Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) will introduce beefed up legislation for the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA). The new plan would authorize $645 million a year, up significantly from the current $266 million budget, for continuing and expanding current programs aimed at helping women.
This proposed legislation comes after a harsh blow women received recently from the Supreme Court. Just this past May, the Court narrowly ruled against women victims of gender-based violence. In Bronzkala v. Morrison, the Supreme Court declared that Congress did not have the authority to pass the civil remedy of VAWA, thereby forbidding Christy Bronzkala from pursuing her federal lawsuit for monetary damages against her accused attackers.
