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Health care bills with "greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade"
being debated now!
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your Senators to oppose Senator Reid's pro-abortion health care bill
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Scorecards" press GO for the U.S. House voting record. The
Stupak-Pitts Amendment is under number 4.
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Legislative Updates
February 9, 2010
In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel yesterday,
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and House Minority Whip Eric
Cantor (R-VA) said that if President Obama wants to use the February 25
health care summit merely to push for a version of the existing House and
Senate bills, House Republicans might not participate in the event. They
wrote, “’Bipartisanship’ is not writing proposals of your own behind closed
doors, then unveiling them and demanding Republican support. Bipartisan ends
require bipartisan means."
February 8, 2010
President Obama on Sunday invited Republicans to join him in a
half-day televised “summit” on health care proposals February 25. The
President’s aides say he will not be starting over on health care, but will
instead come to the meeting with a health care bill cobbled together from
the House and Senate health measures. House Minority Leader John Boehner
(R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) indicated that GOP
will come to the meeting with its own proposals for reform, which Cong.
Boehner gave to the President weeks ago.
February 5, 2010
President Obama said in a speech Thursday night that “we should
take our time” with a final health care bill. While he still wants a final
vote on Obamacare, he says a jobs bill will take priority in Congress. A
White House meeting was held yesterday between the President, Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, and Majority Leader Harry Reid, but reports indicate that no
decisions were reached on how to proceed with health care legislation.
February 2, 2010
2011 Budget
On Monday, the President released his budget for Fiscal Year 2011. It
retains the Hyde amendment, which restricts the use of funds appropriated
through the Labor, Health, and Human Services spending bill for abortion, as
well as the Smith amendment, which similarly limits abortion coverage in the
Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.
The President’s budget does, however, propose eliminating restrictions on
federal money given to the United Nations Population Fund, thus permitting
taxpayer dollars to be used for China’s one-child policy. It would also
continue the policy, begun last year, of allowing publicly funded abortions
in the District of Columbia. Funding for Title X family planning programs, a
good portion of which goes to Planned Parenthood, would be increased by $10
million to over $327 million.
Health care
While Obamacare remains at a standstill in Congress, at least 29 state
legislatures are considering bills prompted by the President’s attempt to
overhaul the nation’s health care system.
Yesterday, the Democrat controlled Virginia Senate voted 23-17 to pass a
bill that would make it illegal to require citizens to purchase health
insurance, a direct rebuke of a key component of the bills pending in
Congress. The measure is expected to pass the Republican controlled Virginia
House and be signed into law by new Governor Bob McDonnell. Supporters of
the measure say it could be used as groundwork for a potential lawsuit
against the federal government should Obamacare ever be enacted.
January 29, 2010
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the press Thursday that the House is
waiting for the Senate to decide on how it will proceed on a major health
care overhaul. She also said that she was considering separating out smaller
parts of the health care measure and passing them as individual bills in the
House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid met with advisors and Senate
Committee Chairmen Thursday, but did not reach any decision on how to move
forward with health care. He said at a press conference that he was still
intent on passing a bill “this year.”
January 28, 2010
In his State of the Union speech Wednesday night, President Obama
urged Congress to “not run for the hills,” but offered no clear plan on how
to advance his health care proposal.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters before the President’s speech that she
is still working toward having the House pass the Senate health care bill,
with a “reconciliation” measure amending the Senate legislation as part of
the deal. House and Senate negotiators, however, have not reached an accord
on what should be amended in the Senate bill. The changes Speaker Pelosi
wants would reportedly add $300 billion to the cost of the legislation.
Conservative Republicans, led by Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (MN),
announced a Declaration of Health Care Independence. Described as a
“roadmap” rather than legislation, the Declaration includes a prohibition
against funding abortion.
January 27, 2010
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
remain undecided on how to proceed with Obamacare. Senator Reid proclaimed
yesterday, “There is no rush [on health care legislation].”
News reports indicate a decision on Obamacare may not come until next week,
perhaps much later. Enthusiasm for the “Plan B” option, whereby the House
would approve the Senate health care bill after a separate bill amending the
Senate bill had passed both houses using the budget reconciliation process,
appeared to wane Tuesday. The plan drew criticism from Democrat Congressmen
and Senators, particularly those up for re-election in November.
Meanwhile, reports say President Obama is not expected to make specific
recommendations on how to proceed with health care legislation in his State
of the Union speech tonight.
A CNN/Opinion Research poll released yesterday shows that only 30% of the
public believes Congress should pass a health care bill similar to what it
has been considering while 48% say Congress should start over on a new bill
and 21% say Congress should just stop working on health care.
January 26, 2010
News reports indicate that the Senate and House Democrat leadership
still believe that “Plan B” is their best chance for passing Obamacare.
Scaling back the proposed health care overhaul does not appear to be a
consideration at this point.
Plan B would have the House pass the Senate health care bill, complete with
its federal subsidies for abortion, and then introduce a second bill in the
House through the budget reconciliation process. The second bill would
“correct” the parts of the Senate measure that House members don’t like and
would only need 51 votes in the Senate to be approved. Democrat leaders will
reportedly take this plan to the rank and file this week. Right now,
however, there apparently are not sufficient votes in the House to make the
proposal viable.
An announcement regarding President Obama’s recommendation for proceeding on
health care may come during his State of the Union speech tomorrow night.
January 22, 2010
Saying, “I don’t see the votes for it at this time,” House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced yesterday that “Plan B” for Obamacare is, in
effect, dead. The White House and the Democrat leadership had hoped to have
the House adopt the Senate health care bill without amendment and then send
the measure to the White House for the President’s signature. With regard to
a “Plan C,” Speaker Pelosi added, “Everything is on the table.”
Democrats are expected to meet through the weekend to plan strategy. Among
the options under consideration are using the budget reconciliation process
(aka the “nuclear option”), which would enable the Democrats to pass budget
related portions of Obamacare with only 51 votes in the Senate, and creating
a new, scaled down bill that would include fewer provisions than the current
House and Senate measures.
January 21, 2010
The White House is reportedly still pursuing what has been called
"Plan B" for Obamacare, having the House pass the Senate’s version of the
health care bill so that the Senate does not have to vote on the legislation
again. This strategy, however, is not meeting with approval from some
Congressmen.
Pro-life Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) said on Fox Business Network
Tuesday, "Plan B is dead." He added that if the Senate bill were brought
before the House it "would not get 100 votes." Other Democrats are talking
about possibly scaling back the health care bill, with the idea of passing a
series of limited bills over time. It appears that the goal of passing a
health care bill before the President’s State of the Union speech on January
27 may no longer be viable.
January 20, 2010
The victory of Republican Scott Brown in Tuesday’s Massachusetts
special election has thrown the fate of Obamacare way up in the air.
Procedural options are still available to pass the measure (e.g., have the
House pass the Senate bill, then have the Senate “fix” the parts of the bill
that the House doesn’t like with new legislation later), but there is doubt
that rank and file Democrats have the political will to push the bill
through.
Democrat leaders met late into the night Tuesday, but did not reach any
decisions on how to proceed with their health care overhaul. While they were
meeting, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) issued a statement calling on the Senate to
suspend any votes on the health care bill until Senator-elect Brown is
seated. Webb’s statement also took a verbal swipe at the lack of openness
that has characterized the health care bill’s development.
Senate Democrats are scheduled to meet today to discuss their options
January 19, 2010
The fate of Obamacare may hang on today’s special election in
Massachusetts to fill the Senate seat once held by the late Ted Kennedy.
Democrats are said to be weighing contingency plans should the Republican
opponent of the health care overhaul bill, Scott Brown, be elected.
News reports indicate that the House may be asked to pass without amendment
the Senate’s version of health care, thus eliminating the need to send the
bill back to the Senate where Democrats would no longer have a
filibuster-proof 60 votes. Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) said
yesterday, though, that the House has no interest in rubber stamping the
Senate bill, which would federally subsidize abortion on demand.
January 18, 2010
The New York Times is reporting that Democrats are making “contingency
plans” in case Republican Scott Brown wins the Massachusetts Senate seat at
stake in Tuesday’s special election. State Senator Brown has vowed to oppose
the Democrats’ health care bill in Congress, meaning that Republicans would
have 41 votes, enough to filibuster the legislation successfully.
