RADAR Alert: Don't Let N.O.W.'s Voice Be The Only One Congress Hears On VAWA

In late September, different bills to reauthorize VAWA for the next
5
years were passed by the House and the Senate. The House bill includes
language stating that VAWA is gender neutral.

Separate from that, a bill to provide continuing funding for VAWA
programs for the next year has now passed both the House and the Senate
and was signed into law by the President on November 22nd. This one
year continuing funding bill contains no mention that Congress intends
VAWA to be gender neutral.

Click "Read more..." for more.

Meanwhile, the differing versions of the 5 year reauthorization
bills must still be reconciled in conference committee before a final
vote to make them law. N.O.W. recently called on their members to
launch a massive telephone campaign urging Congress to form the
conference committee when they reconvene in early December, and even
though the current levels of funding provide women's advocacy programs
nearly a billion dollars per year, N.O.W. is instructing their members
to ask for still more programs.

It's a safe bet that N.O.W.'s members will not be asking Congress to
make sure the bills allocate funding to programs that focus on male
victims of domestic violence, or that the 835,000 men victimized per
year should be included in the list of underserved populations. Only
you can do that.

It's also a safe bet that N.O.W.'s members will not be objecting to
provisions which deny new organizations funding unless they partner
with currently-funded women's organizations. These provisions give
organizations that are unsympathetic or outright hostile to male
victims, a virtual lock on all funding.

And finally, it's a safe bet that N.O.W.'s members will not be
demanding that Congress prohibit VAWA funds from being used for any
political purpose.

Congress will be hearing from N.O.W.'s members. They need to hear from
you too. If your own legislators are included in the list
below, please call them. Otherwise, please call the Senate and
House leadership.

Tell them:

"Since HR2682, providing basic funding for VAWA, was
signed into law on Nov. 22, it's far more important for the conference
committee to fix what's wrong with VAWA than to rush it through. Please
make sure the final bill allocates funding to programs that focus on
male victims of domestic violence, without requiring them to partner
with the established male-hostile organizations. And please make sure
the final bill explicitly prohibits any recipient of VAWA funds from
using those funds for any political purpose whatsoever."

As always, be courteous and respectful when you call.

If Congress doesn't hear from you NOW, there's no reason for
them not
to do N.O.W.'s bidding. So don't put this off. Make the call today!

It's particularly important for
legislators to hear from their own
constituents. So if any Congressman or Senator in the list below
represents your district, call your own legislator. If not, call the
Congressional leadership, whose names are marked with an asterisk.

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Date of RADAR Release: November 28, 2005

R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a
network of concerned men and women working to assure that the problem
of domestic violence is treated in a balanced and effective manner: http://www.mediaradar.org/.

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