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H.R. 3271: Security and Financial Empowerment Act

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H.R. 3271: Security and Financial Empowerment Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-10-27 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-10-27 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-34] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Security and Financial Empowerment Act

Plain summary

Security and Financial Empowerment Act - Authorizes appropriations for grants for the national resource center on workplace responses to assist victims of domestic and sexual violence for FY2012-FY2016. Establishes limits on the use of funds for administrative costs. Requires the center to provide information and assistance to enable victim service organizations to provide resource materials or other assistance to employers, labor organizations, or employees. Amends the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to set forth entitlement standards and implementation guidelines for employee use of emergency leave to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking (domestic or sexual violence). Prohibits: (1) any employer from interfering with the exercise of any right provided under this Act; or (2) discrimination against any individual for exercising any such right, opposing any practice made unlawful by this Act, or instituting any proceeding under this Act. Establishes a private right of action to enforce this Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints of violations of this Act. Permits victims of domestic or sexual violence to substitute existing leave in lieu of emergency leave. Authorizes state use of funds under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) to provide nonrecurrent short-term emergency benefits for victims of domestic or sexual violence on emergency leave. Adds provisions to VAWA, entitled the Victims' Employment Sustainability Act, to prohibit certain discriminatory practices against victims of domestic or sexual violence by: (1) employers with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment; or (2) public agencies with respect to the terms or conditions of public assistance. Authorizes civil actions by individuals or the Attorney General to enforce such provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit denial of unemployment compensation to individuals separated from employment due to their experience of domestic or sexual violence. Amends the Social Security Act to require training of unemployment compensation and TANF personnel to provide necessary services to victims of domestic or sexual violence. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award a grant to a national victim services organization to develop and disseminate a model training program. Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits denial or restriction of insurance coverage (including termination of health insurance coverage) or addition of a premium differential based on the status of the applicant or insured as a victim of abuse by a household or family member, intimate partner, or caretaker. Provides for enforcement of such prohibitions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and by a private cause of action.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Security and Financial Empowerment Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-34] · 14 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Judy Chu (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-hr3271 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112