Violence Against Women Policy Trends Report 11

March 13, 2001

David M. Heger
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Political Analyst

Federal

The House of Representatives recently approved the main component of President Bush's tax cut plan, giving the new chief executive an early legislative victory. By a narrow margin (230-198), the lower chamber voted to grant across-the-board reductions on marginal tax rates at a price tag of $958 billion over 10 years. The bill also provides a retroactive tax cut to all Americans, with refunds this year worth $180 to individuals and $360 to couples filing jointly. The President has also called for marriage penalty relief, an expansion of the child tax credit, and a repeal of the estate tax, which is paid mostly by the wealthy. These additional measures, which will be taken up by Congress later in the year, bring the total estimated loss in federal revenue to $1.6 trillion over the next decade.

President Bush argues that with federal budget surpluses estimated at more than $5 trillion over the next 10 years, his tax relief proposal is affordable and will allow the government to continue to pay down the national debt and spend money on important programs. Most Democrats disagree, noting that a large portion of the projected surplus comes from entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Democrats have offered an alternative tax relief bill that is about half the cost of the one being pushed by the GOP. With the House controlled by Republicans and the Senate evenly split, most analysts don't give much hope to the Democratic plan.

Although Mr. Bush's tax bill moved quickly through the House, its future remains uncertain in the more skeptical Senate. In recent days, the President has been touring the country to tout his tax cut and apply pressure to Democratic senators from Republican-leaning states. Some "targeted" senators have reported displeasure with this tactic and few have been persuaded to rethink their position on the issue, to date. Meanwhile, to the dismay of the White House, a group of moderate senators from both parties has indicated that it will attempt to attach a "trigger mechanism" to the Bush tax plan, linking rate cuts to debt reduction targets. The group argues that this provision would protect the government from budget deficits if future surpluses fail to materialize. President Bush currently opposes trigger initiatives.

Because Mr. Bush has only released a budget "blueprint" – his detailed, program-by-program spending plan will not be out for several more weeks – it is too early to completely understand the impact of the Bush tax cut proposal on federal violence against women initiative funding. The President proposes a 5.2 percent increase in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including a continuation of steep hikes for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, his outline does not mention specific measures to prevent gender-motivated violence. Although the President suggests a 4.8 percent decrease in Department of Justice (DOJ) funding, increases are proposed for "selected State and local grants, including Violence Against Women Act programs."

Several bills addressing violence against women have been introduced in Congress this year. Most of these measures are not likely to receive substantial consideration until lawmakers have covered ground on tax cuts and the budget. Companion bills H.R. 28 and S. 161 permanently create the Violence Against Women Office in the DOJ. The Right Start Act of 2001 (S. 18) expands the Family and Medical Leave Act to provide job-protected leave for victims of domestic violence. Senator Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) has proposed an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act that would include "dating violence" in the legal assistance for victims of violence grant program. H.R. 284 creates a civil remedy for gender-motivated violence at work caused by an employer's negligence.

State

States maintain a steady pace of activity, with most legislatures approaching the mid-session mark. Florida convened in early March, leaving Louisiana as the last state to commence its 2001 regular session. Kentucky, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming all recently wrapped up work on this year's session. With the impending release of official 2000 Census data, the majority of states are gearing up for heated deliberations over redrawing political district boundaries. The district lines, which lawmakers have the responsibility for shifting every ten years to conform to population changes, have a great impact on political representation in the state legislatures.

Domestic violence policy in West Virginia has received substantial attention in local media recently. Advocates have drawn attention to the growing problem of elder abuse in the state, including violence against elderly women. The senior population is expected to increase for at least 15 more years and Medicare cuts continue to erode health care services for that sector of society. The combined effect is that more people will be responsible for taking care of their aging parents in coming years, causing an increase in stress and leading ultimately to abuse. West Virginia already experiences over 6,000 annual cases of elder abuse, and officials believe five times that many goes unreported. Many state lawmakers recognize the problem and hope to introduce legislation to fund workers who periodically relieve family caregivers. Facing a similar crisis of its own, Connecticut introduced a new state elder abuse unit last fall.

West Virginia media has also focused on the state health-care system's response to violence against women in the home. Reports note a lack of medical training in the state to identify and respond to domestic violence. In an August study done by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, West Virginia, along with 35 other states, received a "D" in its legislative efforts to prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against victims of abuse and help medical professionals handle victims more effectively. The state is currently part of a federally-funded pilot program to address these issues.

States continue to expand Internet efforts to inform the general public of criminal activity and "high-risk" offenders. The District of Columbia recently joined 27 states in posting a list of dangerous sex offenders on its Web site. The list includes a warning against vigilantism and using the list to harass or threaten sex offenders. Pennsylvania has developed a Web site to provide users instant access to the latest crime statistics for towns, counties, regions, college campuses, and the state as a whole. Users can bring up statistics for more than 30 different offenses. FBI officials say the site is the first of its kind in the country. The site's address is http://www.ucr.psp.state.pa.us.