Friend,

It's been eight months since the Violence Against Women Act expired and six months since the bipartisan passage of its reauthorization in the House -- but Mitch McConnell has continued to block it from coming to the Senate floor.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so we must make sure Senate Majority Leader McConnell is aware of the stakes. It's critical that he feels the pressure -- and knows exactly why it's so necessary -- to reauthorize VAWA now:

I visited the Vera House in Syracuse earlier this month, and they told me that according to their annual report, the Syracuse Police Department responded to 10,785 domestic calls in 2018, arresting 1,320 for crimes related to domestic violence. In 2018, the Vera House aided 1,562 survivors, answered 5,803 calls on its 24-hour Crisis & Support Hotline, and offered shelter to 323 children and adults who were attempting to escape situations of domestic and sexual violence.

That's the facts in just one American city. Now, imagine the consequences across our country.

Right now, Senator McConnell is holding up VAWA, putting survivors and communities in jeopardy: Join my call to demand the Senate reauthorize VAWA right now -- add your name next to mine to join the fight.

Since its enactment in 1994, VAWA has reduced domestic violence by more than 50 percent and provided more than $7 billion in federal funding towards violence reduction and prevention.

However this lifesaving, bipartisan bill expired in February of this year. Many of the programs have continued to receive funding over the last year thanks to continuing resolutions passed by the House and Senate, but a full 5-year reauthorization bill has yet to pass the Senate despite a successful bipartisan vote in the House in April.

Vera House is just one of the thousands of organizations, law enforcement, and other service providers who depend on sufficient access to federal funding and programs to provide support and recovery services to victims and survivors. All this -- and yet VAWA sits on Senator McConnell's desk, collecting dust.

Survivors, families, and communities who depend on VAWA deserve more, especially during Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Join our call to Senator McConnell to bring VAWA to the Senate floor by adding your name next to mine right now.

Sincerely,

Chuck Schumer