisan negotiation. We thank Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and their staff for their leadership. We also thank all of the victims, survivors, advocates, and others who reached out to their members of Congress to urge them to support this bill. This is their victory!

“The passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 is a crucial, overdue, and positive step towards better protecting all survivors of gender-based violence,” said Legal Momentum’s President & CEO, Carol Moody, “Each reauthorization of VAWA provides an opportunity to improve our response and meet the real and current needs of victims and survivors. As one of the earliest advocates for VAWA, we are proud that the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 includes critical enhancements and investments to serve the needs of all survivors and impacted communities.”

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