House GOP unveils competing bill on Violence Against Women Act

WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD)

/ Alex Wong/Getty Images

(CBS News) House Republicans introduced a framework today to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) after a week of steady pressure from Senate Democrats who tried to paint Republicans as anti-women.

VAWA was signed into law in 1994 in an effort to curb acts of stalking, rape and domestic violence against women. The law also ensured law enforcement personnel and treatment centers had resources to help victims.

Senate Democrats are considering a bill that would expand protections to Native Americans, gays, lesbians and undocumented immigrants as well.

House Republican women held a news conference today on Capitol Hill to show that Republicans have their own plan for extending the law.

The GOP bill would increase penalties for stalkers who target minors and the elderly by adding five years to a perpetrator's prison sentence. It would also provide funding to clear the backlog of untested rape kits that lawmakers say is as high as 400,000.

Freshman Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL) shared her story of getting married at the age of eighteen to a violent alcoholic.

"Back then, you didn't talk about what happened behind closed doors" Adams said. "You just accepted it."

Adams said as both the victim of abuse, and later as a law enforcement officer, she knows the importance of the law's protections for women, and she accused Senate Democrats of politicizing what should be a bipartisan bill.

"I hope that people will quit talking about trying to make it a partisan issue. This is something that affects everyone," Rep. Adams said.

However, Republicans said they don't want to get into the "controversial" areas included in the Senate bill, which include expanded protections for gays, lesbians and Native Americans.

"You know, traditionally this bill has been a bipartisan bill and our goal when we looked at this legislation...was to continue on the priorities that the original legislation did in 1994," said Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD).

When asked who Republicans are working with to make sure their bill is truly bipartisan, Rep. Adams said "we are working with anyone that wants to work with us. We brought forth the bill and I would hope that they would join with us on this bill."

Adams said once they have their framework in legislative language, Republicans would start seeking supporters.

The bill is expected on the House floor the week of May 14.

[tonyatq]

So let me get this correct, it OK to be stalked, beaten, or rape if you are gay, native american, or here illegal. SHAME ON THE GOP.

[Zann-Zel]

: /

They just can't win.......they have GOT to have a strategy in there somewhere that includes NOT winning this time! : /

[arthanyel]

Liberal propaganda, 100% fact free. It is a crime to have any of these things happen regardless of sex, race, tribal or legal status. The Republicans are not de-criminalizing these acts. They are objecting to expanding funding of a specific government program (the Violence Against Women Act) which is consistent with their agenda not to spend more money on anything.

You may think it is a good idea to expand funding to these groups - I agree. You may point out that the services provided under the VAWA are services primarily intended to benefit violent crims victims, and that LGBT and Native American citizens desrve 9and need) those services. I agree again. You may think we should extend the same services to illegal immigrants. I don't necessarily agree, but I think the cost is small enough and the humanitarian reasons sensible enough that I would support a bill that included them.

But the idea that the Republicans have been stalling this bill because they don't want to give women these benefits is just liberal propaganda.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

Too bad 131 republicans in the house voted no and 36 republican senators voted no for the original Violence Against Women Act back in 1994

[Lindag10]

What leads the Republicans to believe that gays, lesbians and Native Americans aren't stalked, raped, etc.? Seems like NO matter what the Democrats suggest, they're against it and claim their ideas are "better" and therefore we have more of "my way or the highway"

[AttyFAM]

Clear Republican message: Our small tent is not open to gays, lesbians, Native Americans and undocumented persons. Our teeny, weeny little tent is open to all rich, white, evangelical christian males.

[arthanyel]

Liberal propaganda. Republicans don't believe these other groups are not crime victims. They are objecting to increasing spending in a time of records deficits beyond the scope of the original legislation, and they have a valid point.

I personally support the expansion because I believe it is a small cost for a large benefit, but it is not valid to say Republicans are against this because they don't want to stop crimes against these people. Some Republicans certainly would be happy if all these kinds of people just "went away", but their objection is fundamentally about money, not orientation.

[RCRawlings]

So much for the Democrats Faux "War on Women" claims and lies.
The GOP's plan to help women is much better.
The dumb Democrats keep forgetting that Repulicans have millions of women in their party as well like the good looking Rep.Noem.

[Obama4more]

Kristi Noem received 27 traffic citations, including 20 for speeding, as well as several for stop sign and seat belt violations, and no driver's license. She also received failure to appear notices, and two arrest warrants were issued.

Looks like the public need protection for HER!!!!!!

[HemiHead66]

Oh yeah, the GOP plan is much better, because we all know that Gays, lesbians and Native American's aren't people, and they don't get raped. You and the GOP need to crawl back in your holes.

[myth1958]

Both Democrats and Republicans are playing games, here, and women are the victims. By adding new categories that are sure to repel GOP lawmakers (gays, lesbians, Native Americans and undocumented visitors from other lands), Democrats have built a bill that is untenable - and won't pass. By ignoring protection for these groups, Republicans are painting themselves into a very narrow corner: only hetero, All-American women are worthy of protection? This sort of touchy legislation ought to be worked on by a non-political entity both sides can trust, with a final bill put before them for a yes or no vote. By kicking it back and forth like this, women in real danger are getting victimized a second time - by Congress. Shame on all of them. I personally think the provisions the Democrats have offered aren't that hard to accept: we can't have any group viciously attacked without provocation. Whether they are undocumented workers, gay, lesbian or Indian, women and others deserve to live without fear of rape or violence against them. But what is right is rarely the easy thing for Congressmen and women to accomplish. First, extend the original bill because it deserves to be passed. Then, openly debate the other ideas - including any groups the GOP feels are overlooked (fat rich capitalists? Show dogs? Gun merchants). After debate, vote up or down without filibusters so the public can read where these representatives and senators stand on protecting their group. No more games with people's lives, if you please.

[nearl451]

Republicans have the white hetero well-to-do Christian women covered.

For the remainder....not so much.

[DebbieCorona]

It has been good since 1994 but God forbid that all people are created equal and have equal rights. I was a Republican for 35 years and they have moved soooo far right I left to become an Independent. 35 years I supported the GOP but no more. May God help them, open their eyes to their greed and hate.

[dannysteele]

That the GOP is in favor of basically a hate-crimes bill is, um, surprising. Considering how as a general rule they are against increasing sentences of those who harmed "minorities," they must be really desperate.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

VAWA was drafted by the office of Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), with support from a broad coalition of advocacy groups. The Act passed through Congress with bipartisan support in 1994, clearing the House by a vote of 235-195 and the Senate by a vote of 61-38, although the following year House Republicans attempted to cut the Act's funding.[1] In the 2000 Supreme Court case United States v. Morrison, a sharply divided Court struck down the VAWA provision allowing women the right to sue their attackers in federal court. By a 5-4 majority, the Court's conservative wing overturned the provision as an intrusion on states' rights
VAWA was reauthorized by Congress in 2000, and again in December 2005.[ The Act's 2012 renewal was fiercely opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to extending the Act's protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered illegal immigrants to claim temporary visas.

[Molly-Pchr]

They sure do know how to divide us up like meat, don't they? They will create more special interest groups to pander to.

[Obama4more]

Kristi Noem received 27 traffic citations, including 20 for speeding, as well as several for stop sign and seat belt violations, and no driver's license. She also received failure to appear notices, and two arrest warrants were issued.

Looks like the public need protection for HER!!!!!!