The “contingency plans” could involve passing the health care bill in the
days before Mr. Brown could be sworn in. They could also involve the budget
reconciliation process, by which the Senate could pass the parts of the
health care bill that pertain to the national budget by a simple majority
vote of 51. It’s not clear, though, how much of the health care bill could
be included in a “budget” bill.
Negotiations on the abortion funding language in the final health care bill
are expected to start tomorrow.
January 14, 2010
President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, and nine
Democrat committee chairmen met for over eight hours yesterday at the White
House trying to iron out compromises between the House and Senate health
care bills. The New York Times reports that little time was spent discussing
abortion funding during the closed door meetings. Bargaining on the
legislation is expected to last into next week, at least.
News reports speculate that the unusually long day of negotiations is an
indication that Democrats feel added urgency to finalize a health care bill.
Their new concern is that the Republican candidate in Massachusetts’ January
19 Senatorial special election may win what pollsters say is a very close
race. That candidate, State Senator Scott Brown, has vowed to oppose
Obamacare and would give Republicans enough votes to maintain a filibuster
against the legislation.
January 13, 2010
President Obama today will again host Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
Majority Leader Harry Reid, and other Democrat leaders at the White House
for negotiations on the compromise health care bill. House, Senate, and
White House staff members will also continue to meet behind closed doors
doing the actual drafting of the legislation.
Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) repeated Tuesday that there are ten
to 12 Congressmen who will switch their health care votes from “yes” to “no”
if the final health care bill contains the Senate’s abortion funding
language. Congressman Stupak added that he thought it would be difficult for
the House leadership to persuade Democrats to switch their votes from “no”
to “yes” because the health care bill is going over like “a lead balloon”
with the American public.
January 12, 2010
The House of Representatives officially resumes business today,
with the Senate still a week away from returning from the Christmas recess.
Behind-the-scenes negotiations on the Obama-Reid-Pelosi health care bill are
continuing.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent bulletin inserts and pulpit
announcements to all of the nation’s 19,000 parishes asking that people
contact Congressmen and Senators to urge that the Stupak/Pitts abortion
funding restriction be included in any final health care bill. The
announcements stress that any legislation without the Stupak/Pitts language
must be opposed.
The National Right to Life Committee has sent a letter to Congressmen giving
six clear reasons why the House bill with the Stupak/Pitts amendment meets
minimum pro-life policy requirements and the Senate bill does not.
USCCB Bulletin Insert:
http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/UPDATED-bulletin-insert.pdf
USCCB Pulpit Announcement:
http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/Abortion_ads/Pulpit_Announcement_and_Prayer.pdf
NRTL Letter:
http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/HouseLetteronAbortionProvisions.pdf
January 8, 2010
Depending on press reports, anywhere from 100 to 175 of the 256
Democrats in the House participated in a conference call yesterday to
discuss the health care bill currently being drafted by Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the White House. The call was
ostensibly designed so that House leadership could hear the concerns of its
caucus on matters currently being debated in the secret negotiations.
Reportedly, no final decisions on the content of the revised health care
bill have been made yet.
January 7, 2010
Following two days of House-Senate-White House negotiations,
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Democrats were close to devising a
merged health care bill, but she did not address the question of abortion
funding. The full House Democrat Caucus will take part in a conference call
today to discuss legislative strategy.
Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), in a New York Times profile, again
said that he and 10 or 11 other pro-life Congressmen who voted for the House
version of health care reform would oppose any language in revised
legislation that does not truly prohibit abortion funding. A switch of only
three votes could kill the health care bill in the House.
January 6, 2010
Democrat leaders in Congress will go to the White House this
afternoon for a second health care strategy meeting in as many days. At
yesterday’s meeting, Democrats agreed to draft a revised overhaul of the
health care system behind closed doors, eliminating the possibility of a
conference committee. According to news reports, the plan is for the House
to take up consideration of the Senate bill, amend it, and send it back to
the Senate for a final vote.
January 5, 2010
According to numerous press reports quoting Democrat “officials,”
there will be no formal conference committee to create a unified version of
the House and Senate health care bills. Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA), Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and the White House will devise
privately what they hope will be language that both the House and Senate
will approve. President Obama is hosting the first negotiation/discussion
meeting this evening at the White House with Speaker Pelosi attending in
person and Senator Reid, who is out of town, participating by phone.
In this non-traditional approach, Republicans will be completely shut out of
the process of crafting a House-Senate compromise. In addition, negotiations
will be completely behind the scenes, avoiding the open and public
bargaining that would occur under the conference committee approach.
Technically, then, what will likely happen is that the House or Senate will
take up the other body’s legislation and seek to amend it, with the
amendment consisting of the changes devised in the secret Pelosi-Reid-White
House negotiations. Once passed, the health care overhaul measure would then
be sent to the other legislative body for approval.
If both the House and Senate pass the same bill with the Pelosi-Reid-White
House language, it would then go to President Obama for his signature. If
they don’t pass the same bill, the legislation would keep bouncing back and
forth between the two bodies in what is being called “legislative ping pong”
until both pass the same measure. The other alternative, of course, would be
for the House or Senate to refuse to pass the other’s bill and for
negotiations to reach an impasse, in which case the health care overhaul
would die.
December 31, 2009
Formal action to combine the House and Senate health care bills
should resume when both legislative bodies return from the Christmas/New
Year recess. The House is scheduled to go back into session on January 12;
the Senate on January 19.
December 28, 2009
As expected, the Senate voted 60-39 early Christmas Eve morning to
pass the Reid health care bill. Democrat leaders in the House and Senate
will now work to write a bill that could pass both the House and Senate.
Press reports indicate that Democrats will try to work out a compromise
measure privately and informally before resorting to a Conference Committee.
The White House wants both houses to pass a health care overhaul bill before
President Obama delivers his as yet unscheduled State of the Union speech in
late January or early February.
December 23, 2009
Following the second successful procedural vote on the Reid health
care bill Tuesday, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) agreed to move up the final vote on the measure to
8:00 am on Christmas Eve, 11 hours earlier than previously scheduled. This
will allow Senators to leave town before a predicted snow storm hits the
Washington, DC area.
On the House side, Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) told CNS News
(http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/58921) that he and fellow pro-life
Democrats have been pressured by House leadership and the White House not to
comment on the abortion funding language in the Senate bill. He said,
though, that he and his colleagues will not cave on keeping abortion funding
out of the health care bill, stating, “We are not just going to abandon
[principle] in the name of health care."
December 22, 2009
The second of three procedural votes on the Reid health care bill
was scheduled to take place at 7:00 am this morning in the Senate. The Reid
measure is still on track for a final up-or-down vote on Christmas Eve
night.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement opposing the
Reid bill’s latest version that includes the Nelson abortion funding
language. It’s available at
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-264.shtml.
December 21, 2009
The Senate voted 60-40 shortly after 1:00 AM Eastern time this
morning to end debate on the “manager’s amendment” to the Reid health care
bill, paving the way for the bill’s passage. The straight party line vote is
expected to be repeated in procedural votes Tuesday and Wednesday, with
final approval of the legislation expected after 7:00 PM on Thursday,
Christmas Eve.
The vote was made possible by the actions of Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) who,
despite prior statements, accepted abortion funding language that falls far
short of the restrictions found in the House bill’s Stupak/Pitts amendment.
Nelson reached his accord, which included $100 million in Medicaid subsidies
for Nebraska and tax breaks for non-profit Nebraska insurance companies,
with pro-abortion Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chuck
Schumer (D-NY), and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NE).
Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) said in a statement that the new
Senate abortion funding language is “unacceptable.” Nebraska Right to Life
said in a press release that Senator Nelson “betrayed” pro-lifers, while
National Right to Life wrote that the Nelson language was “light years
removed” from the Stupak/Pitts amendment. NRTL’s full statement on the new
Senate bill is available at
http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/NRLConReidManagersAmend.html.
December 18, 2009
The Senate is spending the day working on the Defense Department
appropriations bill, after which it is expected to return to the Reid health
care bill. If the Democrats wish to pass a health care bill before
Christmas, they must act quickly. Due to procedural rules, if Majority
Leader Harry Reid introduces his bill by 1:00 am tomorrow, the soonest a
final vote on the measure could take place would be 7:00 pm on Thursday,
Christmas Eve.
