Rep. Steve Knight (CA-25) joined recently with 45 other House members in sending a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), urging them to advance a bipartisan reauthorization of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which is set to expire on Sept. 30.
The letter, led by Representatives John Katko (R-NY) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) asserts that “programs authorized and funded under VAWA work to protect girls, boys, men, and women from [sexual violence]. The programs provide funding to ensure safety and support for survivors, increase prevention efforts, expand educational awareness surrounding domestic violence and sexual assault, implement training for health professionals and law enforcement, and to coordinate responses across agencies. . . This is not a partisan issue. VAWA has been continually reauthorized on a bipartisan basis in Congress. We must act now to maintain and strengthen this critical law.”
“As a career police officer, I’ve worked directly with women suffering from domestic or sexual abuse on multiple occasions,” Knight said. “It’s a terrible and incredibly dangerous situation. For decades, the Violence Against Women Act has provided the resources to support programs that help victims recover and get them on a path towards a safer life. It is vital that we reauthorize this landmark legislation to protect the vulnerable in our communities and prevent these heinous crimes as much as we can.”
Knight, formerly an 18-year veteran with the Los Angeles Police Department, is a member of the Congressional Law Enforcement Task Force.
