Rose Siding,
Thanks so much for posting about this. While so much of the nation's attention is focused on recent major events, these busy little bees at the Senate are making another attempt to sneak through legislation that further erodes our civil rights.
Senators Cornyn and Kyl were at the front of the push to enact the Real ID bill. They rammed that one through by attaching it to a larger bill. Now the same crew is doing the same thing. Keep in mind that Real ID also calls for databased info that could include biometric data.
From the last part of the WAPO article: "The Kyl measure was added to a bill to strengthen penalties for violent acts against women and was approved without a roll-call vote. McCurdy said she hopes that negotiations among Judiciary Committee members result in changes before the legislation is voted on by the Senate."
From feminist.org:
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=9257Violence Against Women Act Passes Senate Judiciary Committee With Amendment
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization today. The bill, which expires on September 30, passed out of committee, but an amendment was added that could prevent or delay its passage by the full Senate.
The amendment, introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), on behalf of Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), would create a national registry of DNA taken from any person who has been detained by the police, even if the person is not arrested or convicted. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) tried to include a secondary amendment to link the DNA index only to violent felonies, but it was defeated on a straight party-line vote.
Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), the primary sponsor of VAWA in the Senate, said that he feared the DNA amendment could cause a firestorm on the Senate floor that would delay passage of VAWA. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that he feared it was a poison pill. Senator Leahy said that he is worried that whole classes of people, such as Latinos or Muslims, will be rounded up and their DNA will be recorded in the registry. Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), chair of the Judiciary Committee, and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) pledged to try to work out a compromise on the amendment before the bill reaches the floor, which is expected before the end of the month.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority, and Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, attended the mark-up, as did many women, to show their support for passage of VAWA. Legal Momentum, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Sheila Wellstone Institute have also been working extremely hard to pass the bill.
VAWA is a good bill that has received and deserves much support.
It looks like they are trying to force people who are in favor of the larger bill to choose between passing it with this onerous addition or not reauthorizing it. This is yet another slime ball move on their part. Like Real ID, they know that such a measure would face a big fight on its own, but has a chance when tucked in to something that is otherwise sure to pass.
The next thing to watch is whether Rep. Sensenbrenner and/or Rep. Mark Green introduces something similar to the House version of VAWA.