Congress focuses on Violence Against Women Act
Source: Washington Post
The Senate appears likely to approve a measure Thursday to reauthorize the 18-year-old Violence Against Women Act, after Republicans decided to largely postpone a battle over some provisions of the sprawling provision dealing with hot-button issues of immigration and new protections for gay men and lesbians.
Republicans have shifted their attention to the House, where a group of Republican women announced Wednesday that they will introduce an alternative version of the legislation...presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced he supported reauthorizing the law.
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Three provisions have proven controversial with some Republicans. One would add new language barring discrimination in programs funded through the act on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Another would allow law enforcement to issue as many as 5,000 more visas annually to illegal immigrants who cooperate in prosecutions of major crimes. That would expand a program initiated in 2000 that allows up to 10,000 visas each year to encourage immigrants to report crime without fear of deportation.
Another section of the law would give federal courts new authority over non-Native American men who abuse Native American women on tribal reservations, a proposal some Republicans believe is constitutionally problematic.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress-focuses-on-violence-against-women-act/2012/04/25/gIQAFtQihT_singlePage.html
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