House warns P.A. on statehood moves

In a bi-partisan resolution sponsored by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the US House of Representatives echoed a similar resolution by the Senate urging the Palestinian Authority to not bypass direct negotiations with Israel.  The resolution warned of potential serious implications for US-Palestinian relations should they continue to pursue recognition of statehood via the UN as opposed to direct talks.

The U.S. House of Representatives threatened to cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority if it pursues recognition of statehood outside of negotiations with Israel.

A resolution passed Thursday night by a vote of  406 to 6 "affirms that Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiations and pursue recognition of statehood prior to agreement with Israel will harm United States-Palestinian relations and will have serious implications for the United States assistance programs for the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority."

The non-binding resolution is similar to one passed last month by the Senate.

Read more at JTA

Speech by PM Netanyahu to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress this week.  Below is the transcript of his speech.

I am deeply moved by your warm welcome.  And I am deeply honored that you have given me the opportunity to address Congress a second time.

Mr. Vice President, do you remember the time that we were the new kids in town?

And I do see a lot of old friends here. And I see a lot of new friends of Israel here.  Democrats and Republicans alike.

Israel has no better friend than America. And America has no better friend than Israel.  We stand together to defend democracy.  We stand together to advance peace.  We stand together to fight terrorism.   Congratulations America, Congratulations, Mr. President.  You got bin Laden. Good riddance!
   
In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability.   In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America’s unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American.   Israel will always be pro-American.

Read more at The Office of The Prime Minister 
Watch the speech at C-SPAN

How Did Your Representative Vote on HR 3?

HR 3, also called the 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,' passed the House on May 4th.  This bill redefines rape so that only acts of 'forcible rape' would be included in any rape exception for abortion coverage (the original clause was removed, but a "back door" was left open in committee), removes the tax credit of employers who offer health benefits that include abortion provisions, and would require anyone using Health Savings accounts to pay for abortions to pay taxes on those funds. This bill now goes to the Senate, where it will likely not pass.

Here is a summary from Open Congress:

This bill would make permanent and expand the Hyde amendment restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortions. It seeks to prohibit even indirect funding streams that may potentially come in contact with abortion services. For example, it would deny tax credits to companies that offer health plans that cover abortions and it would block anybody with insurance that covers abortions from receiving federal subsidies or medical cost tax deductions, even if the abortion portion is paid separately with personal funds. Women who use tax-free Medical Savings Accounts would have to pay taxes on the costs of abortions.

How did your Representative vote?  Check here.

H.R. 3, Wide-Sweeping Anti-Abortion Bill, Facing House Vote

H.R. 3, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act," is scheduled for a vote today in the House of Representatives.  This is bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), gained notoriety for including language that would redefine rape.  According to reporting from Mother Jones, while the specific rape language has been removed, the bill's sponsors have taken steps in committee to ensure the redefinition of rape will stand if challenged in court to apply to only "forcible rape."

A closer look at a House bill marketed to the public as a "common-sense" ban on taxpayer-funded abortions reveals an aggressive, multi-pronged effort to restrict insurance coverage for and reduce access to abortion.

H.R. 3, also known as the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act," would go beyond making the Hyde Amendment, which has already banned federally-funded abortions for the past 30 years, a permanent federal law. The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), would also enact strict procedural requirements for private insurance companies that cover abortions and deny tax credits to small businesses that purchase health insurance plans offering abortion coverage. Eight[y]-seven percent of private insurance plans currently include such coverage.

Read more at Huffington Post

The GOP's Plan to Fund Anti-Abortion Activists

While Congressional Republicans have proposed cutting funds going to support women's health and family planning and citing the need for fiscal reform, they have been introducing bills that will provide federal funding to crisis pregnancy centers whose main focus is to dissuade women from seeking an abortion, often in unregulated and uncertified offices that look like medical clinics.

Congressional Republicans have made a big deal about slashing funds for Planned Parenthood and other family planning programs, claiming that these cuts are necessary to address the federal deficit. But one of those lawmakers has been pushing his own measure to provide additional federal funds to so-called crisis pregnancy centers—unregulated and uncertified clinics that try to deter women from seeking abortions.

A bill that Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) introduced in January would provide federal funds for the purchase of sonogram machines at organizations that counsel women against having an abortion (the American Independent reported on this bill last week). These crisis pregnancy outfits, sometimes called "pregnancy resource centers," are often run by religious groups; many have been found to provide women with false and misleading information to dissuade them from having an abortion.

Read more at Mother Jones

How Did Your Representative Vote on Title X Funding?

