House Democrats Seek to Pass Expansive Domestic Violence Law

By ASHLEY PARKER, NYT

A day after the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act was reintroduced in the Senate, House Democrats declared that they would do everything in their power to ensure that it also passes the House.

The bill, which reauthorizes a 1994 law that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence, is similar to a bill that the Senate passed last year with bipartisan support, but which foundered (and ultimately expired) in the House when the Republican conference refused to support it. House Republicans offered their own bill, which excluded protections for gay, bisexual or transgender victims of domestic abuse and stripped certain provisions related to undocumented immigrants and Native American women on reservations.

“Today House Democratic leaders are here to fulfill that promise to protect the lives and secure the liberty and happiness of America’s women and families by reauthorizing and strengthening the Violence Against Women Act,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader. “For nearly two decades, the Violence Against Women Act has helped ensure that no victim of domestic violence has to suffer in silence or in the shadows.”

(More here.)