As a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence, combatting these horrific crimes and ensuring survivors have the resources and support they need is one of my top priorities.
I’ve been committed to working across the aisle to reauthorize and modernize the Violence Against Women Act that will prioritize and provide resources and support for survivors across the country—for women and children in our most rural and urban areas. Just recently, I was proud to join Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in introducing the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act. This bill will reauthorize VAWA through 2027, preserve advancements made in previous reauthorizations, and include a number of additional improvements to the current law.
As a former military commander, I’ve also been focused on preventing sexual assault in our military. I helped lead a new, bipartisan bill that will bolster prevention programs, education, and training; improve how we hold perpetrators accountable while ensuring commanders still have visibility of what’s going on in their units; and equip military prosecutors with the skills necessary to handle sexual and domestic violence cases. Critical aspects of this bill were included in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act—the Senate’s annual national defense bill.
To help ensure horrific abuses against U.S. Olympic Gymnasts never happens again, I worked to pass bipartisan legislation that will help empower our athletes, improve the process for reporting abuse, and restore trust and integrity in the U.S. Olympic system.
I will continue fighting to ensure all men and women are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
