Sometimes politicians we don’t much like say something smart.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi haven’t leveraged their power to bring about the change most Americans want. But, even I have to give them kudos for their recent efforts to help people who have experienced domestic violence.

With the help of five Republicans (including newbie Scott Brown from Massachusetts), the $15 billion jobs bill escaped an attempted fillibuster.

One of the reasons Sen. Reid is pushing this bill is because he hopes it will bring down the rate of domestic violence. He told CBS:

I met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse.  It has gotten out of hand.

Why?  Men don’t have jobs.

The NNEDV, relying on statistics from the National Institute of Justice, confirms the link between domestic violence and unemployment:

The poor economy can fuel the fire of domestic violence and limit options for victims to escape. . .

In couples in which the male is always employed, the rate of violence is 4.7%.  The rate rises to 7.5% when the male experiences one period of unemployment and to 12.3% when he experiences two or more periods of unemployment between waves.

Some folks have criticized Congress for focusing on health care rather than jobs.  Speaker Pelosi, however, sees a connection.  The connection, again is domestic violence.

Eight states have no rules prohibiting insurance companies from denying health care coverage because domestic violence a “pre-existing condition.”  Speaker Pelosi vows:

You’ve survived domestic violence, and now you are discriminated [against] in the insurance market because you have a pre-existing medical condition.  Well, that will all be gone.