Senate to vote on Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider and vote on the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, S.47, today, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013.

Sponsored initially by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), the bi-partisan bill has 59 co-sponsors, including Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow.*

The Senate stands in adjournment until 2 p.m. Monday. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5 p.m. with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.47, the Violence Against Women Act, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled.

At 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to S.47, the Violence Against Women Act.

According to an article on MSNBC, "Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., announced Thursday that he has built a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority to advance the Violence Against Women Act -- an 18-year-old measure protecting domestically abused Americans that lapsed at the end of last Congress when lawmakers failed to approve its reauthorization."

The article notes S.47 includes special measures of protection for LGBT and Native American women -- measures opposed by Republicans in the past.**

An article in the North Kitsap Herald in Washington state, "Violence Against Women Act provision would close a gap in justice," says the bill now being considered "would extend domestic violence criminal jurisdiction to Tribes that choose to assume jurisdiction."

This would include domestic violence crimes by non-Native men against Native women.

The article states, "According to U.S. Justice Department statistics, 86 percent of cases of sexual violence against Native women are committed by non-Native men. According to a 2010 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office, up to 67 percent of those crimes are not prosecuted."***

* Click here for the list of co-sponsors. If your Senator is on this list you may wish to call and thank him/her for support. If not, you may wish to encourage the Senator to vote for the bill.

** Click here for the MSNBC article.

*** Click here to read the article, "Violence Against Women Act provision would close a gap in justice."