One of the problems for Sen. Reid is that he does not have 60 votes for his
health care measure. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) remains opposed to the abortion
funding language in the Reid bill and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has voiced
opposition to the legislation’s lack of a public option for health
insurance. Due to united Republican opposition to the Reid bill, Democrats
need both Nelson and Sanders to vote for the bill in order for it to pass.
December 17, 2009
Pro-life Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) said today that an amendment
drafted by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) was not sufficient to cause him to support
the Reid health care bill. The amendment, intended as a compromise abortion
measure to gain Nelson’s backing of the Reid bill, did not address the
fundamental question of abortion funding, according to Richard Doerflinger
of the Bishops’ Conference.
Senator Nelson’s opposition to the Senate health care bill means that the
Democrats still do not have the 60 votes necessary to move the legislation
forward.
December 16, 2009
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) yesterday gave reporters a tentative
timeline for his health care bill that set the date of a final vote on the
measure as either December 23rd or 24th. The first crucial procedural vote
could come as early as late this week, though. Democrats acknowledge that
they still do not have the necessary 60 votes for the bill, with pro-life
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) now the only known holdout. Senator Nelson is
holding firm to his commitment that the bill not fund abortions.
Meanwhile, on the House side, liberals expressed dismay at the Senate’s
decision to jettison the “public option” and Medicare expansion from its
legislation. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the House would not
accept the Senate bill without modifications. Former Democrat party chairman
Howard Dean said that “the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate
bill.”
December 15, 2009
Senate Democrats have been summoned to the White House this
afternoon in what the President is hoping will be a unity event in support
of the Reid health care bill. The Democrats met behind closed doors Monday
to try to find ways to get all 60 members of their caucus to support the
measure. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to continue meeting
today with Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), who is the one pro-life Democrat
standing firm for a true abortion funding prohibition in the bill.
December 14, 2009
Health Care
Pro-life Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) reiterated his position Sunday
that he will not support passage of the Reid health care bill if it does not
contain a true ban on abortion funding. Majority Leader Harry Reid
reportedly is continuing to meet with pro-abortion Senators to find
“compromise” abortion funding language, but Senator Nelson has repeatedly
expressed his skepticism that any sort of compromise can be found.
Senator Reid’s search for 60 votes for his health care bill became even more
difficult yesterday when pro-abortion Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) declared
on national television and reportedly in a private conversation with Senator
Reid that he cannot support the health care bill as presently written.
Senator Lieberman’s objections are not related to abortion.
Appropriations
The Senate passed the $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill
Saturday by a 57-35 vote. The measure, which now goes to President Obama for
his signature, will allow public funding of abortion in the District of
Columbia, increase international “family planning” funding by $103 million,
and increase funding to the United Nations’ population control program by $5
million.
December 11, 2009
Health Care
While Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) waits for the Congressional Budget
Office to offer a cost estimate on the still unreleased “public option”
compromise devised by ten Democrat Senators behind closed doors, work on the
health care bill remains on hold. A new Quinnipiac poll shows public support
for the health insurance overhaul effort at a new low, with only 38% of
voters approving and 52% disapproving.
Appropriations
Meanwhile, with the House having passed the $1.1 trillion omnibus government
appropriations bill by a 221-202 vote, the Senate voted 56-43 to begin
consideration of the measure. The bill contains a provision that would allow
public funds to be used for abortions in the District of Columbia. With
Republicans threatening a filibuster of the legislation, debate may to go
into the weekend with a final vote possible as early as Sunday if Majority
Leader Reid can find 60 votes.
December 9, 2009
Health Care Bill
While the Senate voted Tuesday to end consideration of the Nelson/Hatch
amendment that would have barred the use of federal funds for abortion in
the Reid health care bill, debate on abortion in the health care overhaul
measure is far from over.
Even if the Senate passes the Reid bill without the Nelson/Hatch language,
members of the House and Senate would still have to come up with a
compromise bill that would then need approval from the House and Senate
again. If pro-life Congressmen and/or pro-life Senator Ben Nelson stand
their ground, it’s possible that real abortion funding restrictions could be
included in a final health care measure.
Appropriations Bill
House and Senate negotiators late Tuesday reportedly worked out a version of
the omnibus spending bill that will fund the federal government for the
fiscal year that began October 1. The bill contains a provision that would
permit federal funding of abortions in the District of Columbia. The House
could begin consideration of the measure as early as Thursday. Congress must
complete action on the spending bill by December 18, when the continuing
resolution that is now funding the government runs out.
December 8, 2009, Evening
The Senate this voted 54-45 to table the Nelson/Hatch amendment
late this afternoon, meaning that the amendment was defeated. Majority
Leader Harry Reid, who calls himself pro-life, spoke and voted in favor of
tabling the amendment that would have stopped the federal funding of
abortion that Senator Reid’s bill allows.
All Republicans supported the Nelson/Hatch amendment by voting “no” on the
motion to table except Senators Olympia Snowe (ME) and Susan Collins (ME);
all Democrats voted to kill the amendment except Senators Ben Nelson (NE),
Bob Casey (PA), Kent Conrad (ND), Byron Dorgan (ND), Evan Bayh (IN), Ted
Kaufman (DE), and Mark Pryor (AR). Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) did not vote.
December 7, 2009
Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) will likely
introduce the Senate version of the Stupak amendment today. The amendment,
which would prevent federal funding of abortion in the health care overhaul
bill, has been endorsed by National Right to Life. Senator Nelson said over
the weekend that he does not expect a vote on the amendment before tomorrow.
Link to NRTL’s Action Alert on the Hatch/Nelson amendment:
http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=13157881
December 4, 2009
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told reporters yesterday that he
will move to end debate and bring to a vote the Senate health care bill as
soon as he has 60 votes lined up to support the measure. When asked when
that might be, Senator Reid said, “Soon,” but at least four Democrats have
not made commitments yet. In the meantime, he will keep the Senate in
session this Saturday and Sunday.
One vote that may be hard to line up is Senator Ben Nelson’s (D-NE). Senator
Nelson may introduce an amendment based on the House’s Stupak/Pitts
amendment banning federal funding of abortion in the new health care system.
Some reports say the Nelson amendment could be introduced today while others
say next week is more likely. Senator Nelson again told the press on
Thursday that if his amendment fails, he would not support the Reid health
care bill.
December 3, 2009
While Senators still have not cast their first vote on amendments introduced
Monday to the Reid health care bill, Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) announced
Wednesday that he will introduce an amendment that contains the Stupak/Pitts
abortion funding language found in the House health care measure. According
to news reports, the Nelson amendment may be introduced as soon as today.
In addition, Senator Nelson declared that unless the Senate bill includes
the same abortion funding restrictions found in the Stupak/Pitts amendment,
he will not vote for its final passage.
December 2, 2009
The Reid health care bill has been under consideration for two days
and it’s already one day behind schedule. Senators were supposed to cast
their first votes yesterday on amendments by Senators
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and John McCain (R-AZ). Those votes are now
scheduled for today.
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) said Tuesday that he will introduce an amendment
to eliminate abortion funding from the Reid bill, using language similar to
the Stupak/Pitts amendment in the House health care measure. The Nelson
amendment may be brought to the Senate floor late this week.
December 1, 2009
Although no votes were taken, the first of alternating Democrat and
Republican amendments to the Reid health care bill were offered yesterday.
Neither amendment, one offered by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and the
other by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), deals with abortion. The Senate will
continue to propose and vote on a great many amendments in the coming weeks.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who hopes to have a final vote on his
bill before Christmas, has urged the other 59 members of the Democrat caucus
to offer only one amendment each. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
wants at least six weeks to consider the legislation.
November 30, 2009
Full Senate consideration of the Reid health care bill officially
begins today with opening statements by both Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Alternating Democrat and
Republican amendments will begin to be offered tomorrow in a debate that’s
expected to take several weeks.
The Senate does not have the debate restrictions that the House has, so it’s
not known how many amendments will be offered or how long the discussions of
those amendments will take. At some point, Majority Leader Reid will decide
to call an end to debate and ask for a cloture vote. At that time, 60
Senators will have to agree to end debate; if they do, a separate vote to
pass or not pass the bill will follow.
Reportedly, Senator Reid has told Senate offices to expect to work evenings
and weekends until the end of December, by which time he hopes to have
passed a bill.
