House Votes To Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act Despite Gop Opposition
WASHINGTON The House on Thursday passed an extension of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides protections for survivors of domestic violence, and includes new gun-related provisions that are opposed by the NRA.
Lawmakers approved the bill in a 263-158 vote, with most Republicans voting against it.
The measure, which expired in February, was sponsored by Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. The bill today, which would extend the law for five years, includes new provisions that would make it harder for domestic abusers to gain access to guns.
Those include an attempt to close the so-called ‘boyfriend’ loophole, prohibiting those convicted of stalking or abusing individuals with whom they have been in a relationship that did not include marriage from buying a gun.
House Votes To Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act
Washington The House voted Wednesday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act , the landmark 1994 law that strengthened domestic violence protections for women.;
The House approved the reauthorization by a vote of 244 to 172, with 29 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting for it. But the measure, which expired two years ago, may hit a roadblock in the evenly divided Senate.
VAWA enshrines legal protections for women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence. It was initially passed in 1994, championed by then-Senator Joe Biden, and was updated and reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and 2013. The bill expired at the end of 2018 due to a government shutdown and was briefly renewed by a resolution reopening the government, but expired again in February 2019. Mr. Biden made reauthorizing VAWA a key campaign promise before he was elected.
The White House Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Wednesday saying that “the administration strongly supports” reauthorizing VAWA.
The current bill would expand victims services and reauthorize grant programs for the criminal justice response to domestic and sexual violence. It also includes provisions that would expand housing options for survivors, and end immunity for non-Native perpetrators of sexual violence on tribal lands.
“I think it’s critically important that we advance VAWA,” she said.
Senate Rewrites Rules To Speed Confirmations For Some Trump Nominees
“The NRA is wrong to oppose this provision, they are wrong to oppose this entire bill, it shows where they are when it comes to safety and when it comes to protecting women, and we will fight to keep it in this bill,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who is running for president.
President Trump has not yet weighed in on whether he would sign it if it reaches his desk with the gun or transgender provisions intact. Echoing House Republicans, White House spokesman Judd Deere said, “The White House supports a clean extension of VAWA.”
Recommended Reading: What Is The Pin Nancy Pelosi Wears
Violence Against Women Act Now Touted By Republicans Who Voted Against Bill
WASHINGTON — When Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization bill late last month, more than 130 House Republicans voted against it. But some of those same lawmakers are putting out misleading statements that make it look like they voted for the bill instead.
Rep. Steve King , for one, issued a statement with the headline, “King Votes in Support of Violence Against Women Act.” But King didn’t vote for the VAWA bill. Instead, he voted for a GOP alternative bill that failed to advance.
“I supported VAWA in 2005, 2012, and today I voted in support of the House version to see that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault have access to the resources and protection when they need it most,” King’s statement reads.
Then there’s Rep. Bill Johnson , who disputed his VAWA vote with a constituent during . “Please make sure you have the facts right. I DID vote in favor of VAWA today,” Johnson wrote. But he didn’t.
The list goes on. As Steve Benen of The Maddow Blog first reported, a smattering of local newspapers have called out lawmakers including Rep. Tim Walberg , Rep. Vicky Hartzler , Rep. Keith Rothfus and Rep. Tim Murphy for being deceptive about how they voted.
A Johnson spokesman told HuffPost that the congressman voted against the VAWA bill that passed because it was a “politicallyâmotivated, constitutionally-dubious Senate version bent on dividing women into categories by race, transgender politics and sexual preference.â
Biden Supports Changes To Filibuster Returning It To ‘what It Used To Be’
In a statement Wednesday evening, Biden said “writing and passing VAWA is one of the legislative accomplishments of which I’m most proud,” and urged the Senate to follow suit.
“This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue it’s about standing up against the abuse of power and preventing violence,” he said.
A number of Republican senators said this week they are working on finding a bipartisan compromise that can pass the now-Democratic-controlled chamber. “I think it’s fair to say that there is a good strong interest in trying to advance VAWA,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
The most contentious issue in the House-passed bill is a provision that expands the criminal threshold to bar an individual from buying a gun to include misdemeanor convictions of domestic abuse or stalking. It would also close the so-called boyfriend loophole to expand the definition of who is affected by existing gun prohibitions to include dating partners. “This legislation makes it clear that Democrats consider gun ownership a second-class right,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va.
Don’t Miss: Senate Party Breakdown 2017
House Votes To Reauthorize Landmark Violence Against Women Act
The House voted on Wednesday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, legislation originally authored by then-Sen. Joe Biden in 1994 that aims to strengthen protections for women from domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
The landmark law was reauthorized several times since, but lapsed in 2019 after the Democratic-controlled House voted to renew it, but it stalled in the Republican-led Senate. Democrats are hopeful it will find the support this time although the latest version still faces potential obstacles in the evenly-divided Senate.
