Wnited States Senate WASHINGTON, DC 20510 April 4, 2014 The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski, Chairwoman The Honorable Tom Harkin, Chairman The Honorable Richard Shelby, Ranking Member The Honorable Jerry Moran, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Related Agencies Education and Related Agencies Senate Committee on Appropriations Senate Committee on Appropriations Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510 Dear Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Harkin, Senator Shelby and Senator Moran: ‘Thank you for your commitment to funding programs serving victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. As the Commerce, Justice, Science and the Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittees consider their Fiscal Year 2015 priorities, we urge you to fund the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) at the highest possible levels. One year ago, Congress enacted the bipartisan Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, demonstrating its strong commitment to protecting and supporting victims of domestic and sexual violence. Despite past achievements of programs administered through this law, the 2013 Domestic Violence Counts Census conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence found that, on any one day, nearly 10,000 requests for services were unmet, due to lack of resources. We must do more to address these unmet needs. We recognize that you face significant budget constraints, but we urge you to support these programs fully because they not only save lives, they are a smart investment. These programs have long-term positive impacts for victims of abuse and children who witness violence against family members. These programs help stop the generational cycle of violence. Assistance funded through VAWA and FVPSA in 2014 provided emergency shelter, legal advocacy, and counseling for victims in the aftermath of abuse. It provided training and educational sessions for parents, teachers, law enforcement, and other professionals to prevent, identify, and respond to domestic and sexual violence. In the first six years alone, VAWA is estimated to have saved taxpayers over $12.6 billion in net averted social costs,Page 3 of 5 Lon. bate CBrzRy, TOM UDALL BARBARA BOXER United States Senator United States Senator DEBBIE STABENOW - JOHNSON United States Senator United States Senator Arp bertronn ‘ORY BOOKER, AMY KLOBUCHAR United States Senator United States Senator AL FRANKEN United States Senator I Chit SL— ‘A. MERREE CHARLES E. SCHUMER United States Senator United States Senator JAMIN L. CARDIN THOMAS R. CARRER United States Senator United States SenatorPage 4 of 5 JEANNE SHAHEEN United States Senator SHELDON WHITEHOUSE United States Senator TESTER ited States Senator Syd Broun SHERROD BROWN United States Senator ROBERT MENENDEZ United States Senator MARTIN HEINRICH United States Senator HARD. United States Senator Ju— fh BRIAN SCHATZ United States Senator MARK UDALL United States Senator