November 23, 2009
The Senate voted 60-39 on Saturday night to begin debate on
Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care bill. The vote went along straight
party lines, with one Republican, Senator George Voinovich (OH), absent. A
few Senators, including Democrats Ben Nelson (NE), Mary Landrieu (LA), and
Blanche Lincoln (AR), said that while they voted to proceed with debate on
the Reid bill, they have not made up their minds on whether to support final
passage.
The Senate, which is off this week for Thanksgiving recess, will begin
consideration of the Reid bill on Monday, November 30.
November 20, 2009
Health care
With a Saturday night vote scheduled to determine if Majority Leader Harry
Reid’s health care bill will be brought to the Senate floor for debate,
Senator Reid would not say yesterday whether he has secured the necessary 60
votes to be successful.
Pro-life Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE), in a not too thinly veiled plea to his
fellow Nebraska colleague, Senator Ben Nelson, asked for a pro-life Democrat
Senator to step up and be the one Democrat vote needed to send the
pro-abortion bill back to the drawing board. Senator Nelson said yesterday
that he would not support the Reid bill, as currently written, for final
passage, but he has not indicated how he will vote Saturday night.
Also Thursday, the spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
Richard Doerflinger, said that the Reid bill "is actually the worst bill
we've seen so far on the life issues." He called the measure “completely
unacceptable” and added, “to say this reflects current law is ridiculous."
Hamilton Nomination
The Senate voted 59-39 Thursday to confirm the nomination of pro-abortion
Judge David Hamilton to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Senator Richard
Lugar of Hamilton’s home state of Indiana was the only Republican to support
the nomination.
November 19, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) finally revealed his
health care bill to the public Wednesday. The bill, written with the help of
White House aides, does not contain the Stupak/Pitts amendment’s language
barring the use of taxpayer money for abortions.
Under the Reid legislation, taxpayer money would pay for abortions in the
government run “public option” insurance plan and government subsidies would
be used for private plans that cover abortion. The bill has already been
endorsed by pro-abortion Senators such as Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who said she
“couldn’t be happier” with the legislation’s language.
A complete copy of the 2,074-page measure is available here. The abortion
related provisions are on pages 116 through 124.
Senator Reid would not say Wednesday night whether he had secured the 60
votes needed to bring his legislation to the Senate floor. Reportedly, two
or three Democrat Senators had not yet agreed to support a procedural vote
to begin debate on the measure.
November 18, 2009
Health Care Overhaul
Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) told Fox News yesterday that if
President Obama or anyone else removes the Stupak/Pitts amendment from the
health care reform bill, “health care will not move forward.” Congressman
Stupak said there are “10 to 15 to 20” Democrat Congressmen who will switch
their votes from yes to no if the amendment is not in the final version of
the legislation. The first health care bill passed the House by five votes,
meaning a switch of only three votes could defeat a bill sent back to the
lower chamber by a conference committee.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is now hoping to bring his
health care overhaul bill to the floor this Friday or Saturday. He said
Tuesday that he is “cautiously optimistic” that he has the 60 votes
necessary to begin debate on the measure.
Hamilton Nomination
The Senate voted 70-29 on Tuesday to consider the nomination of pro-abortion
Judge David Hamilton to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Needing only a
majority to win approval, Hamilton is expected to be confirmed.
November 17, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) now hopes to bring his
version of a health care overhaul bill to the Senate floor this Friday. He
will need 60 votes to overcome an expected Republican filibuster against
bringing the bill up for consideration.
If and when the Reid bill reaches the Senate floor, pro-life Senator Tom
Coburn (R-OK) will ask that the entire piece of legislation be read by the
Senate clerk. As long as a Republican Senator remains on the floor to object
if Senator Reid asks for unanimous consent to dispense with the reading,
every page of the bill must be read. It could take several days, at least
allowing Senators some time to find out what’s in the legislation.
November 16, 2009
Health Care Overhaul
Presidential advisor David Axelrod said yesterday that President
Obama “cannot abide” the Stupak/Pitts pro-life amendment being in the health
care bill. Axelrod did not state with any specificity what the President
would do about his feelings.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) remarked to Fox News Sunday
that the Senate will be deliberating the health care overhaul bill for many
weeks. He predicted, “This will be on the floor for quite a long time. I
think it ought to be on the floor at least as long as it's been in [Senate
Majority Leader] Harry Reid's office."
Senator Reid (D-NV) has been working on his version of a health care bill
since the Finance Committee passed its version on October 13. At that time,
Senator Reid said he wanted to bring his bill to the floor the week of
October 26. He said last week that he wants to introduce it this week.
Hamilton Nomination
The nomination of pro-abortion Judge David Hamilton to the 7th
Circuit Court of Appeals will be brought to the Senate floor tomorrow.
Because Republicans have not agreed to end debate on the nomination of the
former ACLU attorney, 60 votes will be needed to give Hamilton the lifetime
appointment. Aside from stalling the enforcement of Indiana’s abortion
waiting period law for seven years, Hamilton once ruled that the Indiana
legislature could not open its sessions with a Christian prayer.
November 13, 2009
Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN) told The Tennessean newspaper
Thursday that “health reform, despite the House vote, is still on life
support." Congressman Cooper, who voted for the Stupak/Pitts amendment and
for the Pelosi health care bill, said that it will be hard for the Senate to
pass a bill given that Democrats will have to hold together 60 votes to
overcome any Republican filibuster.
Both Houses of Congress are expected to return from the Veterans Day recess
on Monday.
November 12, 2009
Hamilton Nomination
The Senate will take up the nomination of federal district judge David
Hamilton to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals next week. Judge Hamilton is
known for his pro-abortion rulings that kept Indiana’s informed consent for
abortion statute from being enforced for seven years. In fact, the 7th
Circuit Court, in overturning one of Hamilton’s rulings, went out of its way
to criticize him for being the only federal judge in the country to hold a
law such as Indiana’s invalid after the Supreme Court’s Casey decision
upheld a similar measure.
Health Care
Pro-abortion advocates either had meetings or planned meetings yesterday to
plot the defeat of the Stupak/Pitts amendment in the Senate and removal of
the amendment from any final health care bill.
Leaders from 12 groups such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL met with top
administration officials such as Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Senior Advisor
Valerie Jarrett, and Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes for what
one participant termed a “frank exchange” on the Stupak/Pitts amendment.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood met with 80 other liberal groups to plot
abortion strategy for the Senate health care bill. Finally, members of the
Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus requested a meeting with President Obama
next week on abortion funding in the health care overhaul measure.
November 11, 2009
Still waiting for cost estimates from the Congressional Budget
Office on the various versions of health care overhaul bills he submitted
for review, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) yesterday put his
health care bill on the Senate calendar, meaning he could introduce it as
soon as next Tuesday. He said that he expected to have a final vote on the
bill by Christmas, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) indicated
yesterday that he expected debate on the measure to last at least a month.
In the event that the Senate passes a bill that differs at all from the
House bill, a conference committee consisting of members from the House and
Senate would meet to work out a compromise measure. This compromise
legislation would then have to be approved again by both chambers. It’s
during the conference committee process that pro-aborts hope to remove the
Stupak/Pitts amendment from the health care bill.
While pro-abortion Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) has promised a
“firestorm” to delete the Stupak/Pitts amendment, pro-life Congressman Bart
Stupak (D-MI) has said there will be “hell to pay” if the Democrat House
leadership does delete it.
November 10, 2009
Responding to complaints from pro-abortion groups about the
Stupak/Pitts amendment, President Barack Obama told ABC News Monday that he
wants to change the House health care bill’s abortion language so that
“neither side feels that it’s being betrayed.” He added, “I want to make
sure that the provision that emerges meets that test — that we are not in
some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that
we’re not restricting women’s insurance choices.”
In the Senate, the House’s passage of the Stupak/Pitts amendment is already
causing speculation that the health care bill may be even more difficult to
pass than previously thought. Pro-life Senator Ben Nelson (NE) said Monday
that he would not vote for a bill that did not contain strong language
prohibiting abortion funding, such as the Stupak/Pitts amendment. Due to the
threat of a Republican filibuster, Democrats need to keep all 60 members of
their caucus on board. The loss of even one Senator, such as Senator Nelson,
could kill the health care overhaul legislation.