Several people have asked what the roll call was for the vote on Title X funding last week in the House of Representatives.  This is the bill that would strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood and family planning clinics that offer reproductive health services, cancer screenings, birth control access, STI screening and counseling, and abortion services.  This amendment, offered by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), passed in the House last week and is part of the Continuing Resolution to fund the government that has been sent to the Senate.  Several Senators have stated they will not support the Title X amendment and have the votes to defeat it.

Read the amendment and the roll call at GovTrack.

House Passes Bill To Defund Planned Parenthood

While this amendment is not likely to pass the Senate following the final vote on HR 1 by the entire House, this is a blow to family planning clinics and women around the country. 

By a vote of 240-185, the House passed Rep. Mike Pence's (R-IN) amendment to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funding.

According to MSNBC, ten Democrats voted to pass the measure, while seven Republicans voted against it.

The bill is not likely to make it through the Senate, where the Democrats have the majority, or to survive a veto by President Obama if it comes down to it.

Read more at TPM

Thank you, Rep. Speier

Thank you, Representative Speier, for speaking out against the Pence Amendment to defund Planned Parenthood and family planning clinics, and for sharing such a personal story on the floor of the House.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)

REPORT: The Five Ways That The GOP Is Trying To Eradicate A Woman’s Right To Choose

This article highlights the 5 main attacks on reproductive rights and women that are currently being carried out by state and federal lawmakers - everything from fetal "heartbeat bills" that would prevent abortion once a heartbeat can be heard (usually by 6 weeks) to mandating a woman have and view an ultrasound to potentially making the slaying of an abortion provider "justifiable homicide."

South Dakota is one of the most anti-abortion states in the country. In 1994, the state banned abortion providers inside its borders. “Planned Parenthood flies a doctor in from out-of-state once a week to see patients at a Sioux Falls clinic. Women from the more remote parts of the large, rural state drive up to six hours to reach this lone clinic” and must “receive counseling and wait 24 hours before undergoing the procedure.”

Now, it seems South Dakota is willing to legalize acts of terror in order to be the number one anti-abortion state in the U.S. The South Dakota House is taking up a bill to redefine “justifiable homicide” that may “make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions,” Mother Jones reports. Passed out of committee on a 9-3 party line vote, the GOP-backed bill “could in theory allow a woman’s father, mother, son, daughter, or husband to kill anyone who tried to provide that woman an abortion — even if she wanted one.”

Read more at Think Progress

Mike Pence’s war on Planned Parenthood

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has been on a campaign to eliminate funding for Title X - especially Planned Parenthood.  He first went after the organization in 2007, failing to pass legislation that would take away government funding for family planning, breast and cervical cancer screening, basic infertility counseling and counseling about safe sex.  Voting on this bill could occur as early as Thursday.

Pence says that, by taking away Planned Parenthood’s federal money, the government could eliminate the group’s ability to operate abortion clinics entirely. “We should end the day when the largest abortion provider is the largest recipient of [Title X] federal funding,” he said.

“What’s clear to me, if you follow the money, you can actually take the funding supports out of abortion. We then have a much better opportunity to move forward to be a society that says yes to life.”

Read more at Politico

Nancy Pelosi: Women's Rights Face Greatest Threat 'In Our Lifetime'

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi states that the current attack on reproductive rights is the worst "in our lifetime" and calls on Americans to get involved to defeat these attacks.  One bill could come up for a vote as early as next week.

Women's reproductive rights are being seriously threatened by the Republican Party, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said she is worried that many women are complacent about the possibility that they will lose access to abortions.

"They're advancing extreme legislation," Pelosi said Thursday during a conference call with reporters. "It's dangerous to women's health, disrespects the judgment of American women -- I don't know if they even gave that a thought -- and it's the most comprehensive and radical assault on women's health in our lifetime. It's that bad."

 Read more at Huffington Post

Democrats Preparing To Fight Anti-Abortion GOPers With Economic Message

With hearings set to start today on 2 anti-reproductive rights bills, Pro-choice Democrats are gearing up for a fight.  HR 3, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and initially included a provision to redefine rape, is scheduled for a Judiciary subcommittee hearing.  HR 358, sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) would allow hospitals to allow a woman to die rather that perform an abortion will be brought before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Pro-choice Democrats are raring for an abortion fight this week -- and they intend to start one. After a trio of ultra-conservative abortion bills were filed in the weeks since the Republicans took over earlier this year, returning House Democrats and several of their Senate colleagues will roll out a multi-tiered attack on the GOP's abortion plans, simultaneously painting the bills as extreme, hypocritical and off the all-important economic message.

