WASHINGTON _ House Democrats on Thursday are expected to pass a new, stronger version of the Violence Against Women Act, which expired in mid-February and needs to be reauthorized to ensure vital funding for shelters and police departments.
But the bill's prospects in the Senate remain unclear as some Republicans complain the changes go too far, including a provision that would ban gun sales and ownership by a person convicted of stalking.
Republicans had offered in February to reauthorize the landmark 25-year-old Violence Against Women Act through this fall, as a part of a spending deal to prevent another partial government shutdown.
But Democrats rejected the offer, gambling that letting the act expire would pressure their GOP colleagues into accepting more sweeping changes.
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the bill's sponsor, said that changes were needed to the 2013 reauthorization of the law that would not have been possible by simply renewing the previous version. "If we had done that, then we wouldn't have been able to expand where we needed to," Bass said.
And Democrats are hoping that the act's expiration will increase political pressure on Republicans, who don't want to be seen as voting against an anti-domestic-violence program. "If the pressure had been off, there's no way it would have happened," she said.
Some advocates questioned the wisdom of letting the act expire, but National Coalitions Against Domestic Violence President Ruth Glenn agreed it was time to expand the law.
"The Violence Against Women Act, like any rule or law, should always be reevaluated," Glenn said. "We should always look at it from the lens of how can we make it better?"
The law's expiration in February had little immediate effect on police departments and domestic violence shelters that are still using millions of dollars in previously issued grants, Glenn said. But there is uncertainty about where money will come from in the future, she said.
When the law previously lapsed between 2010 and 2013 _ over arguments about protections for same-sex couples and immigrants _ congressional appropriators provided the money anyway, Glenn said. But there is no guarantee they'll do the same this time.
The House bill increases penalties for stalking a child and makes it a federal crime for a federal law enforcement officer to have sex while in the course of their official duties, regardless of whether it is consensual or not.
House and Senate Republicans have concerns about a change that prohibits someone from owning or purchasing a gun if they are convicted of stalking or if they are subject to a restraining order filed by a person they are dating or have dated. There is currently a ban on gun possession or purchase when the restraining order is filed by a spouse, child or co-habitating partner.
Stalking is a misdemeanor, and the National Rifle Association has said prohibiting someone from purchasing a gun because they committed a misdemeanor crime goes too far. The gun-rights organization said it will be watching closely to see how members vote on the bill.
Some Republicans have also raised concerns that the bill gives Native American tribes more criminal jurisdiction to handle domestic violence that occurs on their land.
When and if the bill will be considered in the Republican-controlled Senate is unclear.
The Senate hasn't taken up many of the half dozen Democratic priorities passed by the House in the last three months, like universal background checks for gun purchases. Senate Republicans have been critical of House Democrats for not agreeing to keep the act in place last month.
Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced in early March they are working together on their own version of the act, but haven't filed legislation yet.
Congress has reauthorized the act three times since it first passed in 1994, all by broad bipartisan margins.
With the 2020 election looming, Bass said she expects the Senate will take it up. "Are all those senators up for reelection really going to vote against the Violence Against Women Act?" Bass said. "I think we have a shot in the Senate."
