Ten House Republicans have joined 110 Democrats in pushing Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to take up reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act with the expanded protections that he’s been resisting.
In a letter Tuesday, via the Huffington Post, the 120 lawmakers urged Boehner and House leaders to “move quickly on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by bringing a bill inclusive of protections for all victims of domestic violence, similar to that which has already passed the Senate, to the House floor for a vote during these final weeks of the 112th Congress.”
The Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House passed competing versions of the re-authorization earlier this year, and the current impasse remains over GOP leaders’ unwillingness to accept provision covering Native Americans, which conservatives view as unconstitutional vis-à-vis tribal jurisdiction.
The 10 Republicans on the letter span the ideological spectrum: Reps. Ted Poe (TX), Judy Biggert (IL), Richard Hanna (NY), Joe Heck (NV), Chris Gibson (NY), Jon Runyon (NJ), Patrick Meehan (PA), Robert Dold (IL), Michael Fitzpatrick (PA) and David Reichert (WA).
