The new and improved version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed the senate last week, which is undoubtedly good news, however the bad news is the bill still has to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and, as you can imagine, the rabid freshmen in the house have no plans to cooperate.
But despite the Senate’s ultimate passage of the bill — which included the support of 14 Republican senators, including all of the female Republicans — the House is ready to fight these provisions again. Their version of VAWA also removes the protections for marginalized communities. According to Congressional Quarterly, a watered-down bill, of which Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL) is the lead sponsor, is likely to pass in the House
The "marginalized communities" which the senate-approved bill grants existing protections to are immigrants, Native American tribes, and members of the LGBT community.
Senate passage of the bill had already been held up for months while Senator Chuck Grassley personally blocked efforts to advance it, and now that it has arrived at the House of Boehner it may not see the light of day until after the election. If ever.
According to the Republicans, the at-risk groups targeted by the new version of WAWA do not need protection.