House Drops the Ball on Violence Against Women Act

House Drops the Ball on Violence Against Women Act

In a welcome display of bipartisanship, on February 12, the U.S. Senate voted 78 to 22 for a strong, comprehensive bill [S. 47] to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). First approved in 1994, the Act is a concerted effort to reduce domestic violence.  The last authorization of VAWA expired at the end of 2011, but efforts to renew the law have been bogged down by partisan delays.

With the recent Senate approval of an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill, all that’s required is for the House to bring up and pass the Senate bill, which would go straight to the White House to be signed into law.  Instead, the Republican Leadership of the House is bringing up a substitute bill this week that weakens the Senate-passed bill in several key areas.  If this watered-down House bill is approved, it guarantees months of further delays as House and Senate negotiators will be forced to try and hammer out a compromise package.  

Lawmakers Seek Funds to Dredge Great Lakes Ports

With the Great Lakes experiencing historically low water levels, it is becoming more and more difficult for vessels to safely navigate our region’s channels and ports.  Advocates for waterborne transportation in the Great Lakes say that the low water levels and lack of dredging funds are reaching the point of crisis.  To address the situation, a bipartisan group of 20 House members, including Rep. Levin, recently wrote a letter to President Obama to urge him to include proper funding for maintenance of U.S. ports and harbors in his annual budget proposal to Congress.

With Budget Cuts Near, House Leaders Do Almost Nothing

Last week, we wrote about the impact of $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that will begin to go into effect this Friday, March 1.  These automatic cuts – referred to as a “sequester” – will make serious reductions in most discretionary programs, including national defense, medical research, education, NASA, air traffic control, to name only a few.  For a partial list of the Michigan impacts, click here.

Despite the damage these cuts would do, the Republican Leadership of the House of Representatives has made it clear that they will not lift a finger to prevent them.  For example, on Monday, the only business before the House was a 27-minute debate on a bill to rename a NASA flight research center in California.  On Tuesday, the only business in the House was a 26-minute discussion of a resolution setting up an academic competition in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to be held each year among students in each Congressional district.  

House Democrats have proposed a balanced plan to replace the sequester by instead cutting unneeded farm subsidies, closing tax loopholes for the largest oil and gas companies, and ensuring millionaires pay their fair share of taxes.

Rep Levin Schedule

You can follow Rep Levin's schedule, here.