The vote was 244-to-172, with 29 Republicans breaking ranks and joining Democrats in backing the reauthorization.
We want women to live. We want victims of violence to live, men or women. We want children to be able to have a parent, said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee , at an earlier news conference with House Democrats where all the women wore white in honor of womens suffrage.
Republican opposition to the bill revolves in part around closing the so-called boyfriend loophole, which adds dating partners and stalkers to the provision banning spouses of convicted domestic violence or abuse from owning firearms.
The National Rifle Association is opposed to the extending the ban, and Republicans have opposed the broader VAWA legislation over it, arguing that it is a ploy by Democrats to erode Second Amendment rights.
The term VAWA has become synonymous with justice Pelosi said.
Biden An Original Sponsor
First passed in 1994, VAWA enshrines legal protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence. The original bill was championed by then-Sen. Joe Biden, and was reauthorized and updated in 2000, 2005 and 2013.
The House bill would expand victim services and reauthorize for five years grant programs for the criminal justice response to domestic and sexual violence. It also includes provisions that would expand housing options for survivors, and allow tribal jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators of sexual violence on tribal lands.
The White House Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Wednesday saying that “the administration strongly supports” reauthorizing VAWA.
The OMB statement praised the bill for recognizing the need to provide protection and services to all victims of abuse and includes proposals to strengthen existing policies that were supported by both Democrats and Republicans last year. The Administration urges swift passage of this legislation.”
In 2019, the bill received support from 33 House Republicans, and the current version is cosponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick.
Other Republicans, including New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, criticized Democrats for moving forward with what they called an overly partisan bill. Stefanik pointed out that the process shut out the record number of Republican women who joined the chamber after the 2020 election.
Don’t Miss: Democrats And Republicans Switched Platforms
Democrats On Violence Against Women Act: We’re Closing A Loophole
The NRA, which has pushed back on the new provisions, and had been urging House Republicans to vote against the bill. Most Republicans were expected to vote against the legislation.
The NRA opposes domestic violence and all violent crime, and spends millions of dollars teaching countless Americans how not to be a victim and how to safely use firearms for self-defense, NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said in a Wednesday statement, accusing activists and politicians who support gun control of “intentionally politicizing the Violence Against Women Act as a smokescreen to push their gun control agenda” and “trivializing the serious issue of domestic violence.
On the House floor Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that he was deeply disappointed that some House Republicans are using the NRA as cover to vote against this reauthorization, which has been overwhelmingly in a bipartisan fashion reauthorized over and over again.
President Bill Clinton first signed VAWA into law in 1994. It has since been reauthorized three times, in 2000, 2005 and 2013.
The law was a direct response to the epic violence against women that plagued our country at that time, Bass said in a speech touting the bill on the House floor Wednesday.
At a press conference Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her father, spoke emotionally about the new VAWA reauthorization.
Colorado Delegation Split As Us House Passes Violence Against Women Act And Equal Rights Amendment
With the women of the House Democratic Caucus wearing white the traditional color of womens suffrage the chamber passed two bills aimed at promoting and protecting womens rights.
One, which passed 244-172, would reauthorize and expand the Violence Against Women Act, which expired in 2019. The other removes a deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. It passed 222-204.In both votes, Colorados House delegation split along party lines. Democrats supported the measures, Republicans opposed them.
The votes took place against the backdrop of a mass shooting that killed eight people, including seven women working at spas in the Atlanta area.
First passed in 1994, the VAWA strengthened laws around domestic and sexual violence against women. The Senate failed to authorize the bill last congress over disagreements on LGBTQ and firearms provisions.
Weve seen a huge increase in domestic violence during the pandemic. We have to do more to protect those who need our help, tweeted Rep. Diana DeGette.
The latest bill expands protections for the most vulnerable, including immigrant, LGBTQ and Native American women, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It strengthens services for victims and survivors, empowers law enforcement to protect their communities, helps stop abusers and stalkers from obtaining firearms and expands protections for victims and survivors financial security.”
How And Why We Cover Colorados Congressional Delegation
Don’t Miss: Are Other Republicans Running For President
Full List Of 172 Republicans Who Opposed The Violence Against Women Act
The House voted on Wednesday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act after 29 Republicans broke with their party to support the bill, which offered women protections from domestic violence, sexual assault and other harassment.
Lawmakers approved the bill in a 244-172 vote following its lapse in late 2018. The Democratic-controlled House sought to renew the bill the following year, but it was held up in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Now the Democrats hold a one-vote majority in the upper chamber and are hoping to garner the Republican support needed for a 60-vote supermajority that negates the threat of the filibuster.
