2022: Schweikert Voted To Require FBI Investigations Of Child Sexual Or Trafficking Crimes To Include A Multidisciplinary Team And A Trained Child Adolescent Forensic Interviewer. In December 2022, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted for the Respect for Child Survivors Act, which would "require FBI investigations of child sexual or trafficking crimes to include a multidisciplinary team and a trained FBI child adolescent forensic interviewer, including by coordinating with children's advocacy center-based multidisciplinary teams." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 385 -- 28, thus the bill was sent to President Biden and it ultimately became law. [House Vote 534, 12/21/22; Congressional Quarterly, 12/21/22; Congressional Actions, S. 4926]
The Bill Required The FBI To Make Children's Advocates Available To Child Sex Abuse Or Child Trafficking Victims. According to Congressional Quarterly, "It would require the FBI to make advocates available to each child sexual abuse or child trafficking victim in connection with an FBI investigation." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/21/22]
The Bill Provided $40 Million Annually For FY 2022 Through FY 2028 For Local Children's Advocacy Centers To Establish A Care Network For Child Abuse Victims, Including Investigation, Prosecution And Intervention. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Among other provisions, the bill would authorize $40 million annually for fiscal years 2022 through 2028 for grants to states for local children's advocacy centers to establish and maintain a network of care for child abuse victims that includes ongoing investigation, prosecution and intervention activities." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/21/22]
The Bill Was Introduced In The Wake Of The Investigation On Dr. Larry Nassar's Sexual Abuse Of Young Girls In The U.S. Women's National Gymnastics Team. According to HuffPost, "The bipartisan bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in the wake of the investigation of Larry Nassar, the longtime doctor for the U.S. women's national gymnastics team. Multiple reports of Nassar's sexual abuse of children and young women on the team were ignored for years." [HuffPost, 12/22/22]
The Bill Required The FBI To Use Multidisciplinary Teams Of Trained Professionals During Investigations Of Sex Abuse To Address Poor Interviews And The Re-Traumatizing Of Victims. According to HuffPost, "Through this legislation, the FBI would be required to use multidisciplinary teams of trained professionals in investigations of sexual abuse to address the problems of poorly conducted interviews and the re-traumatizing of survivors." [HuffPost, 12/22/22]
2018: Schweikert Voted Against The $1.3 Trillion FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Deal Which Raised Spending By $138 Billion Over FY 2017 Levels; Bill Included The Keep Young Athletes Safe Act. In March 2018, Schweikert voted against the FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Combined, the spending measures would provide about $1.3 trillion in discretionary spending, with $1.2 trillion subject to discretionary spending caps, and $78.1 billion designated as Overseas Contingency Operations funds. The measure's spending levels are consistent with the increased defense and non-defense budget caps set by the two-year budget deal agreed to last month. That agreement increased the FY 2018 defense cap by $80 billion and the non-defense cap by $63 billion. Given that the previous caps were set to reduce overall discretionary spending by $5 billion, the net increase provided by the omnibus is $138 billion over the FY 2017 level." The vote was on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the bill, by a vote of 256 to 167. The Senate later agreed to the legislation, sending it to the president, who signed it into law. [House Vote 127, 3/22/18; Congressional Quarterly, 3/22/18; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1625]
Bill Authorized The DOJ To Give Grants To A Non-Profit Group To Oversee The USOC And Individual Sport National Governing Bodies Over Abuse. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The measure permits the Justice Department to issue grants to a nonprofit entity to support oversight of the U.S. Olympic Committee, individual sport national governing bodies and paralympic sports organizations, to safeguard amateur athletes against abuse --- including emotional, physical and sexual abuse in sports. Under the measure, $2.5 million a year through FY 2022 would be authorized for grants, and grant recipients must have expertise in preventing and investigating emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and have the capacity to oversee regular and random audits at the organizations being monitored. The grants could also be used to develop and test new training materials for emotional, physical, and sexual abuse prevention and identification, for staff and related salaries, and to oversee administration of random audits." [Congressional Quarterly, 3/22/18]
USA Gymnastics Former Doctor Larry Nassar Was Accused By More Than 150 Women Of Abuse. According to Vox, "Halicek is one of more than 150 women who came forward with harrowing testimony at the sentencing hearing for Nassar, a former doctor for USA Gymnastics and sports medicine physician at Michigan State University who has pleaded guilty to charges of criminal sexual conduct and federal child pornography charges." [Vox, 2/8/18]
2019: Schweikert Voted Against Reauthorizing The Violence Against Women Act, Which Included A Provision Making It A Crime For Police Officers To Sexual Assault Those Under Arrest. In February 2019, Schweikert voted against legislation reauthorizing VAWA. According to Congressional Quarterly, "This bill reauthorizes through FY 2024 programs enacted under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and it modifies the programs to further help state and local governments improve strategies to combat violent crimes against women and to strengthen victim services. It makes it a crime for police officers to sexually assault those under arrest; it increases prison sentences for those who stalk minors and applies domestic violence penalties against those who commit violence against a current or former dating partner; it allows the victims of domestic violence to terminate a housing lease without penalty and requires federal housing officials to provide emergency transfers to different housing units if an individual believes he or she is threatened with imminent harm or a sexual assault recently occurred on the property; and it prohibits individuals from begin denied unemployment benefits solely because they lost or left their job due to domestic violence, sexual assault or other harassment. The measure also expands existing prohibitions on the ability of individuals to purchase firearms if they have been convicted of domestic violence by including those who abused dating partners as well as individuals subject to temporary court restraining orders, and it allows certain VAWA grant monies to be used toward efforts to recover and store firearms from individuals convicted of domestic violence." The vote was on passage. The House passed the legislation by a vote of 263 to 158. [House Vote 156, 4/4/19; Congressional Quarterly, 3/29/19; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1585]
2022: Schweikert Effectively Voted Against Requiring A Study On Assault And Sexual Assault Incidents Between Rideshare And Taxi Passengers And Drivers And The Background Checks And Safety Measures Taken By Rideshare And Taxi Companies. In December 2022, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted against the "automatic passage of / agreement to: [...] a bill (HR 1082) related to rideshare safety; [...] HR 1082 would require the Government Accountability Office, within one year of enactment and every two years thereafter, to conduct a study and report to Congress on incidents of assault and sexual assault between rideshare and taxi passengers and drivers and assaults perpetrated by individuals posing as rideshare drivers, as well as information on background checks and additional safety measures taken by rideshare, taxi and other for-hire vehicle companies." The vote was on the adoption of the rule and automatic passage of the bill. The House adopted the rule and passed the bill by a vote of 215-206. The Senate passed the bill, sent it to President Biden, and it ultimately became law. [House Vote 547, 12/23/22; Congressional Quarterly, 12/23/22; Congressional Actions, H.Res. 1531; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1082]