U.S. House Reverses Course, Votes to Approve Violence Against Women Act

U.S. Senator and former Jackson County Prosecutor Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives reversed course on nearly one year of delay, and voted to approve the Violence Against Women Act:

“As a former prosecutor who’s seen firsthand the effects of domestic violence, I can tell you that the Violence Against Women Act saves lives. For nearly a year I’ve heard from Missourians in big cities and small towns, all wondering how this landmark bill that had previously been so bipartisan, so noncontroversial, and had been proven so effective, could be mired in such partisan political gridlock. Today, Republicans in the U.S. House finally relented and let the Senate bill get a vote—and it passed with the bipartisan support we knew it would. I hope it demonstrates an increased ability by Congress to break partisan logjams and do the work we were sent here to do.”

McCaskill was in St. Louis, Columbia, and Kansas City last week calling on the U.S. House to approve the critical legislation.

A similar measure passed the Senate last year, but never received a vote in the House. Originally passed in 1994, support for the legislation’s renewal in 2000 was passed with a 95-0 vote in the Senate, and a 371-1 vote in the House. An even stronger consensus emerged in 2005, with unanimous approval in the Senate, and a 415-4 vote in the House.