Find way to keep Violence Against Women Act
From left, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., talk to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington about reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act that was passed originally in 1994 (April 18, 2012) Credit: AP
Helping victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence shouldn't be the least bit controversial. But in this fevered election year, reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act has become a bone of partisan contention.
The House of Representatives passed a reauthorization bill Wednesday that differed significantly from the one the Senate passed last month, setting up a scrap as negotiators attempt to reconcile the two versions.
The Senate's Democratic majority picked this fight. Its members stuffed their bill with the hottest of hot-button issues -- illegal immigration, gay rights and national sovereignty. If they wanted a skirmish that fits their campaign narrative of a GOP war on women, they've gotten it. Now they need to make sure that help for victims of domestic violence isn't sacrificed as they maneuver for advantage in November.
The VAWA was first enacted in 1994 to fund programs that protect and shelter victims, provide them with legal assistance, and work to prevent violence. It has been reauthorized twice, with bipartisan support and little political fanfare, but expired again in September.
The Senate bill to renew the act for five years won bipartisan support. It expressly prohibits discrimination against gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender victims, and expands the number of visas available to illegal immigrants who are victims of domestic or sexual abuse. It also would allow people who are not American Indians to be prosecuted in tribal courts for misdemeanor domestic abuse committed on a reservation.
The House bill, which also would renew the act for five years but didn't include those newly added provisions, was passed in a mostly party-line vote.
Expanding these protections, especially for illegal immigrant victims, who might not report abuse for fear of deportation, is noble. But these are contentious goals that have little to no chance of winning wide support in the House. That makes them poison pills that should be eliminated. They've served their partisan purpose. Insistence on keeping them risks sacrificing aid for all victims.
