House Republicans determined to show women voters that they have their interests at heart have announced plans to renew the Violence Against Women Act, the federal government's main domestic violence program.
The GOP proposal sets up a possible showdown with a somewhat different version that Senate Democrats have advanced and which has been the pending bill in the Senate for several weeks.
The act, first enacted in 1994, has a history of being bipartisan and non-controversial, but that's changed this election year. Democrats have accused Republicans of waging a war on women and Republicans, led by presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney, have responded by emphasizing their sensitivity to women's issues.
The Senate bill has 61 sponsors, including eight Republicans, but parts of it have met resistance from some Republicans.
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