As a warrior for human dignity and human value, I will always stand up against violence, especially violence for the purpose of oppressing people. That’s why in 2018, I helped pass a bill called the POWER Act to combat domestic violence and sexual assault by encouraging lawyers across the country to offer pro bono legal services to victims and survivors of these awful crimes.

And it was a huge success. In 2020 alone, the POWER Act resulted in 75 pro bono legal summits across the nation, reaching more than 43,000 attorneys and connecting countless victims and survivors with the legal assistance they needed. Unfortunately, this bill was set to expire at the end of the year.

The good news is that Congress stepped up this week to pass the Power 2.0 Act, which reauthorizes this important legislation and ensures its great work continues for years to come. This bill passed both the House and Senate, so now it is on its way to President Biden’s desk to become law.

I’m proud of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together to deliver on this important issue. This is a big win in our fight to combat domestic violence, and I’m confident it will encourage more survivors to step out of the shadows and seek the services they need to break free from the cycle of abuse.