The Senate is scheduled to begin its Veterans Day recess tonight and will
reconvene Monday.
November 9, 2009
Following the House’s passage of HR 3962, the Pelosi health care
bill that included the Stupak/Pitts amendment barring taxpayer funding of
abortion, at least 40 pro-abortion Members of Congress are now vowing to
oppose a final bill if it includes the Stupak/Pitts language.
The Senate, meanwhile, is still awaiting the release of a health care bill
by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The White House is pressuring the
Senate to complete work on legislation before the Christmas break, wanting
to avoid a repeat of the August recess when Senators and Congressmen
returned home to face negative public reaction to the health care overhaul.
The Senate bill is expected to be different from the House measure, with
Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) already saying that HR 3962 was “dead on
arrival.” Reports indicate, though, that Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Bob
Casey (D-PA) will try to add the Stupak/Pitts amendment to whatever Senate
bill emerges.
Evening of November 7, 2009
The House of Representatives voted 240-194 tonight to adopt the
Stupak/Pitts amendment to HR 3962, the Pelosi health care bill. The
amendment, which had the support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
and pro-life groups, basically applies the Hyde amendment to the health care
bill, thereby preventing the use of taxpayer funds for abortion except in
cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is endangered. Sixty-four
Democrats joined 176 Republicans in voting for the amendment.
The House later passed the amended version of HR 3962 by a 220-215 vote. The
House will now wait for the Senate to pass its version of a health care
overhaul bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is said to be hoping
for a vote in the Senate before Christmas. If and when the Senate passes a
bill, a Conference Committee would take the House and Senate versions and
create a compromise measure, which then would have to be approved again by
the House and Senate
November 6, 2009
As a weekend vote on the rule to bring the Pelosi health care bill
to the House floor approaches, the Rules Committee will meet today to
determine what that rule will say. It’s expected that the “Ellsworth
amendment,” which analysts say will do nothing to stop taxpayer funding of
abortion and which has won the approval of pro-abortion Members of Congress,
will be incorporated into the Pelosi bill by the Rules Committee.
President Obama was expected to go to Capitol Hill today to put pressure on
Democrats to vote for the Pelosi measure. His lobbying effort has reportedly
been postponed until Saturday morning due to the shootings at Ft. Hood.
Reports indicate that there are 25 “hard no” Democrat votes on the Pelosi
bill. If 16 more Democrats join them, Speaker Nancy Pelosi would be forced
to either withdraw the measure or allow a vote on the Stupak/Pitts amendment
to bar taxpayer dollars from being used for abortion. It’s still projected
that a vote could come late Saturday or early Sunday and that the vote is
too close to call.
November 5, 2009
As the pro-abortion Democrat leadership in the House continues to push for a
crucial vote this Saturday on the rule to bring the Pelosi health care bill
to the floor, the House Rules Committee will meet tomorrow to determine
which amendments will be attached to the measure and which will not. Rules
Committee Chairwoman, pro-abortion Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
reportedly will accept the amendment offered by Congressman Brad Ellsworth
(D-IN) for inclusion in the Pelosi bill.
Ellsworth’s amendment has already been deemed acceptable by one of the
leaders of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, Representative Diana DeGette
(D-CO). The National Right to Life Committee calls the Ellsworth amendment
“a political fig leaf made out of cellophane.”
Basically, it sets up more accounting steps that don’t change the basic fact
that taxpayer dollars will be used to subsidize abortions. Whether any
self-proclaimed pro-life Congressmen will now support allowing the
Ellsworth-amended Pelosi health care bill to come to the House floor and
thereby vote to kill the pro-life Stupak/Pitts amendment remains to be seen.
November 4, 2009
In a move designed to undercut
support for the pro-life amendment
Congressmen Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Joe Pitts
(R-PA) want to offer to the Pelosi health
care bill, Congressman Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
has joined with pro-abortion Congresswoman
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to draft a new amendment
to the health care bill. The National Right
to Life Committee has strongly denounced the
Ellsworth amendment, calling it a “phony
compromise” that would merely create a
“money-laundering scheme” to federally fund
abortion. Indiana Right to Life has asked Mr.
Ellsworth to withdraw the amendment.
As previously noted, before the House may
consider the Pelosi health care measure, a
procedural vote must occur on the “rule” for
the bill. Speculation as to when this
procedural vote may occur ranges from as
early as tomorrow to as late as early next
week. This vote may be the most important
House vote on abortion in years. Unless a
majority of the House votes not to bring the
Pelosi bill to the floor, there is no chance
that a vote on the Stupak/Pitts amendment
will occur.
The pro-abortion Democratic leadership is
pressing hard to keep the House in session
through the upcoming weekend in an effort to
try to pass the Pelosi bill before next
Wednesday, which begins the three-day
Veterans Day recess.
In the Senate, recent statements by Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have led to
speculation that Democrats are not optimistic
that a final health care bill can be passed
by the end of this year. The Senate is said
to be at least a week and a half away from
having a bill ready to take to the floor.
November 3, 2009
Top Democrats in the House continued to meet Monday night in strategy
sessions on HR 3962, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) health care overhaul
bill. Meanwhile, pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) told the Washington
Post Monday that he is continuing to urge colleagues to oppose allowing the
Pelosi bill to come to the House floor unless a vote to prohibit abortion
funding in the measure is allowed. The Post also quotes NARAL Pro-Choice
America president Nancy Keenan as saying that as of now a vote on HR 3962
would be “too close to call.”
In the Senate, the language of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV)
health care bill has still not been released.
Link to the Washington Post story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/02/AR2009110203232_pf.html
November 2, 2009
Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI)
continued to negotiate last week with the
House Democrat leadership, but as of early
this morning, no new developments have been
announced in his effort to insert language in
the Pelosi health care bill that would bar
taxpayer funding of abortion. Kristen Day,
Executive Director of Democrats for Life,
stated that there are “about 43” Democrats,
more than enough to kill the health care
bill, willing to vote against bringing it to
the floor unless they are allowed to vote on
the Stupak amendment.
According to news reports, Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) wants to bring her bill to the
floor by the end of this week and has set
November 11 as a target date for a vote.
October 30, 2009
News reports indicate that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is hoping for a House floor vote on the newly released health care overhaul bill by the end of next week. Senior Democrats, concerned over the possibility that pro-life Congressmen could block the bill from coming to the floor, are said to be working still on the measure’s abortion language.
In the Senate, observers are saying that a vote on a health care bill might not come until the end of the year at the earliest
October 29, 2009
Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the new House version of the health care
overhaul bill today. The measure still funds abortions by authorizing the
government run “public option” to pay for abortions and by subsidizing
private insurance plans that cover abortions. The bill also contains a new
provision that bars school based clinics from performing abortions, but does
not prohibit these clinics from referring students to abortion mills or from
facilitating students’ abortions at other locations.
All 1,990 pages of the new bill, HR 3962, are available at:
http://docs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf
October 28, 2009
While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that he had
completed work on a health care overhaul bill to take to the floor, as of
yesterday the language of his measure had not yet been made available, even
to other Senators.
Sen. Reid needs the support of all 58 Democrats and the two independents who
caucus with the Democrats in order to overcome a Republican filibuster of
his bill. At least five Democrats and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT),
however, have remained non-committal on whether they will ultimately vote
for it. Sen. Lieberman, in fact, has said that if the Reid bill still
contains a public option insurance plan when a vote occurs, he will oppose
the legislation.
October 27, 2009
Pro-abort Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) is reportedly working with
freshmen and sophomore pro-life Democrat Congressmen to find compromise
abortion language for the health care bill and thereby undermine pro-life
Congressman Bart Stupak’s (D-MI) efforts to force a floor vote on his
amendment to ban abortion funding and coverage.
Meanwhile, Congressman Stupak told CNS News that in a phone conversation
he had with President Obama, the President admitted that when he declared to
Congress that “our” health care plan would not allow federal dollars to fund
abortion, he wasn’t referring to any actual piece of legislation. Mr.
Stupak said of the President’s comment, “I don’t know if it is a game of
semantics or what,” but added that he would welcome the President’s support
of his amendment.”
Link to Congressman Stupak’s comments:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/56109
October 26, 2009
Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) again told CNS News Friday that
he has a group of “about 40 likeminded Democrats” who will vote against
allowing a health care bill to come to the House floor if, as expected,
pro-abortion Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tries to prevent amendments to the
legislation from being offered.
