Biden offers plan for violence victims

DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., Wednesday touted a program to deter violence against women with the help of a national volunteer network of lawyers.

Biden, speaking in Des Moines, Iowa, said the program would solicit at least 100,000 lawyers, The Des Moines Register reported.

The presidential hopeful talked about the program before an audience at Creative Visions, a community action agency, as he stumped for support in the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

"I think we have a moral obligation, a legal necessity ... and an absolute urgent need to do this," he said.

Biden's plan would establish the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Referral Project, which would be managed by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, at a cost of about $2 million a year in new federal spending, his campaign staff told the newspaper.

The funding would mainly be used to set up and maintain an electronic network that could rapidly respond when victims of violence need assistance, the Biden campaign said.