On the recordMay 16, 2012
I can't believe what I am hearing on the other side of the aisle. I was the author of the last reauthorization of VAWA. It passed this House 415 4. Many of the Members who are complaining about the inadequacy of the present law weren't around to try to strengthen it, and they didn't attempt to propose amendments. Instead, they seemed to have fallen for the contagion that started on the other side of the Capitol by expanding the scope of the law in a very controversial manner and by making an issue of whether a non-Indian can be prosecuted in a tribal court, which brings up huge constitutional issues because the Bill of Rights does not apply in tribal courts. I don't think it is the authors of this bill, and particularly the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Adams), who have anything to do with making this a partisan bill. It is the people on the other side of the aisle on both sides of the Capitol who have decided to use this as a political issue. {time} 1550 And there was one Member of the other body that said the Republican Party has declared war on women. That's not the case. This bill increases authorizations. It makes it more effective, and it limits administrative expenses so that the money is spent on victims. It really is a victims' rights bill.…
