Lot of behind-the-scenes activity happening this week on the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization.

At long last, a bipartisan Senate VAWA bill was supposed to be introduced today. But numerous people tell me it's now been stalled until early next year.
Angelina Jolie was on Capitol Hill yesterday lobbying Republican senators to support the new bipartisan VAWA plan. Portman and Graham among them.

Dems need 10 GOPers to support a VAWA bill in order to pass it. Really looks/looked like this bipartisan plan was gaining stream.
The last time Congress reauthorized VAWA was 2013.

Its authorization expired 2 years ago.

The House has passed bills to reauthorize it, but it keeps going down in the Senate, where Republicans won't support the House-passed bill or Senate Dems' bill. Or their own bill!
I've been following VAWA for years. The reason Congress has failed to reauthorize it is because some Senate GOPers have opposed new protections 1) for Native women being abused by non-Native men on tribal land 2) for LGBTQ people and/or 3) relating to gun safety.
This time around, the tribal piece looks strong/bipartisan and I haven't heard much about the LGBTQ piece.

The gun safety provision appears to be the hold-up.
The tribal piece used to be such a racist, ridiculous hold-up for VAWA.

I remember some GOP lawmakers all but saying they didn't want to give tribes new jurisdiction to prosecute non-Native men (read: white men) who abused Native women b/c they thought tribes wouldn't be fair.
As in, they suggested that new VAWA protections for Native women would translate to retribution time against white people for all the bad shit the U.S. govt has done to tribes.

Versus just giving tribal courts the ability to prosecute domestic abusers.
Tribal govts, of course, did not take out 400 years of oppression/racism/stolen land on white domestic abusers that landed in their courts.

They just followed the laws. And finally had some ability to crack down on rampant domestic abuse on their land.
As Sen. Lisa Murkowski put it last week in a hearing on expanding tribal VAWA provisions, "The parade of horribles that so many have predicted did not happen."
"Despite all the horror stories, non-Indian defendants experience a Tribal justice system that treats them fairly and perhaps, in some ways, with more attention than the state or federal system," said Murkowski.
Regardless of the never-ending delays on a Senate VAWA bill, the fact that there's bipartisan support for strengthening tribal protections in VAWA is a major sign of progress re: lawmakers understanding/caring about the horrific levels of violence facing Native women.
Anyway, per a Senate Dem aide, the status of VAWA reauthorization for now is 1) bipartisan Senate bill being introduced next month and 2) a possible "discussion draft" coming out today.

Lotta disappointment today among people who have been working on/lobbying for a VAWA bill.
Here's a bit more detail on the obstacles that have prevented a bipartisan Senate VAWA bill from coming together. huffpost.com/entry/violence…

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More from @jbendery

14 Dec
Biden chalked up another historic judicial confirmation last night with relatively little fanfare.

The Senate confirmed Lucy Koh to a lifetime seat on a U.S. appeals court, making her the first Korean American woman to be a federal appeals court judge. huffpost.com/entry/lucy-koh…
Every Republican present voted against confirming Koh.

Every Democrat voted for her.
I crunched some stats to show the significance of Koh’s presence on the federal bench.

There have been a total of 806 federal appeals court judges since the current system of U.S. appeals courts was formed in 1891.

Koh is the only Korean American woman. huffpost.com/entry/lucy-koh…
Read 9 tweets
13 Dec
Catching up on a Senate hearing from last week relating to the Violence Against Women Act and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) actually in here urging restoring people's right to have guns who have been convicted of "misdemeanor offenses," aka domestic violence.
"Should a misdemeanor stand as the line crossed for an individual to lose a constitutional right?" asks Daines.

He's talking about Dem efforts to include the "boyfriend loophole" in the next VAWA bill. That would prevent convicted stalkers + abusers from buying or owning guns.
"We don't need more infringements on the right to keep and bear arms," says Daines. "We need to restore it."

He is saying this in a hearing specifically focused on the horrific levels of violence faced by Native American women.
Read 5 tweets
13 Dec
Biden admin just took another step to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has launched a new website focused on solving cases. Puts attn on unresolved cases + invites public to help law enforcement. bia.gov/service/mmu
The new site also invites people to submit tips to help investigators solve these crimes.

For some tips, the Bureau of Indian Affairs offers rewards up to $5,000. bia.gov/service/mmu/su…
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has made it a priority to focus govt resources on addressing the appalling levels of violence faced by Native American women.

A little background: huffpost.com/entry/deb-haal…
Read 4 tweets
29 Nov
Gina Ortiz Jones had to hide during 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'

Now she's #2 at the Air Force. huffpost.com/entry/gina-ort…
I sat down with Under Secretary Jones at the Pentagon to talk about her historic role at the Air Force, what she wants to accomplish and why it matters that she's in the room with senior military leaders. huffpost.com/entry/gina-ort…
"It’s not lost on me, you know?"

“To serve under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, to know what it feels like to have leaders that are not as vested in your success because of something you have no control over...I’m in a position where I can shape policies...so that that is not the case.”
Read 4 tweets
16 Nov
The White House is hosting a big Tribal Nations Summit this week, in part to talk about improving justice for Native Americans.

In this light, a Q I have is whether Biden has considered granting clemency to Leonard Peltier. I tried to ask in today's WH briefing, but no dice.
If you are a tribal leader participating in this week's White House Tribal Nations Summit and you think clemency for Leonard Peltier is something worth talking about with the Biden administration, I'd love to hear from you: Jen.Bendery@huffpost.com
Who is this Leonard Peltier guy, you may be asking?

He's a Native American activist the FBI + US Attorneys Office put in prison 44 years ago based on lies, threats and no evidence that he committed a crime.

He's still in prison. Why? huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…
Read 6 tweets
15 Nov
Morning! ☕️

Today, the White House is hosting its 2-day Tribal Nations Summit. This event has the full attention of the White House: Biden is speaking. AG Garland. Interior Sec Deb Haaland. Fauci. Becerra. Cardona. Lots of others.

Livestream here: whitehouse.gov/live/
I'll be watching for news on lots of things: On efforts to address missing + murdered Indigenous women; on Indian boarding schools; on protecting sacred Indigenous sites.

And possibly, even a *hint* of a willingness to release Leonard Peltier from prison. huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…
Interior Sec Haaland is speaking now.

A reminder that in 2020, as a congresswoman, she called for Leonard Peltier's release from prison. nativenewsonline.net/currents/citin…
Read 7 tweets

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