A political fight in Washington could hold up tens of thousands of dollars for local victims of domestic violence.

Congress has reached a standstill over the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which funds various local programs, because of a controversy about the expansion of protections for gays and lesbians and undocumented immigrants.

Ten House Republicans joined 110 Democrats last week in signing a letter urging House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to follow the Senate’s lead by passing a bill that covers all victims of domestic violence. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisc., penned the letter imploring the two leaders to pass the measure during the final weeks of the 112th Congress.

Local victims could see a reduction in services if the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) isn’t renewed. The Artemis Center for Alternatives to Domestic Violence has applied for $60,000 in VAWA funding next year to hire court advocates for battered women. Executive director Patti Schwarztrauber is worried about the potential impact at a time when the agency’s budget has hit a 10-year low and the staff has been shrinking.

“We already are tri-aging cases, and people are doing two or three jobs,” she said. “That means fewer people we can help.”

Both political parties agree on the need for reauthorizing the 1994 act, and previous reauthorizations have passed without a ripple. The House and the Senate reached an impasse last spring, however, after passing very different versions of the bill.

In April, the Senate passed a bill renewing the act for five years and authorizing $659.3 million in annual spending. It also contained language specifically providing protections for gay, bisexual and transgender victims of abuse, as well as undocumented immigrants. In May, House Republicans approved a measure that omits those new protections as well as increasing the number of visas, known as U visas, available for undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assaults. It also would curtail the current ability of U visa holders to apply for permanent residency after three years.

“It’s unfortunate,” Schwarztrauber said. “If you’re protecting the rights of women, it shouldn’t be a halfway measure.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, voted in favor of the House measure. Turner believes it already provides protection for all victims, according to his spokesman, Thomas Crosson.

“Mr. Turner unequivocally believes that a victim of domestic violence is a victim of domestic violence,” Crosson said. “This is regardless of any classification, including sexual orientation.”

Crosson said the House has taken steps “to ensure that the resources of this legislation go to those who are victims, and prevents fraud in relation to the U visa and the VAWA self-petition process for undocumented immigrants.

“This is accomplished through strengthening the requirements to receive a U visa as well as additional provisions in the self-petitioning process,” he said.

But critics worry that undocumented immigrants won’t report abuse for fear of being deported. Noted Schwarztrauber, “There’s a danger that men could hold their immigrant wives captive by threatening them, ‘If you try to prosecute this, I’ll report you to immigration.’ They’re really stuck.”

Carol Hinton, CEO of the YWCA of Greater Dayton, is baffled by the sudden controversy over VAWA. “In the past it was totally nonpartisan,” she said. “It was no big deal, and everyone was in agreement. Now Congress has put together a version that excludes the gay and lesbian and bi-sexual community. It just should not matter. If a woman is openly gay, we aren’t going to turn her away. She still gets black eyes. She still hurts the same way.”

Schwarztrauber concurred, saying she is worried that efforts to protect local domestic violence victims will be damaged because of politics.

“It seems like we’re taking a step backward,” she said.