The coronavirus relief bill, the HEROES Act, HR 6800, was recently introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill proposes $3 trillion (with a ‘T’) in new federal expenditures.
There is little evidence that coronavirus stay-at-home policies are causing a “surge” or “spike” in domestic violence cases. Nonetheless, the HEROES Act bill contains numerous domestic violence and sexual assault provisions that would increase spending by $170 million. Many of the provisions are budget-focused, while others would mandate policy changes in existing programs.
These provisions are listed below.
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Office On Violence Against Women
Violence against women prevention and prosecution programs
For an additional amount for “Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs”, $100,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which—
(1) $30,000,000 is for grants to combat violence against women, as authorized by part T of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Acts of 1968;
(2) $15,000,000 is for transitional housing assistance grants for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault, as authorized by section 40299 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–322; “1994 Act”);
(3) $15,000,000 is for sexual assault victims assistance, as authorized by section 41601 of the 1994 Act;
(4) $10,000,000 is for rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement assistance grants, as authorized by section 40295 of the 1994 Act;
(5) $10,000,000 is for legal assistance for victims, as authorized by section 1201 of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–386; “2000 Act”);
(6) $4,000,000 is for grants to assist tribal governments in exercising special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction, as authorized by section 904 of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013; and
(7) $16,000,000 is for grants to support families in the justice system, as authorized by section 1301 of the 2000 Act:
Indian Health Service
(4) $20,000,000 shall be used to address the needs of domestic violence victims and homeless individuals and families;
Children and Families Services Programs
(1) $50,000,000 for Family Violence Prevention and Services grants as authorized by section 303(a) and 303(b) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act with such funds available to grantees without regard to matching requirements under section 306(c)(4) of such Act, of which $2,000,000 shall be for the National Domestic Violence Hotline:
Community Planning And Development
That funds made available under this heading in this Act and under this heading in title XII of division B of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136) may be used for eligible activities the Secretary determines to be critical in order to assist survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking or to assist homeless youth, age 24 and under:
Public And Indian Housing
$1,000,000,000 shall be used for incremental rental voucher assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 for use by individuals and families who are—homeless, as defined under section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302(a)); at risk of homelessness, as defined under section 401(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360(1)); or fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking:
SEC. 40306. GRANTS TO ASSIST LOW-INCOME WOMEN AND SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN OBTAINING QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS.
(a) Authorization Of Grant Awards.—The Secretary of Labor, acting through the Director of the Women’s Bureau and in conjunction with the Assistant Secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable such entities to assist low-income women and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders and ensuring that those women actually obtain the benefits to which they are entitled through those orders.
(b) Definition Of Eligible Entity.—In this section, the term “eligible entity” means a community-based organization with proven experience and expertise in serving women and the financial and retirement needs of women.
(c) Application.—An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary of Labor at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary of Labor may require.
(d) Minimum Grant Amount.—The Secretary of Labor shall award grants under this section in amounts of not less than $250,000.
(e) Use Of Funds.—An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to develop programs to offer help to low-income women or survivors of domestic violence who need assistance in preparing, obtaining, and effectuating a qualified domestic relations order.
EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHER PROGRAM
DATORY PREFERENCES.—Each public housing agency administering assistance under this section shall provide preference for such assistance to eligible families that are—
(i) homeless (as such term is defined in section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302(a));
(ii) at risk of homelessness (as such term is defined in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360); or
(iii) fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
TITLE I—PROVISIONS RELATING TO STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS
(5) ESSENTIAL WORK.—The term “essential work” means any work that—
(A) is performed during the period that begins on January 27, 2020 and ends 60 days after the last day of the COVID–19 Public Health Emergency;
(B) is not performed while teleworking from a residence;
(C) involves—
(i) regular in-person interactions with—
(I) patients;
(II) the public; or
(III) coworkers of the individual performing the work; or
(ii) regular physical handling of items that were handled by, or are to be handled by—
(I) patients;
(II) the public; or
(III) coworkers of the individual performing the work; and
(D) is in any of the following areas:
(i) First responder work, in the public sector or private sector, including services in response to emergencies that have the potential to cause death or serious bodily injury, such as police, fire, emergency medical, protective, child maltreatment, domestic violence, and correctional services (including activities carried out by employees in fire protection activities, as defined in section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)) and activities of law enforcement officers, as defined in section 1204(6) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284(6)).
(xi) Social services work, including social work, case management, social and human services, child welfare, family services, shelter and services for people who have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual assault, services for individuals who are homeless, child services, community food and housing services, and other emergency social services.