Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) today released the following statement after the House passed H.R.4970, the House Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act:
“The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has a 20-year record of protecting women in the United States.It always receives bipartisan support in Congress and every female Republican Senator voted to approve it again last month.
“Instead of continuing this trend and expanding VAWA’s protections, the House Republican bill rolls back crucial protections, endangering millions of women. This bill removes protections for Native American women, immigrants, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Domestic violence in the LGBT community is rapidly increasing, and Native American women face the highest rate of domestic violence in the country. The bill also does not address the high rates of dating violence and sexual assault that college students suffer. Our Republican colleagues are using what should be an uncontroversial bill to attack their favorite targets: women, students, minorities, immigrants, and LGBT Americans.
“The physical and emotional devastation domestic violence causes is all too real for many women in our districts and nationwide. The House should take up the Senate bill, which passed with 68 votes, instead of reducing domestic and sexual violence to another partisan punching bag. Unfortunately, House Republicans have approached the Violence Against Women Act as another opportunity to advance their war on women.”
