Video: House votes to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act for five years

>>> more than a year after letting the violence against women act expire congress voted to reauthorize the bill with a vote of 286-138. the house today approved a senate drafted five-year extension of the bill. all democrats and 87 republicans voted for it which will now go to the president's desk for signature. moments ago, vice president biden stressed the importance of today's vote.

>> there was still too many women in this country who live in fear of violence. and there's still too many victims who we mourn. there's an urgent need for the bill that got passed. and it cannot be more obvious in my view.

>> joining me now, congresswoman donna edwards of maryland, co-chair of the congressional women's caucus. congresswoman, it's good to see you.

>> good to see you.

>> one of the issues that held this up was gop opposition to extending protection to native americans , lbgt victims, as well. what did it do for the protections?

>> what it said, frank lyfrankly, is no matter who you are, we won't ask questions. we provide services. that's always the way that those of us who've worked in domestic violence shelters and programs handled these issues. that's what i did long before coming in the congress and so this was really an important victory for all victims of domestic violence . and i think that congress did the right thing today. it's kind of amazing because it's really a bill to have passed a year and a half ago. and but it's good that we did it today.

>> took a long time for congress to get this thing reauthorized. how did the democratic and republican leadership finally get to today's vote? and for folks who haven't been following the story, how did it become a political football ?

>> you are so right to point that out. passing in 1994 and then later reauthorized, it's actually never been controversial. certainly, never been partisan and political in the way that it has this time. the way that we got here is that the republicans failed to be able to get a vet on their own bill that would have stripped protections for victims who are in the lgbt community , would have stripped protections for women on indian reservations . and would have made distinctions about people who received domestic violence services and instead we passed the senate bill that didn't draw those kind of distinctions and never drawn in services and shelters and programs and passed the bill we should have passed long ago and did it in the house and senate with bipartisan support. to be sure, in the house, it required democrats once again to put the bill over the hump.

>> 30 seconds i have left here and while i have you, i want to ask you about the sequester. is there a sense of urgency at all underneath that dome right now?

>> there's not a sense of urgency of republicans as far as i can see. in fact, some of them are actually celebrating the fact that the sequester will take place on march 1st . and look at what we have here. i'll be very brief is that we passed the violence act of women today and then cuts of shelters and services and giving with one hand and taking away with the other.

>> only in washington, right?

>> only in.

>> congressman woman, good to see you. they.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/50993732/

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