CONGRESSWOMEN OF TRI-CAUCUS SPEAK OUT AGAINST HOUSE VAWA BILL
Washington D.C.: Today, the congresswomen of the Congressional Hispanic, Black and Asian Pacific American Caucuses held a press conference to express strong opposition to the Cantor/Adams VAWA reauthorization bill, which would roll back protections for battered immigrant women, Tribal victims, college students and LGBT victims.
CAPAC Chair Judy Chu (CA 32):
“The House GOP alternative VAWA bill rolls back protections that both political parties fought to put in place over the last two decades. Instead of protecting all women, Republicans are creating different classes of victims, and immigrants come in last. The House GOP would tip off domestic abusers about violence reports; they’d hold immigrants to a higher burden of proof – as if bruises and broken bones aren’t clear – and they’d expedite deportation over the slightest errors in a report. This bill should instead be called the Open Season on Violence Against Women Act.”
Rep. Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands):
“Domestic violence is at the root of many of today’s society ills which not only costs lives and productivity but also has economic costs. HR 4790 is not worthy of being called the Violence Against Women Act. With the House bill eliminating protections for American Indian women, Immigrant women, young women and the LGBT community, it calls to mind Sojourner Truth’s “Aint I a woman.” - they and all women need to be protected. This bill needs to be defeated and the Senate bill brought to the floor and passed.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18):
“VAWA was created because Congress recognized that immigration was being used as a weapon by abusers. H.R. 4970 would return that weapon to abusers. H.R. 4970 would roll back years of progress and bi-partisan commitment on the part of Congress to protect vulnerable immigrant victims of domestic violence, stalking, sex crimes, other serious crimes, and trafficking. H.R. 4970 would place victims of domestic violence in danger, deter victims of crime from cooperating with law enforcement, and hold victims of abuse to a higher standard than other applicants for immigration benefits. In short, H.R. 4970 denies victims protection and even helps perpetrate the very abuse from which they are seeking to escape. The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act is an opportunity to work in a bipartisan way to provide protections to those who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.”
Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04):
“It seems almost implausible that groups of victims would be ignored in the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization. Yet here we are – fighting on behalf of gay and transgender women, of women on tribal lands and of immigrant women. As Members of Congress, we are called to represent all women – regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or citizenship status. That ideal is what Democrats have championed and what Republicans have forgotten. It is past time to do right by women and pass the bipartisan Senate VAWA.”
Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (CA-38):
“The Violence Against Women Act must protect all women, including immigrants. There is an old saying in Spanish that goes: ‘a la mujer no se la toca ni con el petalo de una rosa,’ or, ‘a woman should not be touched, not even with a rose petal.’ That is the attitude we should take. No woman deserves to be left vulnerable to violence and abuse, regardless of immigration status or any other reason. All women are worthy of protection, and we should not use the law to pick and choose who is protected and who is not.”
Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07):
“We must continue to stand together against these egregious attacks on the rights of women. Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the right to live safely in our homes and communities without fear. Being from Alabama where we are currently still battling one of the nation’s toughest and overreacting immigration laws, it is imperative for me to be here today to say to immigrant women that we hear you and we stand with you.”
Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-12):
“This legislation is an affront to women, their rights and their safety.”