House to take up own version of anti-violence act

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House and Senate appear headed for another partisan battle as the House prepare to take up its version of the once noncontroversial Violence Against Women Act.

The Republican-crafted House bill to renew the 1994 act, which expired in 2011, was introduced Friday to instant criticism from Senate Democrats, who said it fell short in fulfilling the law's mission of protecting women from domestic violence.

House debate on the bill next week could rekindle the unsettled dispute of last year, when House Republicans resisted Senate efforts to expand the bill to better cover gays, immigrants and Native Americans.

The law has been a cornerstone of federal efforts to protect women from domestic abuse and prosecute abusers, and in the past has been renewed with little or no debate.