The Times-Picayune: Senate votes to extend Violence Against Women Act
Bruce Alpert
Washington -- The ball is back on the House side. By a large bipartisan margin, the Senate Tuesday voted to renew the Violence Against Women Act. Last year, the House refused to go along with the Senate version -- killing the measure for the 112th Congress.
The act first passed in 1994 after negotiations led by then Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., is credited by supporters with helping protect women and their children from violence, particularly at the hand of spouses or domestic partners.
Louisiana's two senators, Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter, voted for the extension, which passed 78-22.
Landrieu said the act has established a "proven record of protecting women and families who are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse."
"The Violence Against Women Act is particularly important for Louisiana as our state consistently ranks among the top five for women killed as a result of domestic violence," Landrieu said. "This legislation will save lives - I hope the House of Representatives will follow the Senate's lead and pass this important bill."
Since 2011, when the act expired, more than 16 million incidents of rape, physical violence or stalking by a domestic partner have been reported in the United States.
Among the Louisiana programs that have received funding under the Violence Against women Act are the Crescent House program in New Orleans and the Wellspring Alliance for Family in Monroe, according to Landrieu's office.
In the House, 17 House Republicans wrote this week to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, asking them to quickly move the bill to the House floor. Cantor has promised to oversee negotiations on the bill.
Some Republicans said the GOP paid a big political price in the last election with lost votes from women who considered the GOP unfriendly to their interests.
In the letter, the 17 GOP House members, none from Louisiana, wrote:
"Over the course of the past several years, we have met with constituents in our districts who agree that Violence Against Women Act programs are an important part of a larger criminal justice framework that seeks to reduce abuse against women and kids. We appreciate the need to make efficient and effective use of federal dollars, and believe that VAWA programs in our districts have met that threshold and have been a success in curbing domestic violence and supporting victims."
Some Republicans have complained that the bill passed by the Senate would allow Native American courts to consider cases in which non-Indians are accused of assaulting Indian women on reservations. Critics complain that subjecting non-Indians to prosecution in Native American courts is unconstitutional.
But supporters said that Indian women are raped and sexually assaulted at 2 ½ times the national rate. Often, they said that federal courts are far away from reservations.
"This is about the life and death of women who need a better system to help prosecute those who are committing serious crimes against them," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
