On February 7, 2013, a series of amendments to the Violence Against
Women Act (VAWA) introduced by Senator Grassley were defeated on a vote
of 65 to 34. These amendments would have made a third DUI conviction an
aggravated felony and cause for immigration removal, and would have
expanded aggravated felonies to include all domestic violence
convictions. The Senate will now reconvene on Monday, February 11 to
continue debate, propose amendments to the bill and vote on the final
bill, which does not include the proposed Grassley amendments.
The
Senate had voted on February 4 to move forward with a vote on the highly
bipartisan VAWA, which, if passed, will strengthen protections for
victims of sexual and domestic violence, with a special focus on Native
Americans, immigrants and LGBT persons. Three bills to reauthorize the
VAWA of 1994 were introduced in the House on January 22.
