Bill Summary
This bill, titled the "Domestic Violence Public Health Emergency Guidance Act," aims to address the issue of domestic violence during the COVID-19 public health emergency. It requires the Attorney General to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies on best practices for responding to domestic violence and protecting the safety of all parties involved. The guidance must include measures to mitigate exposure to COVID-19, as well as victim-centered practices for assessing the potential threat of violence and enforcing protective orders. The bill also requires the Attorney General to create a resource guide with educational materials and information for victims. The guidance must be disseminated to all law enforcement agencies and made publicly available on the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services websites. The bill defines key terms such as "domestic violence," "COVID-19 public health emergency," and "personal protective equipment."
Possible Impacts
1. Increased levels of domestic violence during the COVID-19 public health emergency could potentially put victims and their families at a higher risk of harm and danger. The guidance provided by this legislation would help law enforcement agencies effectively and safely address domestic violence cases, protecting both the victims and the law enforcement officers involved.
2. The resource guide created by this legislation could provide educational resources on risk factors related to COVID-19 that may exacerbate the risk of escalation and lethality of domestic violence reports, such as fear of illness, drug and alcohol abuse, economic uncertainty, unemployment, and grief. This could help victims and their families understand and address these risk factors and seek necessary help and support.
3. The legislation also aims to ensure timely submission of records for domestic violence protective orders and other related court orders and convictions for crimes related to intimate partner violence in the national criminal instant background check system. This could potentially prevent future incidents of domestic violence and protect individuals from potential harm.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6633 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6633
To require the Attorney General to issue guidance to law enforcement
agencies as they respond to increased levels of domestic violence
during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2020
Ms. Wexton (for herself, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Hayes, Mr.
Grijalva, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Hastings, Mrs. Carolyn B.
Maloney of New York, Ms. Norton, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Mr.
Lynch, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Soto, Mr.
Cox of California, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. McGovern,
Ms. Porter, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Miss Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto
Rico, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Carson of
Indiana, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Smith of Washington, and
Mr. Heck) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Attorney General to issue guidance to law enforcement
agencies as they respond to increased levels of domestic violence
during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Violence Public Health
Emergency Guidance Act''.
SEC. 2. GUIDANCE ON ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING THE COVID-19
PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
(a) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary
of Health and Human Services and, to the extent practicable, domestic
violence stakeholders and State, local, and tribal law enforcement
stakeholders, shall issue guidance to Federal, State, local, and tribal
law enforcement agencies which contain promising and best practices for
addressing domestic violence and protecting the safety of law
enforcement officers and all other parties involved, during the COVID-
19 public health emergency. In issuing the guidance required under this
subsection, the Attorney General shall--
(1) identify law enforcement-centered promising and best
practices for--
(A) addressing domestic violence during the COVID-
19 public health emergency;
(B) adopting and implementing such programs and
practices;
(C) implementing measures to mitigate exposure to
COVID-19, including adequate use of personal protective
equipment, when responding to domestic violence
incidents that create potential exposure to COVID-19
for all parties involved; and
(D) ensuring safety and limiting risk of exposure
to COVID-19 for family members of law enforcement
officers;
(2) identify victim-centered promising and best practices
for--
(A) assessing the potential threat of violence to
the victim and their children, while ensuring safety
and privacy;
(B) safety planning for victims and their children
and taking preventive steps to ensure safety for all
parties involved during the COVID-19 public health
emergency;
(C) timely submission of records for domestic
violence protective orders and other related court
orders and convictions for crimes related to intimate
partner violence in the national criminal instant
background check system;
(D) enforcing domestic violence protective orders,
other related court orders, and child custody orders in
the context of domestic violence; and
(E) ensuring community coordinated responses to
domestic violence; and
(3) create a resource guide, including--
(A) the promising and best practices identified
under paragraphs (1) and (2);
(B) educational resources on risk factors related
to COVID-19 that exacerbate the risk of escalation and
lethality of reports of domestic violence, such as fear
of illness, drug and alcohol abuse, economic
uncertainty, unemployment, and grief;
(C) educational resources on training, including
cultural humility and vicarious trauma, for law
enforcement officers responding to domestic violence;
(D) educational resources on investigation and
prosecutorial tools for law enforcement officers
responding to domestic violence;
(E) resources for victims of domestic violence
during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including
information related to the national domestic violence
hotline authorized under section 313 of the Family
Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10413).
(b) Dissemination.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall--
(1) issue the guidance developed under subsection (a)
directly to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement
agencies;
(2) make the guidance publicly available by posting the
guidance electronically on the website of the Department of
Justice;
(3) collaborate with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to make the guidance available on the website of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``domestic violence'' has the meaning given
the term under section 40002(a)(8) of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8)).
(2) The term ``COVID-19 public health emergency'' means the
period beginning on the date on which the emergency period
under section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1) was declared and ending 90 days after the
date on which such period ends.
(3) The term ``COVID-19'' means the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
or 2019-nCoV.
(4) The term ``personal protective equipment'' means any
protective equipment required to prevent the wearer from
contracting COVID-19, including gloves, N-95 respirator masks,
gowns, goggles, face shields, or other equipment required for
safety.
(5) The term ``State'' means each of the several States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern
Mariana Islands.
(6) The term ``Federal law enforcement agency'' includes
law enforcement agencies of the Armed Forces.
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