Rep. Carson Calls Upon House GOP Leadership to Act on Bipartisan, Senate-Passed VAWA Reauthorization
February 12, 2013
Rep. Carson Calls Upon House GOP Leadership to Act on Bipartisan, Senate-Passed VAWA Reauthorization
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman André Carson today called upon House Republican leaders to quickly bring up and pass the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization, which the Senate passed by a vote of 78 to 22 earlier today. This Senate-passed bill, S. 47, is almost identical to the strong, bipartisan bill that passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 31 in April 2012.
"It has been 501 days since House Republicans allowed the VAWA to expire," Congressman Carson said. "The victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault deserve better than political posturing and stalemate. They deserve the unequivocal support of their government and the empowerment to fully combat these acts of violence. The House must not delay taking up this strong, Senate-passed bill and sending a clear message that we stand united against domestic violence."
S. 47 strengthens the ability of the Federal Government, the States, law enforcement, and service providers to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. It also includes provisions to ensure that all victims of domestic violence receive the protection they need – including providing new protections, based on findings from experts in the field, for tribal members, immigrants and members of the LGBT community.
On January 22, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and other House Democrats introduced H.R. 11, a VAWA Reauthorization identical to S. 47. Rep. Carson is an original cosponsor of that bill. H.R. 11 currently has 194 Democratic cosponsors.