Ernst is expected to introduce her bill this week, and hopes to pass legislation by the end of the year.

Her legislation, according to Ernst and a one-page outline of the forthcoming bill, would reauthorize and provide funding for VAWA, and includes provisions that triple the amount of funding for sexual assault prevention and enhance penalties for abusers.

The House legislation ran into pushback from lawmakers and the gun lobby because it eliminates the so-called boyfriend loophole by expanding a current ban on firearm purchases for spouses or formerly married partners convicted of abuse or under a restraining order to include dating partners who were never legally married.

Ernst acknowledged on Tuesday that the gun related provisions were a "stumbling block," and that the House bill cannot pass the GOP-controlled Senate.

Sen.(R-Iowa) is moving forward with her own bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) after bipartisan talks broke down this month.The Violence Against Women Act lapsed in February after it was left out of a funding bill that ended the partial government shutdown. The statute provides funding and grants for a variety of programs that address domestic abuse.