That the Pelosi health care bill will fund abortions is close to a
certainty. Pro-abort Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) told the Associated
Press of his talks with Congressman Stupak on abortion coverage and funding,
"We have a difference of opinion at the moment we cannot bridge."
Congressman Stupak said that if all the Democrats to whom he has spoken
remain united and all Republicans vote with them, he will have enough votes
to stop the health care bill. He added, though, that the Democrat leadership
in the House will “twist arms” to get Democrat Congressmen to fall in line
and vote to bring the health care bill to the floor without allowing
amendments. The AP says of the Stupak pro-life rider, “Such an amendment
would be almost certain to prevail, since it likely would attract the votes
of most Republicans as well as some Democrats. So Democratic leaders won't
let Stupak offer it.”
Link to CNS News story:
www.cnsnews.com/news/article/56023
October 23, 2009
House Democrats say after a preliminary head count that they have
at least 210 votes for their version of a health care bill, eight shy of a
majority. Reportedly, abortion language has not been finalized for the
legislation which may be unveiled as early as this coming Monday.
In the Senate, leaders met with President Obama on the health care overhaul.
There was no word on when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) would release
legislation to take to the Senate floor.
October 22, 2009
House Democrats have begun counting heads to determine the level of
support for a yet unreleased version of health care overhaul legislation
that includes a government run “public option” insurance plan. They say they
are close to the 218 votes needed for passage, but would not release a
tally. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters that she expects the House
to pass health care legislation “well before Thanksgiving.”
Also on Wednesday, pro-life groups delivered a 137,000-signature petition to
Members of Congress asking that abortion funding and coverage not be
included in health care reform. Attending the press conference for the
presentation were Congressmen Chris Smith (R-NJ), Mike Pence (R-IN), and
Eric Cantor (R-VA).
October 21, 2009
In a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrat legislators Tuesday
night, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she is close to having the support
of 218 Congressmen for a version of a health care overhaul bill that
contains a government-run “public option” insurance plan.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) reportedly may release a
combined health care bill for the Senate floor as early as this Friday.
October 20, 2009
Two new polls show opposition to Obamacare holding firm among the
American public. Rasmussen Reports’ latest ongoing poll shows that 42%
support the health care reform efforts of Democrats in Congress, while 54%
oppose them. A Washington Post/ABC poll states that 45% support health care
overhaul legislation, while 48% are against it.
October 19, 2009
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) says he will offer on the Senate floor
the same pro-life amendments he offered to the Baucus health care bill in
the Finance Committee. The amendments would bar direct and indirect abortion
funding and guarantee the right of conscience to health care workers.
Senator Hatch does not need anyone’s permission to offer the amendments
because, unlike in the House, the Senate Rules Committee can neither dictate
the terms of debate on legislation nor bar amendments.
In the House, the Ways and Means Committee has certified HR 3200, the
version of health care reform that it passed last summer, to be eligible for
the reconciliation process. The reconciliation process is a parliamentary
maneuver that, if invoked, would permit the Senate to pass a House-approved
health care bill with 51 votes, instead of 60. Because the reconciliation
process does not allow filibusters, it is referred to as “the nuclear
option.”
October 16, 2009
The Associated Press now says that health care overhaul legislation
is not likely to reach the House or Senate floor this month. In the Senate,
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) predicted that all 60 Democrats
and Independents plus one to three Republicans will vote for the health care
bill he and others are drafting, even though no one know what will be in it.
In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reemphasized that any House bill
will have a government run “public option” health care plan.
October 15, 2009
As Senate leaders met to find a compromise version of the two
competing health care bills in the upper chamber, interest groups began
airing commercials attacking various versions of the legislation. So called
“moderate” Democrats said that the vote of pro-abortion Republican Sen.
Olympia Snowe (ME) had little impact on whether they will ultimately support
a health care overhaul. Pro-abortion Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT)
stated that he would not vote for either Senate bill as presently written.
In the House, pro-abortion Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that he
hoped to have a floor vote on a health care bill by Christmas, but couldn’t
guarantee that a vote would happen by then. Pundits speculate that the
closer Congress gets to the 2010 elections, the less likely it is that
health care legislation will pass.
October 14, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 to pass the Baucus health
care overhaul bill Tuesday, with pro-abortion Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe
(ME) joining the Committee’s 13 Democrats in supporting the measure. Sen.
Snowe cautioned, however, that her vote does not automatically mean that she
will support final passage of the legislation.
Pro-life Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), another Committee member, noted, “The real
bill is currently being written behind closed doors,” a reference to the
private meetings of Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT),
and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) to assemble yet another revised health care bill
to take to the full Senate. Mr. Reid says he hopes to begin floor debate the
week
October 13, 2009
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Senate Finance Committee will
finally vote on the Baucus health care bill sometime today after 10:00 AM
Eastern time.
On the House side, pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) restated
yesterday that if he is not allowed to offer a floor amendment to the health
care bill explicitly barring abortion funding, he and other pro-life
Representatives will seek to block the bill from ever coming to the floor
for a vote. This could be accomplished if at least 39 Democrats joined all
Republicans to reject the rule under which the bill could be considered.
Congressman Stupak has previously said that he knows of 40 Democrats who
will do so.
October 12, 2009
The health insurance industry is releasing a report today showing
that for a family of four, health insurance premiums would cost $4,000 more
in ten years under the Senate Finance Committee’s health care overhaul bill
than they would without any reform. The report, which is receiving wide
attention, may have an impact on Senate Democrat plans to rush health care
legislation to the floor. The Finance Committee is still scheduled to vote
on its bill tomorrow.
In yet another refutation of the President’s claim that health care reform
will not use federal funds to pay for abortions, the AP wrote last Friday
that under House health care bills, “taxpayer funds mingle with some
insurance plans that, one way or another, pay for abortions.”
October 9, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Thursday that
the Senate Finance Committee will vote on the Baucus health care overhaul
bill next Tuesday. The Baucus bill will then be merged with another measure
before being sent to the full Senate for consideration.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said Thursday that she would submit the
House’s three health care bills to the Congressional Budget Office for
analysis.
Finally, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Thursday wrote to every
member of the House and Senate to say that it will “vigorously” oppose any
of the above five bills as they are currently written. The Bishops ask that
health care legislation be amended to exclude mandated abortion coverage,
prohibit abortion funding, and protect the right of conscience of health
care workers and institutions. The Bishops’ letter may be found at –
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/2009-10-08-healthcare-letter-congress.pdf.
October 8, 2009
The Congressional Budget Office delivered its cost analysis of the
Baucus health care bill to the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, clearing
the way for a final Committee vote on the bill late this week or sometime
next week. The CBO found that the Baucus bill would cost $829 billion over
10 years, but would still leave 25 million people uninsured.
The House Democratic Caucus continues to meet to configure the three pending
House health care proposals into one. Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday
affirmed yet again, “There will be a public option,” in the revised House
bill. There is no word on what abortion language will be included in the
legislation.
October 7, 2009
Four members of the Senate Finance Committee (Democrats Lincoln
(AR), Rockefeller (WV), and Wyden (OR) and Republican Snowe (ME)) are still
non-committal on how they will vote on the Baucus health care overhaul bill.
Each of the pro-abortion Senators has different concerns about the
legislation, none abortion related. Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)
said he expects the three Democrats to support his bill when the vote is
taken.
The Obama Administration, meanwhile, is touting a letter received Tuesday
from pro-abortion California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger endorsing the
general concept that health care reform should be passed this year.
October 6, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee’s vote on the Baucus health care
overhaul bill, originally planned for today or tomorrow, has now been pushed
back to later this week or possibly next week. A cost analysis of the
measure by the Congressional Budget Office is taking longer than expected to
be completed. Two Democrats on the Committee, Senators Ron Wyden (OR) and
Jay Rockefeller (WV), both advocates of a government-run “public option,”
have declined to say whether they will support the Baucus bill when the vote
is held.
October 5, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee is awaiting the Congressional Budget
Office’s estimate on the cost of the Baucus health care bill before voting
on the measure tomorrow or Wednesday. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
hopes to have a bill delivered to the full Senate by next week. According to
Time Magazine, a parliamentary vote on October 13 may provide an early gauge
of support for the measure.
