FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1995 (202) 616-0189 TDD (202) 514-1888 STATEMENT OF SECRETARY SHALALA AND ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO ON CONGRESSIONAL ATTEMPTS TO DEFUND THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE "Last night, Congress took a giant step backwards in the fight against domestic violence. "By voting to eliminate the $1 million in funding for the Crime Bill's National Domestic Violence Hotline, the House of Representative's Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS threatens to squash one of the crime bill's most promising initiatives for fighting the abuse faced by millions of women. "More than one million women are victims of domestic violence every year. "This toll-free, 24-hour hotline -- which a bipartisan majority passed as part of last year's crime bill -- will offer crisis counseling, problem-solving techniques, and referrals for battered women, their families, and advocates. "The subcommittee's vote is not even penny-wise. At a cost of less than one fourth a penny per American, this hotline is a bargain, not a luxury. It is a model of how a reinvented government can help millions of battered women to prevent further abuse and to start reconstructing their lives." "Now is not the time to break our contract with the women of America." "We urge Speaker Gingrich and Chairman Porter -- both of whom cosponsored the hotline legislation last year -- to reconsider their decision and fully fund the domestic violence hotline. ### 95-104