Bachmann Explains Vote Opposing Violence Against Women Act

As Congress passed the reauthorization of the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act last week, Sixth District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who represents the St. Michael area, took the minority position and voted against the bill.

The VAWA, authored in the Senate, wasn't hard enough on trafficking, Bachmann would later state. She, instead, put her weight behind a “stripped down” version of the Senate bill authored by fellow House Conservative Rep. Eric Cantor.

Bachmann, in her own defense, posted on her blog Monday to defend her vote against the Senate’s version of the bill, which passed the House 286-138, with support from 87 House Republicans.

She writes:

I was pleased to support the stronger House version of the Violence Against Women Act to provide the greatest possible assistance and protection to women and children who have been victims of domestic or sexual abuse. As a mother, my heart goes out to the victims of human trafficking and to any woman who experiences violence at the hands of another.

The House version was a stronger bill due to the important accountability and constitutional measures it included. The House version would have provided the resources necessary for effective law enforcement and care efforts for victims of domestic and sexual abuse, while requiring increased transparency and reporting, which is critical to ensuring that funding is reaching and properly helping those most in need. The House version also safeguards the U.S. Constitution by providing a constitutional route for tribal governments to prosecute non-Native American perpetrators who commit domestic violence crimes on tribal land.

The Senate version, meanwhile, failed to ensure that victims of human trafficking in the United States would receive the best care we could provide from the best qualified providers. The Senate version also gutted funding for the State Department Trafficking in Persons office that has successfully led the U.S. effort to hold countries accountable for prosecuting labor and sex trafficking and for aiding victims. These programs should have been thoroughly reviewed and reauthorized under a stand-alone bill. I believe they deserve such separate consideration, especially after the shocking 2011 denial of a grant application by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which had been rated second highest by an independent review panel.

Violence against women is tragic and unacceptable, and fighting against domestic violence is not a partisan issue. It is important that Congress works together to provide the best possible assistance, in the most effective way, for law enforcement entities, domestic abuse organizations, and all victims of violence. 

Her 2012 opponent, Jim Graves, took to Facebook a few days prior to Bachmann’s blog to say this in the wake of her vote:

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Representatives Walz, Kline, Paulsen, McCollum, Ellison, Peterson, and Nolan for voting for the Violence Against Women Act, leading by example and demonstrating that Minnesotans from both sides of the aisle can come together to get behind the things we can all agree on. I have to believe that those who voted against the bipartisan bill to protect American women from violence, like Representative Bachmann, did not search their hearts deeply enough.

Graves, who lost the November election by less than 2 percent of the vote, said he’s still weighing options about whether or not he will run against Bachmann again in 2014.

He hopes to make a decision by April, according to his camp.