Good news regarding VAWA

Good news regarding VAWA:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you may have noted I have been a tad quiet lately. That is because after the July 19 Senate Judiciary Com. Hearing I had to take a break to prepare for the Delaware Bar Exam which was July 25-27. Then I had some mandatory stuff up in NJ for new admittees and then I had to go to Chicago for the ABA convention. On that last item I am pleased to announce I have been appointed to the ABA Family Law Section DV Committee. For the first time that Committee will now have a voice speaking for male victims. The tea party is over.

As for our work on the VAWA in Wash. D.C. goes, one reason I felt I could take this break is because the hard work, the critical work was done. We had commitments from the right people in the House that we would get the gender neutral clause in there regarding funding and that they would be extracting the gender specific references in the legislation.

Meanwhile, I had met with the key people in the Senate and was being given clear indications that they would also deliver. Additionally, the raising of the issue of male victims by several Senators, including Chairman Specter and Sen. Hatch (and subsequently and in response, by Sen. Biden) at the Senate Jud. Com. Hearing was clear evidence to me that those individuals had talked to their bosses.

Subsequently, as many of you know, the House Judiciary Com. introduced it's own legislation (the appropriations legislation) bypassing the unfavorable legislation introduced by Mark Green (which my person had told me they were going to do) which with for all intents and purposes, contained precisely the language we had been seeking. Additionally, they had taken out many of the references to female victims (in section titles though not completely in the sections text). Moreover, they mandated a GAO study designed to determine not only the extent of male victimization but the availability and provisioning of services to them (and we all know that is near zero).

So I am very pleased with what has been accomplished in the House. Showing my pride and vanity I must acknowledge that I take significant satisfaction in seeing that the language they used in the "Clarification" (nondiscrimination) section though reworded into legislative style language is a boilerplate version of what I, at their request, provided them and that I argued all along was doable (as opposed to the unrealistic language others were pushing including pro-rating of funding between male and female victims).

Even more, the language ordering the GAO study was specifically drafted by me (also at their request) so as to preclude the feminists from manipulating the GAO study . Again, it is vanity but it is pretty cool to see your own work incorporated into federal legislation. especially when initially "my person" indicated they don't normally direct the GAO how to conduct a study. Obviously when I replied by explaining the necessity for specific directions and how the feminists would manipulate the study if we did not, they accepted my position.

The bottom line is that the strategy I articulated last Fall and we began to implement this February has worked.

IN THE HOUSE

We look pretty darn good in the House. We got everything we asked for. We just didn't get everything we would like. But we asked for what was possible (as opposed to impossible) and as a consequence we succeeded despite certain people sending out frenzied alarmist e-mails back in early July that the Republicans were going to "fast track" the legislation and stab us in the back. And despite those who scream and rail against anything but complete sunsetting of VAWA which is so unrealistic as to reflect a total lack of understanding of the political realities.

IN THE SENATE

We don't have the actual language yet but I touched base with one of my two key contacts today and we are in pretty good shape there. I expect us to have as good a result in the Senate as in the House.

Incidentally, I thought the legislation might be acted on as soon as the Congress returns but because the Roberts hearings begin the first day back my guy is saying it probably won't be focused on until mid to late mid Sept. Meanwhile, I really think everyone should just cool their heals. There really is nothing left to be done except for me to keep tabs on what's happening, try to shape and mold the Senate language and keep a watchful eye. This is not legislation that will be effected by the members of the Senate or the House at large. The VAWA Reauthorization will be whatever the handful of players within the Jud. Committees make it to be.

FOR THE RECORD

Ed Bartlett and his RADAR people did a great job of beating the drum (though occasionally the passion overrode the restraint that successful politics sometimes equires). And Ed was one of those people who stepped up to the plate to contribute to the billboard campaign more than once.

Dave Roberts and Mike Mc Cormick made a significant contribution, especially early on, when they contributed to the billboard campaign, used their Liberator newspaper to publicize what we were doing and Mike assisted where he could in giving me names of some of his contacts and speaking in support of our effort to people he had relationships with. It was actually a very productive and constructive cooperative effort. Unfortunately Michael has limited influence over others in his organization who when they got some free time this summer decided to try their hand at lobbying and left poop on the floor that we had to clean up and then started taking credit for our work.

The Men's Health Network made a significant contribution toward the production and rental of our last billboard that publicized Biden's infamous statement at his 1990 Jud. Hearings condoning women's violence against men. BTW, that board went up about a week before the July 19 Senate Hearing and during the hearing Biden was talking about how his father had this absolute rule that "There was no justification for a man to ever lay a hand on a woman"... then after a brief pause he caught himself and said "Except in self-defense" Congratulations Ron Henry. LOL The Men's Health Network also provided me the intro to the one key person on the Senate Jud. Com (of the two) and that has turned out to be very productive.

MOST IMPORTANTLY though a great deal of credit has to go to Michael Robinson ( and Ken Berry and Doug Sawert) who coordinated the back office operation of this effort, kept me free to do the grunt work of banging on doors and sloughing through the Halls of Congress. And as trite as it sounds, the biggest credit goes to the dedicate people like Marc Angelucci, Lisa Scott Jan Brown, Karen Clay, Maria Sims, Tom Golden, Stan Gaver, Ray Blumhorst, Kathy Garcia, Kyle Knutson and a whole bunch more (forgive me for not naming everyone but my brain is growing tired). Very seriously, without you all's financial support and committment I would not have stayed committed to this effort. Because you all showed your support, showed that it meant as much to you as it did to me I was motivated to keep traveling to DC, put aside most of my personal and professional life and get this thing done. Additionally, all of you who responded when we asked you to e-mail and fax members of Congress (and who listened to our directions and wrote reasoned, rational messages) made a powerful contribution. Those efforts made the people inside understand that there were people out there who cared about thjis issue.

We still have a way to go. The check has been written but it hasn't cleared the bank yet. Nevertheless,. I believe the check is good and we need only bide our time.

Best Regards to All,
Dave Burroughs