Murray Visits King County Sexual Assault Resource Center After Securing $1.75 Million to Support Their Work, Discusses Record Funding She Secured in Spending Bills to Prevent[...]

ICYMI: PASSED: Murray Secures Over $5 Billion for WA Priorities in Three-Bill Funding Package; Historic Funding for Hanford, $190 Million for Howard Hanson Dam, Rejecting Trump Cuts

As Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray secured record funding for the Office on Violence Against Women, boosted critical grant programs to prevent sexual assault in funding bills expected to soon be signed into law

***VIDEO OF PRESS CONFERENCE HERE, PHOTOS AND B-ROLL HERE***

King County, WA - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, hosted a roundtable at the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) on the heels of securing record funding to prevent violence against women-and bringing home $1.75 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) for KCSARC-in the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2026, which passed the Senate last week and is expected to soon be signed into law.

Senator Murray visited KCSARC and heard from staff and survivors about how the $1.75 million in funding she secured will support survivors of sexual assault, provide comprehensive services, expand therapy offerings, and support a prevention-focused "Train-the-Trainer" program to meet growing demand. The Train-the-Trainer program allows educators and community-based leaders to meet the growing demand for support and prevention education across King County, especially in schools.

Joining Senator Murray for the roundtable discussion today were: Kate Garvey, Chief Executive Officer at King County Sexual Assault Resource Center; Steffanie Fain, King County Councilmember; Minu Ranna-Stewart, Director of Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center; Hannah Pepin, Prevention Education Specialist at KCSARC; Claudia Godina, Bilingual Legal Advocate Supervisor at KCSARC; and Andy Sampson, a survivor and member of KCSARC's "Empowered Voices."

"Supporting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault has always been a huge priority for me. I've spoken personally with so many women and survivors who struggled to get the help they needed after an assault, and I carry their stories with me in the other Washington. I've even worked with survivors here in Washington state to write and pass bills like the Survivors' Access to Supportive Care Act, and to create the Access to Sexual Assault Nurse Exams program," said Senator Murray. "So I was outraged when the Trump Administration proposed devastating cuts to support for survivors-and even wanted to consolidate the Office on Violence Against Women with other programs. This is not a federal initiative that can be some afterthought or get lost in D.C. bureaucracy. As the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, I fought tooth and nail to make sure we rejected Trump's painful cuts-and instead secured a record increase for the Office on Violence Against Women. And I'm especially pleased I was able to secure $1.75 million for the work here at the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center. I will continue listening to survivors, and the people who serve them, about what the federal government can do to support their work."

In the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2026, Senator Murray secured a record $720 million-the highest funding level ever-for the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women, rejecting steep cuts proposed by President Trump. That funding supports multiple competitive and formula grant programs that support training for police officers and prosecutors, state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, rape prevention programs, lethality assessment and homicide reduction initiatives, domestic violence hotlines, women's shelters, transitional housing, and rural support services. Senator Murray also secured in the bill a record $12 million for a program she established to increase access to sexual assault nurse exams, which will support grants for regional Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training, salaries for SANEs and Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs), technical assistance, and resources to increase access to SANEs and SAFEs. The bill also includes $10 million in continued funding to incentivize states to adopt laws that protect the rights of sexual assault survivors.

For survivors of sexual assault who decide to disclose their assault, accessing medical and forensic exams from a trained SANE or SAFE is a crucial part of how they can seek justice. But hospitals often don't have the resources or the appropriately trained staff to administer these vital exams and survivors often face steep and difficult challenges in getting the care and exams they need to hold perpetrators accountable.

The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2026 Senator Murray negotiated also provides $50 million to support the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which supports multidisciplinary community response teams tasked with developing and implementing comprehensive reform regarding sexual assault, including reducing the backlog of rape kits at law enforcement agencies. Additionally, the bill provides increased funding for other programs that are critical to assisting survivors, including: $79.5 million for the Sexual Assault Services Program; $55 million for Legal Assistance for Victims grants; and $51 million for Transitional Housing Assistance grants. The legislation also makes available $1.95 billion from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), a $600 million increase from fiscal year 2024.

"As we celebrate our 50th year of service to survivors and our community, we face considerable funding challenges that risk our ability to immediately respond to the 4,500 survivors and families who seek our help each year. We can't be more grateful for Senator Murray's leadership and action that will help prevent loss of staff and their expertise, and keep our response to victims strong," said Kate Garvey, CEO, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.

As the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray also negotiated the bipartisan, bicameral Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2026 which provides additional resources to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. That includes $5 million to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women's Health to support grants to states and Tribes to collect data and report on access to medical exams for sexual assault survivors, as part of implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This was funding and language Senator Murray championed to direct HHS to continue implementation of her Survivors' Access to Supportive Care Act (SASCA).

Senator Murray has long prioritized passing policies to help prevent sexual assault and support survivors. She has helped author major provisions and additions to the Violence Against Women Act over the years. Murray first introduced SASCA in 2016, after her constituent, Leah Griffin, shared her personal story of surviving a sexual assault and then getting turned away from a hospital when it was unable to administer a rape kit-ultimately contributing to prosecutors declining to file criminal charges. Since then, she has fought to pass the critical legislation, and ultimately succeeded in including key provisions of the bill in the March 2022 reauthorization of VAWA to develop national standards of care for survivors of sexual assault, strengthen the sexual assault examiner workforce, and expand access to sexual assault examination services. The reauthorization of VAWA also included provisions that expand special criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts to cover non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse, stalking, and sex trafficking on tribal lands. The reauthorization also increased services and support for survivors from underserved and marginalized communities-including LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. VAWA also supports survivor-centered, community-based restorative practice services, including culturally specific services and services in rural communities. Senator Murray also leads the Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) for Survivors Act to establish provisions that promote the safety and security of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, gender-based violence, and stalking. Additionally, Senator Murray is a cosponsor of the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, bipartisan legislation which would bolster the Crime Victims Fund to support state victim compensation and assistance programs.

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