Recap of Statements by Republican and Democratic members;
Path forward on VAWA remains open in lame duck but window closing

Washington, DC – On Thursday December 13, House Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) held a meeting with Republican members of both the House and Senate to discuss the tribal provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization. In a statement provided to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) by Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK), Cole spoke to the meeting and the bipartisan support for the tribal provisions.

"We had a very productive meeting today (Thursday) to determine the way forward for tribal provisions in the Violence Against Women Act. Majority Leader Cantor appreciates the seriousness of the problem and is genuinely trying to find an appropriate solution that can pass both houses of Congress,” said Representative Cole in a statement sent to NCAI.

“In my view, the best remedy is to provide tribal communities with the same authority granted to every other local municipality to police their communities and protect their residents,” continued Cole. “There is bipartisan support to give tribal law enforcement authorities the necessary jurisdiction and resources to combat the epidemic of domestic violence against Native American women in Indian Country. I appreciate the efforts of Rep. Issa and Sen. Crapo to advance creative legislative solutions. This is a serious problem that is not going away, and we'll continue to work for a solution in the next Congress if time runs out in this session."

NCAI’s Executive Director Jacqueline Pata responded to yesterday’s developments, issuing the following statement.

“We’re very appreciative of the Majority Leader Cantor’s focus on VAWA and this critical issue for protecting Native women. This meeting indicates that progress is being made and we continue to hope that members will find a path forward on tribal provisions that address the jurisdictional gap at the root of the problem and protect Native women,” said NCAI Executive Director Jacqueline Pata. “We’re going to keep urging bipartisan collaboration by congressional leadership to pass an inclusive VAWA until the day the legislation passes in the House and Senate. Native women and all other victims who suffer from domestic violence and related crimes depend on this outcome and we remain committed to seeing that day become a reality.”

Last week, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Tom Cole (R-OK) introduced H.R. 6625, a new stand-alone house version of VAWA which contains language to address tribal court jurisdiction and judicial parity in prosecuting non-Indian defendants. NCAI is supportive of this legislation, and in a letter to the Senate authors of VAWA, Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Crapo (R-ID), NCAI called for support of this legislation.

Earlier on Thursday, Senator Leahy referenced the House Leader’s meeting in a statement on the bipartisan progress being made on VAWA, “I have heard that Republican leaders are meeting today to finally discuss the issue,” Leahy said. “It is my hope that they will show real leadership by supporting crucial protections for tribal women, rather than offering empty proposals that do not change existing law and will not move us forward or help us to address this crisis.”

In a statement made on Thursday, Patty Murray referenced the failure of Congress to agree on an inclusive, bipartisan VAWA: “Today marks 18 years to the day since President Clinton signed the Violence Against Women Act into law. And since that day, this law has protected countless women across the country - as seen most directly by the fact that annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent. But Madam President, today also marks a far less celebratory day in the history of this critical bill. And that is because today is also the 139th day of delay by the House of Representatives since the Senate passed an inclusive, bipartisan VAWA bill by a vote of 68-31.”