During consideration of the measure, the Senate rejected, 34-65, a substitute amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that would make several changes to the underlying bill. The amendment would have:
- Required that 10 percent of Violence Against Women Act grantees be audited each year;
- Required 30 percent of STOP grants to be spent on programs that specifically address sexual assault;
- Removed the provision in S. 47 that would give tribes concurrent criminal jurisdiction over non-Native American offenders for cases involving domestic or dating violence;
- Allowed tribes to seek protective orders in federal court;
- Authorized up to $25 million for federal prosecutors and magistrates to be placed near tribes for criminal domestic violence and sexual assault cases and to hear tribal motions for protective orders;
- Imposed a ten year mandatory minimum sentence for federal convictions for forcible rape, a one year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of child pornography if the victim is under 12 years of age, and a five year mandatory minimum sentence for the crime of aggravated sexual assault;
- Allowed an immigrant victim to secure a U Visa only if law enforcement certification confirms that the immigrant has been helpful, the immigrant reported the criminal activity to a law enforcement agency within 120 days of its occurrence, the statute of limitations for prosecuting an offense based on the criminal activity has not lapsed, the criminal activity is actively under investigation or a prosecution has been commenced, and that the immigrant has information that will assist in identifying the perpetrator of the criminal activity and/or the perpetrator's identity is known; and
- Allowed the federal government to deport repeat drunk drivers.
Bills Introduced
Abortion
H.R. 493----Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI)/Energy and Commerce, Judiciary (2/5/13)---A bill to prohibit funds appropriated for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to pay for an abortion, and for other purposes.
Education
H.R. 455----Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)/Education and the Workforce (2/4/13)---A bill to direct certain coeducational elementary and secondary schools to make available information on equality in school athletic programs, and for other purposes.
Employment
S. 226----Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)/Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (2/4/13)---A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide leave because of the death of a son or daughter.
H.R. 515----Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)/Education and the Workforce, Oversight and Government Reform, House Administration (2/5/13)---A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide leave because of the death of a son or daughter.
H.R. 517----Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)/Oversight and Government Reform, House Administration (2/5/13)---A bill to provide that four of the 12 weeks of parental leave made available to a federal employee shall be paid leave, and for other purposes.
Health
H.R. 541----Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)/Energy and Commerce (2/6/13)---A bill to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity.
S. 237----Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)/Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (2/7/13)---A bill to reauthorize and extend the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention and services program, and for other purposes.
S. 252----Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)/Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (2/7/13)---A bill to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity.
International
H. Res. 61----Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)/Foreign Affairs (2/6/13)---A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should work with the government of Haiti to address gender-based violence against women and children.
Miscellaneous
H.R. 513----Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)/Natural Resources (2/5/13)---A bill to establish the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and for other purposes.
H. Res. 54----Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)/Judiciary (2/5/13)---A resolution observing the 100th birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks and commemorating her legacy.
S. 247----Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)/Energy and Natural Resources (2/7/13)---A bill to establish the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and for other purposes.
Courtesy of Women's Policy, Inc.; The Source on Women's Issues in Congress, February 4-8, 2013
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- Kaiser Health News: In Some States, Voters Will Get to Decide the Future of Abortion Rights
- Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
- Women's Congressional Policy Institute: Weekly Legislative Update September 13, 2021: Bringing Women Policymakers Together Across Party Lines to Advance Issues of Importance to Women and Their Families
- Bills Introduced, May 11 - 15: To Provide Emergency Assistance to Families Through Home Visiting Programs; Modifying Restaurant Meals Program under SNAP; Emergency Grants to States & Indian Tribes
- Weekly Legislative Update: Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Preventing Act and Congressional Bills Introduced
- Weekly Legislative Update: Hearings Tuesday for Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Improving Benefits for Underserved Veterans
- Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Congress Has Reopened; Sen. Amy Kobluchar & Rep John Emmer's Bill to Improve Handling of Crimes of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking
- The Nobel Peace Prize: For Efforts to End the Use of Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War and Armed Conflict
- Congressional Action: Peer-to-Peer Counseling for Women Vets, Sexual Harassment, Prematurity Research, VA Hospitals, Employment Discrimination
- Confessions of a Catholic (Who Doesn't Believe in Confession)