Dispute over Violence Against Women Act roils budget talks

Congressional leaders are still haggling over an extension of the landmark Violence Against Women Act — one of the final hold-ups in a funding deal to avert a shutdown Friday.

The parties are clashing on multiple fronts, as Republicans and Democrats fight over whether — and how — to expand protections for victims of domestic violence in the #MeToo era.

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One dispute centers on a Democratic push to add new protections for people who are transgender, which the GOP is resisting; meanwhile, Republicans want a short-term extension to buy more time to negotiate a broader deal, according to multiple lawmakers and aides.

The fight broke out into the open on Wednesday as negotiators were closing in on a final spending agreement, with GOP leaders accusing Democrats of scuttling a temporary VAWA extension in an attempt to add new provisions.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell claimed Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “is objecting to a modest extension” of VAWA, adding, “Republicans believe that we should follow standard procedure and extend this important legislation through the end of this fiscal year, which is about seven months.”

The fate of the 1994 domestic violence law has been in flux for months. Congress was supposed to reauthorize the measure by last September but has repeatedly passed short-term patches.

“I think we ought to try to get as much as we can in it, but I don’t want it to lapse in any way,” Rep. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), one of the champions of the bill, said Wednesday. She added that she has not been briefed about recent leadership decisions. “We should get the maximum bill we can, as soon as possible.”

Multiple lawmakers and aides say Congress is likely to pass another short-term punt on VAWA and authorize it through September — a potentially embarrassing move for lawmakers at a time when record numbers of women are serving in office and as sexual abuse accusations are increasingly in the spotlight.

House Democrats plan to use the extra time to push for a broader overhaul of the law, which they say has taken on new urgency as growing numbers of women go public with their own stories.

“At the end of this month, the funding is running out,” said Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), another advocate for VAWA. “I just want to make sure it gets funded for a period of time, while we work out the substantive issues.”

Democrats’ leading proposal, drafted by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), would expand VAWA to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking from being evicted from their homes.

More controversially, it would also include so-called “red flag” provisions, which tighten gun laws for people convicted of dating violence and stalking.

Advocates like the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence have strongly opposed any more short-term extensions, insisting that Congress focus on upgrading the law.

Funding for VAWA grants and services have not been at risk, because Congress had already agreed on funding levels, though some programs had been impacted by the recent shutdown.