Vice President Joe Biden, who has used his public platform to advocate for domestic-violence awareness since the 1970s, called out House Republicans on Friday for their recently released budget plan that he says will cut significant funding from programs that combat violence against women.
After discussing the Affordable Care Act's programs for violence prevention and treatment, Biden said the current crop of GOP House legislators would seek to end them with their new blueprint, which would eliminate the 2010 health law. The Republican budget would replace the ACA with "patient-centered health reform."
"It will not pass, God willing," Biden said. If it were to pass, "all those programs I just mentioned that benefit victimized women, they will be gone."
Biden, who spoke at the National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence held in Washington, was referring to provisions within the ACA such as home visitations for victims, no-cost domestic-violence screening, and adjustments to what constitutes a preexisting condition.
"Remember, you doctors, you nurses, you health care providers," that "years ago, an insurance company could deny health coverage for a woman victim of violence because it was a preexisting condition," Biden said.