{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://beatty.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/breaking-financial-chains-beatty-casten-s-new-bill-helps-women-in-abusive-situations", "Breaking Financial Chains: Beatty & Casten\u2019s New Bill Helps  Women in Abusive Situations", "2024-10-22", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Joyce Beatty", "B001281", "beatty.house.gov", "beatty", "https://beatty.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) and Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) introduced the Financial Empowerment and Protection Act, legislation aimed at removing barriers to the financial information often necessary for women to safely leave abusive relationships.\n\nUnder the Financial Empowerment and Protection Act, mortgage lenders, landlords, utility providers, and childcare providers would be required to offer joint accounts for cohabitating or co-parenting couples. Oftentimes, abusive partners use financial limitations as a method of control to prevent a victim from leaving the situation. This means that people leaving abusive relationships may have limited access to pay their own bills; and may lose access to housing, childcare, and transportation. Domestic violence shelters report that information about these accounts is commonly withheld during the dissolution of abusive relationships. This legislation aims to circumvent this, allowing victims equal access and visibility into their household finances.\n\n\"Financial control is often used to trap women in abusive relationships by limiting their economic and physical independence,\u201d said Congresswoman Beatty. \u201cThis bill provides crucial protection by ensuring equal access to and control over shared household finances, empowering women to make decisions for their wellbeing and future. I\u2019m proud to join Congressman Casten in introducing this bill to help protect and support women, especially those in crisis, in building secure, independent lives.\"\n\n\u201cFar too often, we hear stories of victims of abuse who feel trapped in their situation due to limited or no insight into their household finances,\u201d said Congressman Casten. \u201cThis legislation, which came out of one such story from a constituent who called in, aims to take away that lever of control from an abuser, empowering women to make their own financial decisions.\u201d\n\n\"For too long, financial abuse has been used by abusers to hold on to power and control over women\u2014with laws on the books that allow them to withhold financial information women need to leave abusive relationships and build security of their own,\u201d said Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women. \u201cRep. Casten\u2019s bill will finally correct this dangerous gap in our laws and unlock doors to financial freedom women urgently need.\"\n\n\u201cSurvivors of domestic violence deserve safeguards that sustain their financial stability and security. Maintaining survivors\u2019 access to shared accounts, such as cell phone, utility and mortgage accounts, is one of many policy solutions needed to better preserve their economic well-being,\u201d said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. \u201cThe Financial Empowerment and Protection Act would give power back to survivors by providing them with the tools to regain or retain their independence. We are grateful to Representatives Casten and Beatty for their tremendous efforts to support survivors and their families.\u201d\n\nThis bill has endorsements from the National Partnership for Women & Families, National Organization for Women (NOW), the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.\n\nText of the legislation can be found here.\n\nOctober is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an opportunity to raise awareness of domestic violence and its impact on individuals, families, and communities and work together to create change.\n\nFor more media inquiries, please contact Cassandra.Johnson@mail.house.gov.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://beatty.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/breaking-financial-chains-beatty-casten-s-new-bill-helps-women-in-abusive-situations"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.527551958337426, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}