Working for Women

By Lisa Keen In a major victory for Democrats, the U.S. House voted Thursday (February 28) to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act with a bill that includes language to ensure that victims of domestic violence can receive assistance from federally funded programs regardless of their sexual orientation. The vote was 286 to 138. The legislation originally passed the Senate February 12 on a 78 to 22 vote, but House Republicans initially introduced their own version of the bill–one that exclud... Read more

By Stephen C. Webster A grand total of 87 House Republicans broke away from their party on Thursday to join with Democrats in passing the Senate’s bipartisan extension of the Violence Against Women Act (PDF) by a vote of 286 to 138. All 138 votes in opposition were cast by Republican legislators, with six abstaining. “The Violence Against Women Act has long ensured that no woman would ever be forced to suffer in silence in the face of domestic violence and abuse,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pel... Read more

For over 500 days women have been waiting and praying for this day to come. Today, the majority of this body stood up for all women – including Native, LGBT and immigrant women. We answered their clarion call and declared that we will protect the vi Read more

By JENNIFER EPSTEIN Vice President Joe Biden offered a personal thanks Thursday to lawmakers for voting to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, a law he drafted while serving in the Senate in the early 1990s and has advocated for from his position in the Obama administration. "I consider almost a sacred commitment we have ... to protect our mothers, our daughters, our sisters and in some cases young men as well," he said at an event on dating violence prevention in the Eisenhower Executi... Read more

By Tom Cohen Washington (CNN) -- An expanded Violence Against Women Act won bipartisan approval on Thursday from the U.S. House after Republicans failed to pass their own proposal due to a party split on an issue important to women and minority groups. The measure now goes to President Barack Obama, who said in a statement that it was "an important step towards making sure no one in America is forced to live in fear." "I look forward to signing it into law as soon as it hits my desk," Obama sai... Read more

By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel Milwaukee Democrat Gwen Moore, who took the lead in the House on renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, hailed its passage Thursday with lopsided, bipartisan support. "There are just layers of this to celebrate," said Moore in an interview. "This is personal to me. I hardly know a woman, it's a shame to say, who has not been a victim of violence," she said. "As a person who has been a victim and survivor of rape, I had to shed some tears for the name... Read more

Christine Pelosi, chair of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, joins Michael Shure inside “The War Room” to talk about the passage of the Violence Against Women’s Act and Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) who led the cause.To view video clip, click here. Read more

By ASHLEY PARKERWASHINGTON — The House on Thursday gave final approval to a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, sending a bipartisan Senate measure to President Obama after a House plan endorsed by conservatives was defeated. The legislation passed on a vote of 286 to 138, with 199 Democrats joining 87 Republicans in support of the reauthorization of the landmark 1994 law, which assists victims of domestic and sexual violence. It amounted to a significant victory for the president and Co... Read more

By Kay Steiger Update: The House voted to pass the Senate’s version of the Violence Against Women Act on Thursday with a vote of 286-138, CNN reported. Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore (D) spoke passionately on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday as the legislative body prepares to take up the re-authorization of the lapsed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), invoking African-American abolitionist Sojourner Truth to ask of the women not included in the bill, “Ain’t they women?” ... Read more

By Christine Pelosi Twenty years ago, I graduated from law school and told a Latina friend I planned to work on helping women break the glass ceiling. "That's fine for you, but it doesn't motivate my community," she responded. "While your people are breaking ceilings, it's my people of color who are caring for your kids, so your discussion doesn't empower us. We want to be breaking ceilings too." Of course, women of color -- my friend, a highly successful legislative staffer, among them -- were ... Read more