WASHINGTON / May 17, 2012 – The House of Representatives has passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act by a 222-205 margin. Responding to public discontent, H.R. 4970 contains a number of measures designed to curb widespread waste and fraud in the domestic violence field.

A recent U.S. News poll found a strong majority of persons are opposed to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in its current form: http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-the-violence-against-women-act-be-reauthorized Many women have questioned the effectiveness and fairness of the existing VAWA law: http://womenagainstvawa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Flyer-VAWA-Pro-Woman.pdf

Reforms contained H.R. 4970 include strong accountability measures, gender-inclusive language, and provisions to stem fraudulent claims of abuse by immigrants. The current VAWA law has invited immigration fraud by not allowing the US citizen accused of abuse to submit evidence that could refute the accusation.

The...