The House is expected to bring a health care bill to its floor no earlier
than the week of October 19.
A Fox News poll released Friday shows declining support for health care
reform, with 33% in favor of legislation pending in Congress and 53%
opposed. Two weeks ago, the margin was 38% - 48%.
October 1, 2009
Having helped defeat pro-life amendments to his care bill, Senate
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said he hopes to wrap up debate
on the measure by tomorrow. A final committee vote on the bill may not take
place until next week, however, to allow time to calculate an estimate of
its cost and whether it will add to the deficit.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday that he would cancel the
traditional Columbus Day recess in hopes of bringing a health care bill to
the Senate floor this month.
Afternoon of September 30, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee this morning defeated two pro-life
amendments to the Baucus health care bill. Senator Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT)
amendment to prevent federal subsidies from being used for health plans that
cover abortion, but that would have still allowed individuals to purchase
private abortion policies with their own money, failed on a 10-13 vote.
Senator Hatch’s right of conscience amendment to protect pro-life
individuals and institutions from discrimination was also defeated by a
10-13 vote.
In both votes, all Republicans except Senator Olympia Snowe (ME) supported
the amendments and all Democrats except Senator Kent Conrad (ND) opposed
them.
September 30, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday did not consider any abortion
related amendments to the Baucus health care bill, but did approve by a
12-11 vote an amendment by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to restore $50 million
in funding for abstinence-only education. Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) joined all ten Republicans in supporting the
amendment, which would restore money removed by President Obama’s budget.
The Committee also approved by a 14-9 vote an amendment to fund education on
contraception. The two conflicting amendments may or may not remain in the
health care measure as it moves forward.
The Committee resumes debate on the Baucus bill today.
September 29, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee will resume debate today on the Baucus
health care bill. While attention is reported to be focused on amendments to
add a government run “public option” insurance plan, pro-life amendments may
be considered.
In the House, pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) will reportedly meet
today with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to discuss abortion provisions in the
House health care bills. Congressman Stupak says he knows of 40 Democrats,
enough to derail health care in the House if Republicans are united in
opposition, who at least want floor votes to be allowed on pro-life
amendments.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen Reports revealed a new poll Monday showing public
support for Obamacare to be at its lowest point ever. People interviewed
opposed the President’s proposal by a 41%-56% margin; among seniors, only
33% supported the plan while 59% were against it.
September 28, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee will resume meeting tomorrow to hear
amendments to Senator Max Baucus’ health care reform bill. Pro-life
amendments offered by Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Enzi may be considered.
On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that she hopes to
have a single, unified House bill drafted by this Friday.
September 25, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee continued deliberation on health care
legislation yesterday, but did not consider any abortion related amendments.
While today was the stated deadline for the committee to finish work on the
bill, it’s now considered highly unlikely that the committee will meet that
goal.
In the House, Democrats are busy forming one bill out of the three passed by
various committees with the aim of beginning floor debate in mid-October.
September 24, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee did
not consider any abortion related amendments yesterday.
It did defeat by a 13-10 party line vote an amendment offered by Sen.
Jim Bunning (R-KY) to have the bill’s final language and cost estimate
posted on the internet for 72 hours before the committee voted on it.
Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said that a summary, not the actual
language, and cost analysis of the bill would be available sometime before
the final vote.
September 23, 2009
Thee Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday began its week long
consideration of Chairman Max Baucus’s health care bill. Of the 564
amendments that have been filed thus far, several will deal with life
issues. Among those expected to be offered by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
and Mike Enzi (R-WY) are amendments to:
-protect health care workers’ right of conscience;
-prohibit the use of federal funds for abortions and plans that cover
abortions;
-bar the use of federal monies for assisted suicide and plans that cover
assisted suicide;
-ensure that state abortion laws are not preempted by the health care bill;
and
-forbid the federal government from requiring that any plan offer abortion
coverage.
The Finance Committee consists of 14 pro-abortion and 9 pro-life
Senators, although one pro-abortion Senator, Kent Conrad (D-ND) sometimes
opposes federal funding for abortions.
September 22, 2009
Congressmen Dave Camp (R-MI) and Dale Kildee (D-MI) today
introduced H. Res. 579, a resolution to offer the House’s condolences to the
family of slain pro-life activist James Pouillon. Mr. Pouillon was gunned
down on September 11 while peacefully protesting against abortion across the
street from a public high school in Owosso, MI. Congressmen Camp and Kildee
are now seeking co-sponsors for the measure.
September 21, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee will begin consideration of Chairman
Max Baucus’s “compromise” health care legislation tomorrow. While the
committee has scheduled three days of debate on the bill, Senators will
reportedly offer more than 560 amendments, including ones to bar abortion
funding and coverage, calling into question whether work on the measure can
be completed in three days.
September 18, 2009
According to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, 48% of Americans say
that any government subsidized health care plan should prohibit abortion
coverage, 13% believe that abortion coverage should be mandated, and 32%
think that abortion should be neither prohibited nor mandated.
In Rasmussen’s tracking poll on President Obama’s health care plan,
opposition to “Obamacare” rose to an all-time high of 56% today, with 43% in
support. The poll marks a dramatic drop in support for the President’s plan
in the last week. Immediately after Mr. Obama’s speech to Congress,
Rasmussen showed 51% in favor of his health care legislation, with 46%
opposed.
Click here for the abortion poll
Click here for the health care tracking poll
September 17, 2009Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has released his version
of health care reform legislation with the claim, “Federal funds continue to
be prohibited from being used to pay for abortions unless the pregnancy is
due to rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger.”
An analysis of the Baucus bill by the National Right to Life Committee,
however, finds that it contains an “array of pro-abortion mandates and
federal subsidies for elective abortion” as well as a “financial incentive
to ration care.” To view the NRLC analysis, click here.
Pro-life amendments are expected to be offered to the Baucus bill when the
Finance Committee considers the measure starting next Tuesday.
NRLC analysis link:
www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release091609.html
September 16, 2009Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) announced Tuesday that
the “Gang of Six” committee members could not agree on compromise health
care reform language and that he will move forward on legislation without
Republican support. Senator Baucus was still revising the bill’s abortion
language yesterday.
Meanwhile, after a meeting between Senate Democrats and President Obama’s
senior political advisor David Axelrod, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said,
“There is no way, in its present form, that I will vote for [the Baucus
bill],” citing its lack of a government insurance plan (i.e. “public
option”).
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to begin consideration of the
legislation next week.
September 11, 2009
Pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) has reiterated that unless
health care reform legislation excludes abortion funding, he and his
colleagues will do whatever they can to block the bill.
Cong. Stupak said to CBN News that he has told the House leadership and the
White House that they must at least allow a floor vote on an amendment to
prevent abortion funding, saying to them, “If you don't give us the vote,
everything is off the table.” Cong. Stupak has previously said that if an
abortion amendment vote is not allowed, at least 39 Democrats will join him
in opposing the bill.
September 10, 2009
In his speech to Congress last night, President Obama asserted that
“[n]o federal dollars will be used to fund abortions” under his health care
plan. Even the New York Times notes, however, that under pending
legislation, “in practice, the public and private money would all go into
the same pot, and the source of money for any single procedure [such as
abortion] is largely a technicality.”
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has
announced that the full text of his “compromise” health care legislation
will be released next week. A currently available 18-page summary of the
bill makes no mention of abortion or “reproductive health.”
September 3, 2009
The White House has announced that President Obama will address a joint
session of Congress next Wednesday, September 9, to provide more specifics
on what he wants included in health care reform legislation.
Administration officials are not indicating what those specifics will be.
Meanwhile, six members of the Senate Finance Committee continue to work
on possible compromise health care legislation. Committee Chairman Max
Baucus (D-MT) has set a September 15 deadline for the six to produce a bill.
September 2, 2009
Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph Naumann and Kansas City-St. Joseph
Bishop Robert Finn have issued a Joint Pastoral Statement, “Principles of
Catholic Social Teaching and Health Care Reform.” In it, they call for the
explicit exclusion of abortion, euthanasia, and mandatory end of life
counseling from any health care reform bill. They also discuss the principle
of subsidiarity, the “principle by which we respect the inherent dignity and
freedom of the individual by never doing for others what they can do for
themselves and thus enabling individuals to have the most possible
discretion in the affairs of their lives.”
