Last week, I attended the White House bill signing ceremony for the bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act – landmark legislation that I cosponsored and have championed since arriving to Congress nearly a decade ago.

The renewal of the Violence Against Women Act boosts funding for programs protecting Arizona women and families, preventing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking while improving access to essential support services such as health care and safe housing for survivors.

Since the Violence Against Women Act expired in 2019, I’ve been working across the aisle to build support for survivors and ensure law enforcement – including Tribal authorities – have the tools needed to crack down on abusers. I’m incredibly proud we came together in a bipartisan way and signed our bill into law.

I’m especially proud of our work to successfully include provisions giving Tribal governments new tools to protect Indigenous women and families across our state. In a particularly big win for tribal communities, tribal justice systems will now have the authority to crack down on domestic violence committed on tribal lands by non-Native individuals, and increased resources to protect tribal members from sexual assault and stalking.

Thanks to our work, the Violence Against Women Act has been renewed through 2027. It will provide resources for crucial programs protecting Arizona’s women, families, and tribal members for the next five years, empowering survivors with critical support.

On behalf of everyday Arizonans, I’ll keep working with colleagues in both parties to strengthen protections for Arizona women and families.