There has been some excitement recently about the demise of VAWA in the USA. The celebrations may be premature, though the formal situation at present is that VAWA is no longer in force in the USA.
The Violence Against Women Act in the USA is not a permanent statute. It was first signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1994 (having been introduced by Senator Joe Biden in 1990). But it periodically requires reauthorisation by the US Government. It was required to be, and was, reauthorised in 2000 and 2005, with some additional tweaks. It next came up for reauthorisation in 2012, but the proposed extensions to the Act were contentious and the Act formally expired with the adjournment of the 112th Congress in 2012. President Obama reauthorised the Act in 2013.
VAWA’s next expiry date was 30 September 2018, but it was given a temporary stay of execution initially to 7th December 2018. As that date approached, a further extension to 21st December was authorised. (Some sources say that funding was actually authorised to 8th February 2019).
However, at that point – if my understanding is correct – further decisions on potential reauthorisations were overtaken by events, namely the US Government shutdown. The formal position, therefore, is that VAWA has passed its authorisation date and is not currently legally in force.
Government monies are not currently forthcoming generally, due to the shutdown, and this includes funding under VAWA. Anything authorised will, I presume, receive back-payment when the shutdown ends, and this may include VAWA up to (perhaps) 8th February 2019. Further funding, and any resurrection of the Act itself to reinstate it as law, will depend upon future rulings in Congress.
Much has been made in the “liberal” press about those Republicans who voted against the reauthorisation of VAWA in 2013 also being the very same men who voted for the inauguration of Brett Kavanaugh onto the US Supreme Court. It is possible that the Blasey Ford affair has further hardened opinion amongst Republicans on VAWA.
But the Act has been suspended before, and shortly thereafter resuscitated. We can expect extremely energetic drives by the usual suspects to re-establish VAWA once the US Government is back in business.
“Men would do well to remember that the vast majority of life and liberty can be preserved by the choice to Go Your Own Way. Reject marriage. Reject the military. Reject corporate slavery. Reject chivalry. Reject group consensus on who and what you should be as a man. And reject ANYONE, including your family, who tries to coerce you out of those choices. Do all that, and you have a reasonable shot at a free, happy life. Never forget it is your choice and your responsibility. There are no victims, just volunteers”. –Paul Elam AVFM
When VAWA was suspended before, new payments were still being made to various feminist organizations. I don’t recall the details but remember Ron Collins pointing this out from his examination of the audit reports.
Doug, “suspended before,” if this was the shutdown under Barrack Obama aka Hussein then he was a different fish. Hussein fenced off war memorials to make it as hard as possible for veterans to visit graves etc, the vets removed them of course. Hussein even closed the National Parks, Trump has kept them open by charging entrance fees…his business acumen will hopefully shrink the bureaucracy and make govt small as specified in the US constitution.
Obama/Clinton/Bush are all pro-Progressive so would have ensured VAWA was supported. Trump is completely different so past actions cannot be applied hopefully.
Start your own diving expedition, here’s a starter link https://www.sgtreport.com … Enjoy!
[DUE DILIGENCE APPLIES]
I’ve been following US politics for a while now and would suggest ignoring anything the US MSM says. In the UK the MSM just do not report US politics – the same approach taken to the 10 deaths now I think of Yellow Vests, if France were Syria we would be invading. If we don’t report it then it isn’t happening seems to be their mantra. The caveat to this is that Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, John Solomon and Sara Carter mostly from FOX news do appear have WH sources giving them info on what is really going on.
Based upon recent reports I would speculate the WALL may have also served to be a JUDAS GOAT for the Democrat/Libtards/SJW/Antifa/SOROS resistance.
Here’s why, a little known law allows Government employees to be ‘laid-off’ or in US Govt speak ‘Reduction in Force’ [RIF] after 30 days of a shutdown….well the 30 days is nearly up. The full story is here: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/01/trumps_shutdown_trap.html The departments may only come back as a former shadow of themselves or even be gone leaving no one to administer VAWA. As a backstop Trump now has a genuine majority in the Senate, the senior house, and can reject any Act there e.g. impeachment. The Senate acts as a Firewall l to keep Trump protected from dodgy dossiers trying to set him up.
Trump’s an Iconoclast and will change things en masse rather than tinker. There is a bill in the House (dormant for now) to scrap Income Tax and shut down the IRS (our HMRC) waiting to have its day.
I hope the VAWA will just get forgotten as a minor issue in the ‘criminal’ elites desperate attempts to avoid ‘jail’ time, that’s why there are nearly 30 candidates for President 2020, they are hoping it stops them being arrested.
Trump trolls the Progressives/Dem/Libtards/NPC types by seemingly getting them to undermine their own pet projects through judicious use of the The Art of War (Deal) tactics.
Get some popcorn and enjoy the show, I know I am….
Yes it has a similar effect on Pulblic policy as the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in the UK (England and Wales Particularly) . The Strategy has the added advantage to the usual suspects that it isn’t statute, so isn’t open to Parliamentary Scrutiny or approval. Though on the flip side a Government could end its application without anything other that announcement that it was ending it. The VAWG Strategy had its genesis in the Blair Government and successive Governments since have simply carried it on. It affects all Gov. Departments which have to take it into consideration in implementing general Gov. Policy.
However the most direct effects are : ring fenced funds for the DV “industry”, favouring women in the Ministry of Justice , from legal aid for those merely claiming DV in Family courts to Guidance on “believe” in the CPS. and particularly in the funding councils disbursing grants for research or higher education. And of course schools where it is the driver for education on “consent” and toxic masculinity .
In the field I’m aware of , domestic abuse, generally councils have since “austerity” wanted to stop funding “refuges” in favour of supported flats or lodgings. For practical reasons. The refuges tend to be too inflexible (obviously not taking men or men with children but also excluding teenage (over 12) sons of mothers) and comparatively expensive (they are heavily staffed and often half empty). The refuge industry (Refuge and Womensaid) has successfully used the VAWG Strategy to replace funding lost from Councils by a VAWG fund of millions that goes to them. It is practically the only “ring fenced” fund in Government as from the coalition the Gov. reduced grants to Councils but said they would no longer dictate how Councils spent the remainder.
The other effect I’ve seen over the decade is that “gender” research funded under the VAWG Strategy (so almost all “gender” research in Sociology, Psychology, Criminology and Social work ) has conclusion and “executive summaries” only has a the results about women ; even though when one reads the actual research it frequently includes men and very often remarks on the “interesting” results for men and suggests “further research”. Of course this further research doesn’t get funded because it falls outside the VAWG Strategy . Hence most interesting research I’ve read about men is Doctoral thesis stuff which never gets developed into major research projects, even though there does appear to be quite a few people interested in doing this.
Edward Bartlett@comcast.net is the go to man for more information about VAWA. I am part of his amazing lobbying group who have worked for years to get this huge amount of money out of the gender feminist stranglehold.
Thanks for that contact, Erin. I don’t pretend to any great knowledge of US politics.