Vice President Joe Biden addressed the national conference of the YWCA in Washington, where he focused on the Violence Against Women Act, which is up for renewal in Congress.
V.P. Biden wrote the original bill, passed in 1994, when he was a Senator from Delaware. The bill's authorization has currently expired, but funding for most of its programs has been extended while the House and Senate work on a reauthorization.
The Senate has already passed a version of the bill, which provides more than $650 million in funding for the investigation and prevention of crimes against women, and allows civil redress in cases which were not prosecuted. House Republicans have started work on a version of the bill, adding funding to help clear the backlog of rape kits which exist in many municipalities.
The Vice President urged the House and Senate to pass the bill.
Some conservatives have accused the White House of using the issue as a "political football" during an election year in which both candidates are focused on women voters.