RADAR ALERT: Stop H.R.6088, the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Act

Phyllis Schlafly's June 6, 2008 article at WorldNetDaily.com1 comments upon RADAR's recently released analysis2,3 of the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence's flyer "10 Myths About Custody and Domestic Violence and How to Counter Them." It states "'10 Myths' denies the big problem that false allegations of domestic violence and child abuse are frequently used ... to win child custody, and ... ignores the problem that family courts regularly deny custody and issue restraining orders against men based on a woman's unsubstantiated say-so and without giving the man fundamental due process rights."

It also discusses a nasty bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2008: "Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., has rushed to the aid of women who want free lawyers to help them make domestic violence accusations, and of lawyers seeking income from those cases. He is the lead sponsor of an extravagant new boondoggle called the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act (S.1515)." The House version of the bill is H.R.6088.

H.R.6088/S.1515 would create a network of 100,000 lawyers willing to do volunteer work on behalf of alleged victims of domestic violence and, for those who devote the majority of their time representing alleged domestic violence victims, the bill would set up a fund to pay back their student loans. According to an article favorable to the bill, "Biden Wants Legal Brigade for Domestic Safety"4, "The Congressional Budget Office has not estimated the total cost of the lawyer bill, but a Biden staff member expected the loan forgiveness portion of the bill to be about $20 million in the first year. An additional $8 million would be needed to recruit volunteer lawyers, operate a referral system, launch a pilot program and roll out a national program." According to the Schlafly article, the bill would channel $2 million a year to the ABA commission that wrote "10 Myths" and an estimated $55.5 million to lawyers.

It is much easier to stop a law from getting passed than to repeal or amend an existing law. By demonstrating strong opposition, we can defeat H.R.6088. Right now, the bill is in the House Judiciary Committee. We would like it to die there.

This week, we ask everybody to contact Congressman Lamar Smith, the Ranking Republican Member on the House Judiciary Committee, and ask him to oppose H.R.6088 (the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act). He has stated: "As the Ranking Republican Member on the Committee, I am committed to ensuring that ... taxpayer dollars are utilized effectively and efficiently." Clearly, a bill that would benefit lawyers at the expense of families should be right in his line of fire.

Congressman Smith's contact information is:
2409 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
ph: 202-225-4236
fax: 202-225-8628

He can also be reached electronically through his website: http://lamarsmith.house.gov/contact.aspx?section=Mail.

If you are from Texas, be sure to mention that. And, of course, be polite and courteous.

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Indicated references are on the RADAR web site, linked as above.

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Date of RADAR Release: June 9, 2008

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R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org/.