Please see below for critical advocacy for VAWA and VOCA. Casey has already
signed- we need to get Arlen Specter to sign.

Terri Hamrick Kessel, MNM
Executive Director
Survivors, Inc.
Post Office Box 3572
Gettysburg, PA  17325
(717) 334-0589 Extension 22
Facsimile (717) 334-3576
EMail:  Terri@...
 
Mission Statement
Survivors supports those who experience domestic violence or sexual assault
and strives to create a world in which violence against women and children
is unthinkable.
 

Two important letters are now circulating in the U.S. Senate that will
help secure VOCA and VAWA funding for next year. These sign-on letters
allow Senators to demonstrate their support for crime victim funding,
and help the appropriators set their funding priorities.

It is very important that both these letters have as many Senators sign
on as possible. Funding this year will be very competitive, especially
for crime and justice programs.

Please call or fax your Senators today , asking them to sign onto these
letters, or , if they have already signed on, thanking them for that
support. Both of these letters have a sign-on deadline of Wednesday,
April 2. If you don't know how to reach your Senator, visit
www.senate.gov or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and
they will connect you.

VOCA letter:

The VOCA letter is being circulated by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and
Michael Crapo (R-ID). It asks Senate appropriators to oppose the
proposed Crime Victims Fund rescission and restore state VOCA assistance
funding to 2006 levels. It also asks the appropriators to make sure that
any VOCA money used for the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve is taken
from money above the cap so that it doesnt reduce money going to the
states.

Tell the Senator's staffer:

-- Your name, the name of your program, and why you have an interest in
the issue. Say you are calling to urge the Senator to support increased
funding for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by signing the letter being
circulated by Senators Leahy and Crapo.

-- Why VOCA funding is so important to your community. Include
information on local programs that rely on VOCA funds to meet the needs
of victims of crime.

Senator offices that wish to sign on should contact Kathyrn Neal at
(202) 224-7703 in Senator Leahy's office or Laura Thurston-Goodroe at
(202) 224-7500 in Senator Crapo's office no later than Wednesday, April
2 .

VAWA letter:

The VAWA letter is being circulated by Senators Joe Biden (D-DE) and
Gordon Smith (R-OR). It asks Senate appropriators to fully fund VAWA
programs in the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and
Human Services. Already, 24 Senators have signed the VAWA letter (see
list below).

Tell the Senator's staffer:

-- Your name, the name of your program, and why you have an interest in
the issue. Say you are calling to urge the Senator to support full
funding for programs under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by
signing the letter being circulated by Senators Biden and Smith. (Or, if
your Senator has already signed - see list below - thank him or her for
that support.)

-- Why VAWA funding is so important to your community. Include
information on local programs that rely on VAWA funds to meet the needs
of victims of crime.

Senators who wish to sign onto the VAWA letter should contact Sarah
Colemen in Senator Bidens office at (202) 224-0558 or Lori Prater in
Senator Smiths office at (202) 224-6562 no later than Wednesday, April
2, 2008.



If you have any questions or would like us to send you a copy of either
the VOCA or VAWA letters being circulated in the Senate, please contact
Ilse Knecht, Deputy Director of Public Policy, at iknecht@... or
(703) 732-2446.

THANK YOU for your help!

Senators who have ALREADY signed the VAWA letter:

Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Cantwell
Casey
Collins
Durbin
Feingold
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Menendez
Obama
Pryor
Reed
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Smith
Stabenow