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“THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT AND NOMINATION OF BONNIE CAMPBELL” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S9333-S9334 on Sept. 27, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT AND NOMINATION OF BONNIE CAMPBELL
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise to discuss my disappointment that the Republican leadership in the Senate seems to have better things to do than to pass a bill reauthorizing one of our most effective laws to combat domestic violence. I am talking about the Violence Against Women Act.
Since it became law in 1994, it has provided money to State and local programs to help women obtain restraining orders and to arrest those who are abusing women. The numbers show that the Violence Against Women Act is working.
A recent Justice Department report found that domestic violence against women decreased by 21 percent between 1993 and 1998. That is good news, but we still have a long way to go.
In 1998, American women were the victims of 876,340 acts of domestic violence. Between 1993 and 1998, domestic violence accounted for 22 percent of the violent crimes against women. And during those same years, children under the age of 12 lived in 43 percent of the households where domestic violence occurred. This is generational. The kids see it, they grow up, they become abusive parents themselves.
In Iowa and all across America, law enforcement officers and prosecutors and victims service organizations are fighting back, but they need help. The help they need is to make sure we reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, to make sure it is funded, to keep the great job going that it has been doing over the last 5 years.
There is other help that we need to cut down on domestic violence and violence against women; that is, to make sure that we have judges on our courts who understand this law, who know what is happening out there and can make sure the law is applied fairly and is upheld in the courts around the country.
To that end, it is again disappointing that the Republican Senate is holding up the nomination of one person uniquely qualified to ensure that the Violence Against Women Act is enforced in our courts around the country.
Since the beginning of the Violence Against Women Office that was created under the Justice Department in 1995, the person who has been at the head of that office is the former attorney general of the State of Iowa, Bonnie Campbell. Earlier this year, the President nominated her for a vacancy on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has had her hearing on the Judiciary Committee. She is broadly supported on both sides of the aisle, strongly supported in her home State of Iowa where, as I said, she served with distinction as attorney general. Yet for some reason, the Judiciary Committee is holding up her nomination.
I have heard a couple of reasons: It is too late in the year; this is an election year; they want to hold on, maybe Bush will be elected and they can get their people in.
So, that makes me feel the need to take a look at the history of our judicial nominations. In 1992, when there was a Republican in the White House and the Democrats controlled the Senate. But in 1992, from July through October, the Democratically controlled Senate confirmed nine circuit court judges. This year, with a Democratic President but a Republican-controlled Senate, we have only gotten one confirmed since July. We have some pending who could be reported out, one of whom is Bonnie Campbell. But we see no action and time is running out.
And everything I have heard from the Judiciary Committee is that they will not report her name out. The other thing I heard was, she was nominated too late. I also heard from some people on the committee--
that she was only nominated earlier this year. I shouldn't expect her to be reported out.
Well, again, let's take a look at the record books. In 1992, when there was a Republican President and a Democratic Senate, nine circuit nominees were nominated and confirmed that same year. Let me say that again. They were nominated in 1992 and acted on in 1992. Yet this year, we are told that the Republican-controlled Senate cannot move circuit court judges out because it is an election year. Yet when the Democrats were in charge in 1992, as I said, nine were nominated and nine were acted upon by the Democratic Senate.
Let's jump back to this year. Seven people this year were nominated to sit on the judicial circuit. Only 1 of those seven has been confirmed and that was in July.
I want to focus on Bonnie Campbell. A hearing was held in May. All the paperwork is done. She is widely supported. If there are people here who would like to vote against her, at least bring her nomination to the floor; and if they want to vote against her, for whatever reason, let them do so. But I have not had one person on the Republican side or the Democratic side come to this Senator and say that Bonnie Campbell is not qualified to be a circuit court judge--not one. She is eminently well qualified and everyone knows it.
Here is this person who has headed the Office of Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice since it started. She has run it for 5 years. The House of Representatives, yesterday, reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, with 415 votes for it. I ask, do you think 415 Members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, would have voted that overwhelmingly to reauthorize the bill if the person who had been running that office had not done an exemplary job? I think by the very fact that 415 Members of the House, from every end of the ideological spectrum, voted to reauthorize that bill, what they are saying is that Bonnie Campbell gets an A-plus on running that office, implementing the VAWA provisions and enforcing the law. Yet this Republican Senate will not report her name out on the floor to be confirmed, or at least to vote on her to be a circuit court judge.
Well, I tell you, talk about a split personality. The Republicans in this Senate can talk all they want to about violence against women and that they are going to bring the bill up and we are going to pass it before the end of the year; but if this Republican-controlled Senate holds Bonnie Campbell's name and won't let her come out for a vote, they are saying: We will pass the Violence Against Women Act, but we don't want judges on our courts who are going to enforce it. I say that because nobody is more qualified to enforce it than Bonnie Campbell.
The Judiciary Committee, I am told, is going to meet tomorrow. I am hopeful that tomorrow they will report Bonnie Campbell's name out for action by the full Senate.
(Mr. L. CHAFEE assumed the chair.)
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