President Joe Biden, who first introduced the bill as a senator in 1990, celebrated its reauthorization in the House and called on the upper chamber to “strengthen and renew” the law.
Releasing a statement, Biden said: “This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue it’s about standing up against the abuse of power and preventing violence.” He then urged a “bipartisan coalition” in the Senate to get the law over the final hurdle.
A number of provisions in the Violence Against Women Act have widespread bipartisan support, such as state grants for sexual assault and domestic violence services, and offers of housing assistance for victims of domestic abuse.
At present, the rule applies to those convicted of violence against former or present spousesbut not those in non-marital relationships.
Related Articles
House Passes Sweeping Gun Bill
There are other objections. Republicans also oppose a new provision to allow U.S. citizens to be tried in tribal courts for crimes of domestic or dating violence committed by non-native perpetrators on native lands; a provision to create a pathway for an “alternative justice response” as a form of mediation between victims and abusers; and the expansion of existing protections to include transgender victims. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., an abuse survivor, attempted to strip provisions that would allow transgender women access to shelters and the ability to serve in prisons that align with the sex with which they identify, but it failed along party lines. Republicans want those access and sentencing guidelines to continue to correspond with biological sex assigned at birth.
The Senate has not yet advanced its own VAWA reauthorization, which Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., are working on. It is unclear if the gun provisions in the House bill can clear the Senate, but Democrats say they will demand their inclusion.
Recommended Reading: What Caused Republicans To Gain Power In Congress In 1938
Legislative Battle And Reauthorization
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013
When a bill reauthorizing the act was introduced in 2012, it was opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to extending the Act’s protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered foreigners residing in the country illegally to claim temporary visas, also known as U visas. The U visa is restricted to 10,000 applicants annually whereas the number of applicants far exceeds these 10,000 for each fiscal year. In order to be considered for the U visa, one of the requirements for immigrant women is that they need to cooperate in the detention of the abuser. Studies show that 30 to 50% of immigrant women are suffering from physical violence and 62% experience physical or psychological abuse in contrast to only 21% of citizens in the United States.
In April 2012, the Senate voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and the House subsequently passed its own measure . Reconciliation of the two bills was stymied by procedural measures, leaving the re-authorization in question. The Senate’s 2012 re-authorization of VAWA was not brought up for a vote in the House.
In 2013, the question of jurisdiction over offenses in Native American country continued to be at issue over the question of whether defendants who are not tribal members would be treated fairly by tribal courts or afforded constitutional guarantees.
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013
House Judiciary Approves Subpoena For Full Mueller Report In Party
Republicans countered with an unaltered bill to extend VAWA in the short term until a deal can be reached, but Democrats have the votes, the party broadly supports the changes to the law and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear the new majority will hold firm.
Democrats successfully fought Republicans over the most recent VAWA renewal in 2013 because it included new provisions to protect same-sex couples and certain immigrants. It was a two-year battle in which Democrats ultimately claimed victory over conservative Republican opposition with help from bipartisan support in the Senate. “We had a big ongoing fight, until we made it too hot for them to handle,” Pelosi told reporters last week. She brushed off NRA opposition. “I don’t see that it has much impact on the passage of the bill in the House of Representatives,” she said.
Democrats plan to follow a similar road map to renew VAWA this time. “Our calculation was: We’re in charge now. We can pass a bill that we think is a comprehensive bill to protect all women,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters on Tuesday.
While the law is currently expired, Congress will continue to fund all of the bill’s programs through the annual appropriations process whether or not it’s renewed quickly. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the updated VAWA authorizes about $1 billion annually over a five-year renewal period.
Read Also: Trump Losing Republican Support
Republicans Voted To Oppose The Violence Against Women Act And People Are Furious
Congress has passed anti-domestic violence laws but 172 Republicans sparked anger by voting against it
People online are expressing their anger after 172 Republicans voted against anti-domestic violence laws in the immediate aftermath of a series of deadly attacks on women.
This act passed after 29 Republicans joined forces with the Democrats, who control Congress, leading the final vote to be 224 to 194.
The Violence Against Women Act creates and supports comprehensive, cost-effective responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
In a statement, they said the group applauds the bills lead sponsors Sheila Jackson , Brian Fitzpatrick and Jerry Nadler , and all those who voted for the VAWAs passage.
The groups president Deborah Vagins said it was a vote to support survivors… that both maintains established protections and resources and expands VAWA to address ongoing gaps in the law.
The pandemic continues to reveal deep racial and gender inequalities that impact survivors lives and jeopardise their safety.
Much has been said about Covid-19 exacerbating already existing societal injustices, such as domestic violence.
However, people were quick to point out the high number of Republicans who did not support the legislation, which many said felt particularly outrageous in light of a mass shooting that killed eight women in Atlanta.
