Violence Against Women Act: What Obama said

The White House today released this statement from President Barack Obama on the Senate passage of the Violence Against Women Act

This is the statement: 

Today the Senate passed a strong bipartisan bill to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. This important step shows what we can do when we come together across party lines to take up a just cause. The bill passed by the Senate will help reduce homicides that occur from domestic violence, improve the criminal justice response to rape and sexual assault, address the high rates of dating violence experienced by young women, and provide justice to the most vulnerable among us. I want to thank Senator Leahy and his colleagues from both sides of the aisle for the leadership they have shown on behalf of victims of abuse. It's now time for the House to follow suit and send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law. 

Further, and also in a release, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3,  released a statement urging the House of Representatives to pass the act. 

This is the release:

The legislation passed the Senate today 78 to 22. DeLauro is a cosponsor of a companion bill in the House and a longtime supporter for ensuring all women have the ability to be safe and secure in their daily lives.

“When one out of four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, it is unconscionable that we have let the Violence Against Women Act lapse. Since the Act first passed in 1994, it has changed the landscape for American women. Domestic violence has dropped by over 50 percent. The bipartisan Senate bill modernizes the Act for our times, consolidates programs, and takes additional steps to reach victims of domestic violence.

“I hope the Republican House Majority does not play the same partisan games as last year and risk the lives of women. Passing the Violence Against Women Act ensures the continuation of essential protections that have made a difference for so many women. I urge Speaker Boehner to bring the Senate bill to the floor for a vote expeditiously so that women across the country will have the same protections their sisters, aunts and mothers had since the original passage of this landmark bill.”