Chair’s Note: Senator John Thune joined 21 other male Republican senators on Tuesday and voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In place since 1994, this bipartisan legislation has helped fund the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes towards women. In a brash partisan move, Thune stood with Republican men in Washington instead of the thousands of women in South Dakota that need this legislation. Fortunately, Senators, like our own Tim Johnson, voted for the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization and it passed out of the Senate 78 – 22. Thank you, Senator Johnson.
