The bill was sponsored by Senator and future Vice President and President of the United States Joseph Biden (D-DE) in 1994 and gained support from a broad coalition of advocacy groups. The Act passed through both houses of the Congress with bipartisan support in 1994, although the following year House Republicans attempted to cut the Act's funding. In the 2000 Supreme Court case "United States v. Morrison", a sharply divided Court struck down the VAWA provision allowing women the right to sue the accused in federal court. By a 5-4 majority, the Court overturned the provision as exceeding the federal government's powers under the Commerce Clause.