HELP Committee Advances Bill to Support Families Experiencing Domestic Violence; Advances Nominees

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, at a mark-up, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, advanced the bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021 by voice vote. Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) highlighted how this bill, which was led by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), makes improvements to FVPSA that will help support families and children experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, and family violence which has increased during pandemic.

“Across the country, millions of children and families experience domestic violence annually—and the crisis has only gotten worse during this pandemic. It’s never been more important to provide life-saving shelter and support to these families, and that’s exactly what the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act will do, ” said Senator Murray. “I’m so proud that the HELP Committee advanced this critical bipartisan legislation and I’m grateful to Senators Casey and Murkowski for their hard work leading this bill. With so many families in need, I’ll be pushing hard to get this bill across the finish line.”

In addition, the HELP Committee also voted to advance four nominations to the Department of Education and to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Senator Murray reiterated her strong support for the nominees, emphasizing that each will play a critical role in rebuilding a workforce and education system that works for everyone.

“These nominees all made clear at their hearings that they are well-qualified for their roles and will help build back a stronger, fairer country for workers, students, and families across the country," Senator Murray said.

The HELP Committee advanced the nomination of Elizabeth Brown to be General Counsel of the Department of Education by a voice vote.

The HELP Committee advanced the nomination of Roberto Rodríguez to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the Department of Education by a voice vote.

The HELP Committee advanced the nomination of  Gwynne Wilcox to be a Member of the NLRB by a vote of 13-9. In addition to every Democrat on the Committee, Senators Murkowski  and Collins (R-ME) voted to advance Wilcox.

Lastly, the HELP Committee advanced the nomination of David Prouty to be a Member of the NLRB by a vote of 13-9. In addition to every Democrat on the Committee, Senators Murkowski and Collins voted to advance Prouty.

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