The
complete Pastoral Statement is available here.
Fargo Bishop Samuel Aquila, in a letter to his Diocese on health reform
legislation, wrote, “Any provisions for actions which deny the dignity of
human life, especially abortion, euthanasia, whether passive or active, and
embryonic stem-cell research must be excluded from all health care plans.”
He also cited the principle of subsidiarity – that many communities, not
just the federal government, should be involved in the provision of health
care.
Bishop Aquila’s letter may be viewed here. (PDF)
September 1, 2009
The Catholic Health Association has restated that while it
remains committed to the goal of health coverage for every person, it has not
endorsed any current legislation. Sr. Carol Keehan, D.C., President and CEO of
the association, stated in a press release, “Health reform should not result in
an expansion of abortion, and it must maintain conscience protections for health
care providers who do not want to participate in abortions or other morally
objectionable procedures."
July 31, 2009
In debating HR 3200, the health care overhaul
bill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on
July 30 initially approved by a 30-28 vote an
amendment offered by pro-life Congressmen Joe
Pitts (R-PA), Bart Stupak (D-MI), and Roy Blunt
(R-MO) that would have prohibited the
legislation from imposing abortion as a required
benefit in health insurance plans. Hours after
the amendment’s passage, pro-abortion Committee
Chair Howard Waxman (D-CA) moved to reconsider
it and on a second vote, the amendment was
defeated 28-29. Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN)
switched his vote from “yea” to “nay” and
Congressman Zach Space (D-OH), who didn’t vote
initially, voted “nay.”
The Committee then voted 30-28 to approve an
amendment offered by pro-abortion Congresswoman
Lois Capps (D-CA) that would require that every
region of the country have access to at least
one insurance plan that covers abortion and one
that doesn’t. The amendment also states that
federal funds could not be used directly for
abortions, much like the family planning money
received by groups like Planned Parenthood
cannot be used directly for abortions.
Meanwhile, a group of 57 “progressive”
Representatives wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi
stating that they will not support the health
care “compromise” legislation currently pending
in the Energy and Commerce Committee.
In the Senate, the Finance Committee will not
vote on its version of health care legislation
until after the August and Labor Day recesses.
July 24, 2009
The House of Representatives today defeated an amendment offered by
Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) to the Labor, Health, and Human Services
appropriations bill that would have denied Title X family planning funding
to Planned Parenthood. The vote was 183-247, with 20 Democrats voting for
the Pence Amendment and 9 Republicans voting against it. The full roll call
vote is available at
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll643.xml.
July 17, 2009
Health care bills with "greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade" to
be on Senate and House floors in late July! Take action now --
click here! To learn more about this critical issue,
click here.
Stealth Care - Bi-weekly Column by Fr. Frank
Pavone: TEXT
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Letter
from Bishop Murphy and the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human
Development (PDF)
July 8, 2009
On July 7, the House Appropriations Committee voted 26-33 to reject an
amendment offered by Congressmen Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
that would have continued the 20-year ban on public funding of abortion in
Washington, DC. The House Rules Committee will now decide if the two
Congressmen can offer their amendment when the Financial Services
Appropriations Bill is considered on the House floor next week.
Click here for a
Priests for Life Press release on the Dornan Amendment
June 29, 2009
Health Care Reform Legislation
Three committees in the House of Representatives have released an untitled and
unnumbered “discussion draft” of health care reform legislation. The measure
doesn’t include explicit language on abortion, but as it’s currently written the
bill would almost certainly force every taxpayer to subsidize abortions.
Under the legislation a “Health Benefits Advisory Committee” would determine
what services and treatments must be included in health care plans. The
Committee would consist of the Surgeon General, 17 members appointed by the
President (8 would be federal employees or officials; 9 non-federal employees),
and 9 members appointed by the Comptroller General (who is the head of the
Government Accounting Office). This Committee of mostly Presidential appointees,
which would have the power to make abortion a covered benefit in the new health
care system, wouldn’t even be named until after the legislation had already been
enacted into law.
Congressman Chris Smith has circulated a “Dear
Colleague” letter (PDF) to fellow House members outlining the dangers of
health care reform legislation that does not explicitly exclude abortion from
coverage.
Nineteen pro-life Democrat Congressmen have written a
letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (PDF)
stating that they “cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it
explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or
subsidized health insurance plan.”
Click here
for the “discussion draft” of the legislation
HR-2035 Pregnant Woman Support
Act
June 11, 2009
Foreign Affairs Reauthorization Act (HR 2410)
The House of Representatives voted 235-187 to approve a budget for the State
Department that includes provision for a new Office for Global Women’s Issues.
The Office will deal with “women’s empowerment” issues internationally and,
based on testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will likely push for
liberalized abortion policies abroad.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) sought to offer an amendment to HR 2410 which
would have prohibited the new Office from engaging in efforts to change abortion
laws in foreign countries, but his amendment was not allowed to be heard.
The authorization bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
June 4, 2009
Hamilton nomination approved by Senate Judiciary Committee
In what is seen by some as a warm-up for the Judge Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court
confirmation battle, the Senate Judiciary Committee today (June 4) approved one
of President Obama’s first federal appeals court nominees, Judge David Hamilton.
The straight party-line 12-7 vote followed a debate on the role of “empathy” in
judicial decision making and now sends the Hamilton nomination to the full
Senate for consideration.
Hamilton, currently a federal judge, is infamous for blocking the implementation
of an Indiana woman’s right to know law for seven years until the Seventh
Circuit Court of Appeals, to which he is now nominated, overturned his rulings.
Prior to his appointment to the federal bench by President Clinton, Hamilton
worked for the American Civil Liberties Union.
April 22, 2009
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted to the House Foreign Affairs
Committee today that the term “reproductive health,” when used by the Obama
Administration’s State Department, includes access to abortion. For years, the
term “reproductive health” has been used at international conferences to avoid
overt references to the abortion agenda of “family planning” groups. Sec.
Clinton’s testimony reiterates that the Obama Administration will advocate for
abortion on demand around the world.
For more information on Sec. Clinton’s remarks, see Congressman Chris Smith’s
press release here.
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act reintroduced
Cong. Trent Franks (R-AZ) has re-introduced the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick
Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act. The measure, HR 1822, would prohibit
the performance or financing of abortions done because of an unborn baby’s
gender or race. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and
currently has 28 co-sponsors. The co-sponsors are as follows:
|
INTRODUCED BY REP. TRENT FRANKS [AZ – 2]
Rep Aderholt, Robert B. [AL-4]
Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2]
Rep Bachmann, Michele [MN-6]
Rep Barrett, J. Gresham [SC-3]
Rep Boozman, John [AR-3]
Rep Broun, Paul C. [GA-10]
Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5]
Rep Cole, Tom [OK-4]
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11]
Rep Forbes, J. Randy [VA-4]
Rep Fortenberry, Jeff [NE-1]
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5]
Rep Hunter, Duncan D. [CA-52]
|
Rep King, Steve [IA-5]
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5]
Rep Latta, Robert E. [OH-5]
Rep Linder, John [GA-7]
Rep Lipinski, Daniel [IL-3]
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11]
Rep McHenry, Patrick T. [NC-10]
Rep Pence, Mike [IN-6]
Rep Scalise, Steve [LA-1]
Rep Schmidt, Jean [OH-2]
Rep Smith, Christopher H. [NJ-4]
Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21]
Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3]
Rep Taylor, Gene [MS-4]
Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] |
Current Legislation
For an update on current pro-life legislation,
please visit
http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/. This page will give you guidance
from the nation's top pro-life lobbying group, National Right to Life.
http://thomas.loc.gov - The largest public internet source for legislative
information provided by the Library of Congress with a searchable database of
congressional activity from 1969-present.
Pre-natal
nondiscrimination Act - Introduced by Trent Franks on September 23, 2008
General Guidance on Taking Action to Influence
Legislation
Click here to locate your representatives in Congress, to find
out how they have voted, and to contact them!
Click
here for tips on communicating with and visiting your representatives.
Fr. Frank
discusses communication with legislators with Capitol Hill activist Connie
Marshner.
Priests for Life Statements on specific
legislation
Fr. Frank Pavone
Comments on the House Vote of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act
Press Releases
Other Articles
Supreme Court
Cases on Abortion
