On the recordMay 16, 2012
I am pleased now to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlelady from Minnesota, Betty McCollum. Ms. McCOLLUM. I oppose this bill. For the first time, the Violence Against Women Act is now a divisive piece of legislation. We could be voting on a bipartisan bill already passed by the Senate, but instead, the Tea Party majority of the Republicans has chosen to bring a bipartisan discriminatory bill to the floor today, and it eliminates protections for victims of violent crime. All women who experience violence have the right to be protected. They need to know that their attackers will be tried in a court of law. And the purpose of VAWA has always been to ensure that all victims of violence are protected and that all their basic human rights are upheld no matter what one's sexual orientation, ethnicity, or legal status in this country is. This country failed to protect all women, and that's why this legislation failed to get the support from the advocates and from women all across this country. I oppose this measure, and I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no.'' {time} 1610
