Since it was proposed in the early 1990s as a bill to protect women “on the streets and in homes,” the Violence Against Women Act has been argued over by lawmakers, the Supreme Court, civil rights groups and the National Rifle Association, among others.

The bill, which President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994, was designed to protect victims of domestic crimes and reduce the stigma associated with domestic abuse. It must be renewed every few years by Congress, and on Thursday the House approved a bill that would reauthorize the act for a fourth time.

The act has established the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice, and myriad programs to train victim advocates, police officers, prosecutors and judges on gender-based violence. Since it was created, more than $7 billion in federal grants has been given to programs that prevent domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. It has also funded shelters, community programs and studies tracking violence against women.

Addressing gender-based violence seems like it “would be a bipartisan issue,” said Carol Baldwin Moody, president and chief executive of Legal Momentum, one of the organizations that has spent the last two years drafting language for the latest reauthorization of the act.