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News
Congressmen split vote on violence act : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisCongressmen split vote on violence act
| Foster 'proud to support'; Hultgren cites pro-life concerns
| by Tony Scott
| 3/7/2013
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Kendall County's two congressmen split down party lines during a vote last week to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, voted in favor of Senate Bill 47, while Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Winfield Township, voted against it.
In the vote, 87 Republicans joined 199 Democrats in approving the act, while the remainder of the Republicans, 138 in all, voted against it.
Hultgren and Peter Roskam, R-Wheaton, were the only two members of the Illinois Republican Congressional delegation to vote against the legislation. Illinois Reps. Rodney Davis of Taylorville, John Shimkus of Collinsville, Adam Kinzinger of Manteno and Aaron Schock of Peoria, all Republicans, voted in favor of reauthorization.
Foster said he was "proud to support this bipartisan legislation which will work to ensure that all victims of domestic and sexual violence are protected under the law."
"I am especially proud to see bipartisan support to extend these protections to include Native Americans, immigrants and the LGBT community, because all Americans -- no matter who they are, where they came from, or who they love - deserve equal protection," he said.
"With this vote today, we saw an example of the way Congress should operate - by passing legislation with support of both Democrats and Republicans, not passing with a majority of support from one party. I am glad to see Speaker Boehner keep his promise to allow for a vote on legislation like this which passes the Senate with bipartisan support."
However, Hultgren said he was in favor of a House amendment that was not included in the bill.
"Eliminating the scourge of domestic violence from our society is something everybody agrees on, it is not a partisan issue, and there is a very real need for reauthorization of the statute," he said. "That is why I was glad the House proposed a substitute amendment that would improve on the important work being done around the country to help treat the victims of violence against women."
Hultgren cited the "pro-life community" in reasoning why he voted against the act.
"I voted against the Senate bill because it unduly targeted freedom of conscience for the pro-life community, hurt the effectiveness of programs to treat women by expanding the scope too widely, and it raised the question of the constitutionality of tribal prosecutorial authority," he said.
Hultgren continued, "The House amendment that I supported would have increased the emphasis on the investigation, prosecution and services for victims of sexual assault, bolstered efforts to reduce DNA backlogs, enhanced penalties for assault, and improved federal stalking statutes. The House amendment did not raise the constitutional issues that the Senate bill did concerning tribal prosecutorial authority over non-Native Americans."
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