E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSVice President Joe Biden speaks to a group of high school students Thursday about the importance of renewing the Violence Against Women Act.
After over a year of legislative limbo, the House passed a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Thursday, ending the partisan bickering that has plagued the bill since it expired in September of 2011.
The final legislation passed the lower chamber by a vote of 286 to 138 after a protracted battle over an expansion of the law and its impact in tribal communities. A majority of Republicans voted against the legislation, with 87 GOP members and all Democrats supporting it.
In a statement, President Barack Obama praised the passage of the bill, which he called "an important step towards making sure no one in America is forced to live in fear."
"Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse," he said. "Today's vote will go even further by continuing to reduce domestic violence, improving how we treat victims of rape, and extending protections to Native American women and members of the LGBT community."
Republican leaders first tried to pass a House-drafted version of the bill, which Democrats said did not do enough to protect gay couples, immigrants and Native Americans. That measure failed by a vote of 166 to 257.
The House then passed the same five-year reauthorization that was approved by Senate by an overwhelming majority in February.
The reauthorization of the law -– first sponsored by then-Sen. Joe Biden in 1994 –- had languished for months as the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-led House wrangled over details of the legislation.
Speaking at a dating violence prevention event Thursday, Biden offered a personal thanks to those who fought for the reauthorization, saying that curbing violence against women is a "sacred commitment."
House Republicans objected to the Senate’s version of the bill because of what they called a constitutional issue surrounding the prosecution of non-Indian criminals on tribal lands. GOP lawmakers failed to insert language that would have allowed tribal authorities to prosecute non-Indians under federal guidelines, and give those criminals the ability to appeal to federal courts.
The White House previously threatened to veto an earlier version of the Republican-drafted legislation, arguing it would have rolled back current laws that help victims of domestic violence.
This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:37 AM EST
Leave a Comment:
Did anyone remind the Republicans that the name of the bill didn't mean it was giving them permission?
Thank God. It's time to end all forms of the bully culture in America.
Amazing that the majority of GOP still voted against this.......and they think it is not the message but the way it is delivered?
I will spend my lunch hour calling every congress person that voted against this act. I will tell them how angry I have become with their hateful acts that are destroying our American way of life. who could vote against this? I do not want to know someone that could vote against this. I have become so angry with the repup congress that I do not think of them as our leaders but just awful people that have power to destroy this nation one act at a time.
Don't forget to call that idiot Bachman. She is a disgrace.
Why make another set of laws? Don't our current laws already make this illegal?? Seems to be more big government paper pushing that is really not going to change anything.
This is not a "new" law, this law was created years ago with the entire congress passing it except 4 wingnut repubs. we just needed to extend the law and this nonfunctional wingnut repub party could not function to the point to extend this law. please tell me no one on this site is going to vote these crazies back in to office!
The main thrust of this law was to provide expanded rights to Tribal law enforcement to arrest and prosecute non Natives who commit crimes on Reservation land.
As it stands now, non Natives can rape and assault women, children and men on Tribal land and walk away free and clear because federal and local "white" law enforcement officials will not prosecute them. If they do anything at all the crimes are reduced to misdemeanors, a paltry fine is paid, and the criminal never sees the inside of a jail or does any prison time.
This practice is an open invitation to predators of all types, from adult sex offenders to pedophiles, to invade Reservations, pick their victims, and walk away with no fear of prosecution.
Republicans and some Democrats have been fighting this law because they say that non Natives will not get a fair trial on Reservations and it just isn't "right" for an Indian to judge a non Indian.
Sounds kind of ironic, doesn't it?
Democrats wanted to be sure and add gravy to it to provide money for housing and ongoing medical care for illegal aliens and their children who were caught up in assault cases, and a host of other things. It's never about just what the name of the bill says it is.
the dems are going after more of the female vote just as they are going after the latino vote with immigration, the gay vote with the about face on same sex marriage....
No our current laws don't touch this. Get educated.
the retarded majority of GOP members in congress once again demonstrated their resistance to mainstream, electoral desires. they vote against VAWA using the ruse that they are concerned about those non-Indians or tribal members who commit egregious crimes against native American women and children, wll its like this GOers, do a crime in another country and do the time based on their prosecutorial methods and the US cannot help you. so be it for those who do those crimes on native American soil. second, GOPers demonstrate their own pathetic stone age attitude towards their own women, wives and children and they produce robotic women slaves who continue to vote for them out of fear.
the GOP is a doomed party, soon to be dismembered, and cast about on the indifferent political landscape that spawned them. they, like heebie hoover and "W", two of the most justifiably maligned POTUS's ever to sit in the Oval office, will be forever known as historical disasters.
Good riddance
Those 138 'no' votes say everything about the Republican party.
Fox news will run cover for them by claiming, there is no war on women by the GOP. Oh yes there is.
The votes say a lot about how women will be voting in the next election. I don't think the D's will forget this when the elections start warming up next year. What a headline, " Rep (who ever) (R), voted against the violence on women bill, because he thinks it's OK to slap women around. He is just part of the GOP who continues the war on women."
Right there, along with the list showing all of the NO voters, he will have lost most of the female support he might have had. And you rightwing, low informed base, how will you have an answer for that? Hey, the D running for that office could be a complete scumbag, but guess what, that D will win. Wait and see.
I know if I was running against one of the NO voters, that ad would be shown every week in the area I was running in. And everytime he tried to defend himself, I would be all over him like stink on dog poo.
Can't believe the GOP, the gift that keeps giving so they can lose elections. Are they really that STUPID? Must be, because they voted NO, which is a slap in the face to women voters.
"extending protections to Native American women"???
Possibly that is part of the problem. How many generations must a family live in the USA before they are considered native american? The Native America Indian woman has the same protection of every other american, unless on a reservation. Then they are under tribal laws.
Members of the LGBT community."?? Headline says: "Violence Against Women Act"? So far I only see reference to woman, LGBT I read covers Lesbian Violence,
How about Gay violence?
Forgotten Victims: Domestic Violence Among Gay Men
http://
thefeministwire.com/2012/11/forgotten-victims-domestic-violence-among-gay-men/
How about domestic violence where the male is the one abused?
Why do we not just make a law to cover one and all, no matter the sex, race, disability, or religion.
Would that not be equality in the USA?
About time!! I cannot believe anyone can defend the jerks that voted against this bill, like Eric Cantor & Sen. Rubio. Rubio cited the cost of the bill! And he is in the running for the next GOP Presidential Candidate? Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back no more, no more!
All you had to do was go up about six comments and read my post and you would not have made yourself look so stupid and uneducated by posting such an uninformed bit of tripe.
It's fools like you that made this law necessary.