The House Wednesday reauthorized a decades-old measure to aid victims of domestic violence, adding provisions to include transgendered individuals and other language Republicans say has politicized the legislation.
The Violence Against Women Act, first introduced in 1994 by then-Sen. Joe Biden, lapsed in 2019. Democrats said Wednesday the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased domestic violence and the need to reauthorize the bill.
The measure passed the House on Wednesday on a 244-172 vote. It would provide federally funded legal protections and resources for victims of domestic violence and adds enhanced protections, including a provision that would block all people convicted of domestic violence or abuse from buying guns.
“We live in a world where 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat. “Reauthorizing VAWA is about creating a future for those survivors by giving them the tools they need to heal. It’s about ensuring a better and safer future for the next generation.”
The Senate, now controlled by Democrats, is expected to take up the bill, but Senate Republicans are working on their own version of the legislation that they hope will draw bipartisan support.
“We don’t know what will happen in the Senate, but we’re optimistic that the reauthorization can be successful on the other side of the Capitol,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Wednesday.
House Republicans rose in opposition to the measure, arguing Democrats have politicized the bill with a number of provisions, including a change in the law that would require domestic abuse shelters and women’s prisons to accept transgender women.
Republicans also opposed the expansion of gun restrictions to include those convicted of some misdemeanor stalking and other charges and the removal of religious exemptions that they said could force religious nonprofit groups to stop providing services.
“Democrats filled this legislation with politically charged, highly controversial provisions that dramatically expanded the scope and erased the bipartisanship that originally passed this bill,” Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a Minnesota Republican, said.
Democrats rejected several GOP amendments, including one by Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, that would have reauthorized the previous VAWA measure for one year, without any of the additional provisions Republicans say weaken the measure.
They argued transgender individuals are subjected to domestic violence and needed the enhanced protections under VAWA.
“This legislation protects them as it protects all women,” Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, said.
Across the Capitol, key Senate Republicans say they are working on a reauthorization proposal they hope can attract the necessary 60 votes needed to pass legislation.
So far, there are no Democrats involved in the talks.
“What we’re hoping to show is that we have enough Republican support on our bill and that we’re willing to work with Democrats on this,” Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican and member of the leadership, said. “And hopefully, by combining forces, we can come up with the 60 votes needed and pass a good, modernized bill that will work for the Senate hopefully more than the House bill does.”
