Washington – The House voted on Wednesday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the historic law of 1994 that strengthened protections against domestic violence for women.
The House approved the reauthorization by a vote of 244 to 172, with 29 Republicans joining all Democrats in the vote in favor. But the measure, which expired two years ago, could be an obstacle in the equally divided Senate.
VAWA enshrines legal protections for women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence. It was initially approved in 1994, defended by then-senator Joe Biden, and was updated and reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and 2013. The project expired in late 2018 due to a government shutdown and was briefly renewed by a resolution that reopened the government, but it expired again in February 2019. Biden made VAWA’s reauthorization an important campaign promise before he was elected.
The White House Office of Administration and Budget released a statement on Wednesday saying that “the government strongly supports” the reauthorization of VAWA.
“VAWA reauthorization is more urgent now than ever, especially when the pandemic and the economic crisis have further increased the risks of abuse and barriers to the safety of women in the United States,” the statement said. “The government is pleased that HR 1620 recognizes the need to provide protection and services to all victims of abuse and includes proposals to strengthen existing policies that were supported by Democrats and Republicans last year. The government is asking for approval of that legislation. “
The current project would expand victim services and reauthorize grant programs to address criminal justice responses 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 in tribal lands.
It would also close the so-called “boyfriend breach” to prevent dating partners and persecutors convicted of domestic violence or abuse from buying and owning firearms. Previous versions of the bill have already prevented spouses convicted of domestic violence or abuse of obtaining firearms.
The House passed a version of the VAWA including that amendment in 2019, but it died in the Senate, which was then controlled by Republicans. Some legislators from the Republican Party opposed this part of the bill, arguing that it was too broad. Republicans also objected to provisions that would have extended protections for LGBTQ and victims of undocumented immigrants.
In 2019, the project received support from 33 House Republicans, and the current version is co-sponsored by Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick.
“Congress has historically reauthorized VAWA with a broad bipartisan agreement and I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to ensure that VAWA continues to protect victims and survivors across the country,” said Fitzpatrick in a statement when the bill was presented earlier this month.
However, it is not clear whether VAWA will be able to garner enough support in the Senate. Democrats have a slim 50-seat majority, and most legislation requires 60 votes to advance in the Senate. Democrats will need the support of at least 10 Republicans to move the bill forward.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who presented a different VAWA reauthorization bill in 2019 that needed support to pass the Senate, told reporters on Tuesday that she would re-present her own version of VAWA. She added that Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was collaborating with her on portions related to protecting women in tribal lands.
“What we hope to show is that we have enough Republican support in our bill and that we are willing to work with the Democrats on that and, hopefully, by combining forces, we can get the 60 votes needed and pass a good modernized bill that will work to the Senate, hopefully, to the House, “said Ernst.
Murkowski told reporters on Tuesday that VAWA had already been “derailed” because of the provision that closed the “boyfriend breach”.
“I think it is extremely important that we move VAWA forward,” she said.
The Chamber also passed a resolution on Wednesday eliminating the deadline for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. The resolution was widely approved along the lines of the party, with a vote of 222 to 204, and four Republicans joining all Democrats in support of the measure.
During the plenary debate before the vote, Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier, the project’s advocate, quoted late Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia.
“Antonin Scalia, the great jurist, once said, does the Constitution require discrimination based on sex? The answer is no. But if the question is, does the Constitution prohibit discrimination based on sex? The answer is also no. chilling feeling in each of us that in the United States Constitution, women are not protected, “said Speier.” There can be no expiration date for equality. “
An identical resolution was presented by Democratic Senator Ben Cardin and Murkowski in the Senate. The initial deadline was 1979, and was extended to 1982. No new state voted to ratify the amendment until 2017, when it was approved by Nevada. The amendment was ratified by Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020.
Although the ERA has reached the 38 state limit required to pass Virginia ratification, the Department of Justice headed by former Attorney General William Barr issued an opinion in early 2020 saying that ratifications by the three states did not count, because they occurred after the deadline.
The House passed a bill in 2020 eliminating the deadline, but it quickly stopped in the Senate as the then Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, refused to present it for a vote.
Murkowski told reporters on Tuesday that he did not believe the resolution currently had enough Republican votes to pass.
“On the Equal Rights Amendment, I would like to be able to say that we have had more Republican support for this right now. We continue to work on that,” said Murkowski.