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Jolie's voice broke as she acknowledged the
women and children "for whom this legislation comes too late" in
a speech in Washington D.C.
"Standing here at the center of our nation's power, I can think
only of everyone who has been made to feel powerless by their
abusers by a system that failed to protect them," Jolie, wearing
a black suit and pearls, said.
The Violence Against Women Act expired at the end of 2018 and
U.S. President Joe Biden, who originally sponsored the bill as a
senator in 1994, had campaigned on renewing it.
The House of Representatives approved its renewal in a 244-172
vote almost a year ago, but legislation stalled in Congress amid
partisan disputes over access to guns and transgender issues.
"The reason many people struggle to leave abusive situations is
that they have been made to feel worthless. When there is
silence from a Congress too busy to renew the Violence Against
Women Act for a decade, it reinforces that sense of
worthlessness," said Jolie. "You think, I guess my abuser is
right. I guess I'm not worth very much."
Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Lisa Murkowski and Democrats
Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein issued a joint media release
confirming they had reached a "compromise" deal to get the bill
moving.
Biden said in a statement he was "grateful that this critical
bipartisan bill is moving forward, and I look forward to
Congress delivering it to my desk without delay."
(Writing by Jane Wardell; Editing by Karishma Singh)
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