* Republicans reject charges of waging ‘war on women’
* Election-year pressure to renew Violence Against Women Act
* Democrats accused of playing politics
By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans,
accused by Democrats of waging “a war on women,” are expected to
yield to election-year pressure as early as this week and help
renew a landmark law to combat domestic violence.
Many Senate Republicans complain that the White House-backed
bill would excessively expand the 1994 Violence Against Women
Act by providing protection to gays, immigrants and Native
Americans.
Yet eight of the Senate’s 43 Republicans, along with all 53
members of the Senate Democratic caucus – have co-sponsored the
legislation, one more than needed to clear any procedural
roadblocks in the 100-member chamber.
The showdown has drawn the interest of Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who polls show is trailing
Democratic President Barack Obama among women voters by at least
12 percentage points.
Republicans deny charges that they have been insensitive to
women, and contend that Democrats have aired such charges to try
to score political points with members of their liberal base.
The Senate could begin considering the measure to renew the
Violence Against Women Act on Wednesday, with passage possible
before a weeklong recess begins on Friday.
Yet if the two sides fail to quickly reach a time agreement
on consideration of possible amendments, a vote on passage could
be delayed until after the Senate returns on May 7.
“The only way we don’t vote this week is if Democrats want
to stretch it out and beat us up over it during the recess,” a
top Senate Republican said, asking not to be identified by name.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, in a floor speech
on Tuesday, said, “there is strong bipartisan support” to renew
the law, and offered to help reach a time agreement.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid fired back that he wants
no part of any such deal if it is an attempt to “weaken the
bill” with unacceptable amendments.
McConnell said, “There’s no reason to have a fight over
something nobody wants to have a fight over.”
Democratic charges that Republicans have waged “a war on
women” stem largely from failed Republican efforts earlier this
year to block a White House mandate that requires most employers
to offer free insurance coverage for women’s contraceptives.
In February, all eight Republicans on the Senate Judiciary
Committee voted against the proposed bipartisan renewal of the
domestic violence law, drawing fire from women’s groups.
RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Violence Against Women Act, reauthorized twice before
with broad bipartisan support, created a comprehensive federal
response to combat domestic violence.
Democrats want to renew the law and extend domestic abuse
protections to gays, lesbians, transgendered people, battered
immigrant women and Native Americans.
Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report,
which tracks congressional and presidential election, said
Democrats have the upper hand.
Duffy said many Senate Republicans “are undoubtedly feeling
pressure” and Democrats could use any refusal to reauthorize the
law as “a potent weapon” against them and their party during the
general election campaign ahead of the Nov. 6 vote.
“While there may be some legitimate objections to some
aspects of the bill, they are complicated and not easily
explained,” Duffy said. “The political optics of voting against
or stalling the bill are all negative for Republicans.”
If and when the Senate passes legislation to renew the 1994
law, the measure would then go to the Republican-led House of
Representatives for consideration.
Senator Charles Grassley, top Republican on the Judiciary
Committee, said he expects the House to approve only a renewal
of the current law, without the proposed Democratic expansion.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of the eight Republicans who
have cosponsored the bipartisan bill to renew the law, said,
“There’s a lot of discussion about what are the women’s issues.
Is it contraceptives? Is it energy?”
“My view is that what women really want out of Congress is
for us to get along and get things done,” Murkowski said. “We
have 61 cosponsors. Let’s vote on it and move on.”
(Reporting By Thomas Ferraro, editing by Richard Cowan and
Philip Barbara)