Read more at Talking Points Memo

After 'forcible rape,' another abortion restriction

Jonathan Capehart's take on HR 358, which would allow hospitals to refuse to perform an abortion if the mother's life is at risk as part of the "conscience clause."

Oh, good grief. No sooner have I celebrated the Republican retreat on the gambit to make "forcible rape" -- whatever that meant -- one of the few exceptions for federal funding of abortions than a new, more dastardly threat to women's right to choose arises.

Under the guise of protecting hospitals, medical clinics and health workers from discrimination because they refuse to perform abortions, H.R. 358 would let them do so without fear of penalty. The "nondiscrimination on abortion" provision is part of the nine-page Protect Life Act, an amendment to last year's health-care law introduced by seven-term Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) on Jan. 20. In a copy of the manager's amendment I obtained from a source, the odious term "forcible rape" no longer appears. But here's the problem: If enacted this bill would trump the 25-year-old law that guarantees public access to emergency care, including abortions.

Read more at The Washington Post

New GOP Bill Would Allow Hospitals To Let Women Die Instead Of Having An Abortion

The term "forcible" may have been removed from HR 3, but there are other bills that are aimed at reducing access to reproductive care for women being offered by the GOP.  HR 358 would allow hospitals to refuse to terminate a pregnancy even if the woman's life is in danger.

The controversy over "forcible rape" may be over, but now there's a new Republican-sponsored abortion bill in the House that pro-choice folks say may be worse: this time around, the new language would allow hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform the abortion that would save her life.

The bill, known currently as H.R. 358 or the "Protect Life Act," would amend the 2010 health care reform law that would modify the way Obamacare deals with abortion coverage. Much of its language is modeled on the so-called Stupak Amendment, an anti-abortion provision pro-life Democrats attempted to insert into the reform law during the health care debate last year. But critics say a new language inserted into the bill just this week would go far beyond Stupak, allowing hospitals that receive federal funds but are opposed to abortions to turn away women in need of emergency pregnancy termination to save their lives.

Read more at Talking Points Memo

Rand Paul Says Republicans 'Aren't Maybe Brave Enough' to Tackle Deficit

Senator Rand Paul reiterates his call for an end to all foreign aid, including that to Israel.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took aim at the newly released House GOP budget, saying it falls far short of what needs to be done to deal with the federal deficit.

"It's really not going to touch the problem," Paul said. "There's a disconnect between Republicans who want a balanced budget but aren't maybe yet brave enough to talk about the cuts to come."

The plan by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., released on Thursday, would cut non-security discretionary spending by $58 billion by the end of fiscal year 2011, which ends on Sept. 30.

Read more at ABCNews

U.S. Democrats and pro-Israel lobbies slam Republican Senator's call to halt Israel aid

This should not really be a surprise, as he campaigned on this issue, but Senator Rand Paul stated on air that all foreign aid should be ended, including aid to Israel.

U.S. Democrats and pro-Israel lobbies slammed on Thursday comments made by newly elected Republican Senator and Tea Party representative Rand Paul who suggested that the United States should halt all foreign aid including its financial aid to Israel.

Read more at Haaretz

The House GOP's Plan to Redefine Rape

HR 3, the so-called "Stupak on Steroids" bill offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), would do much more than restrict access to abortion.  It is seeking to redefine rape in order to limit just what would qualify for abortion coverage exceptions.

Rape is only really rape if it involves force. So says the new House Republican majority as it now moves to change abortion law.

For years, federal laws restricting the use of government funds to pay for abortions have included exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. (Another exemption covers pregnancies that could endanger the life of the woman.) But the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," a bill with 173 mostly Republican co-sponsors that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has dubbed a top priority in the new Congress, contains a provision that would rewrite the rules to limit drastically the definition of rape and incest in these cases.

Read more at Mother Jones

Anti-abortion group aims to influence race for RNC chairman

The anti-reproductive rights group, The Susan B. Anthony List, is working to ensure the next RNC Chairman is strongly anti-abortion.  This follows the recent appointment of Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) to the Health Subcommittee chairmanship, which they promoted.  They are also pushing for the appointment of Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) to be chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

An anti-abortion group announced Wednesday it will launch a widespread e-mail campaign to elect a like-minded Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman.

The Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, which is co-sponsoring a Jan. 3 RNC chairman debate, said it will reach 500,000 socially conservative activists with its campaign.

Read more at The Hill

Push for Stricter Abortion Limits Is Expected in House

Rep. Joe Pitts of PA has been selected as the incoming Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.  Rep. Pitts is strongly opposed to reproductive rights and his opposition to abortion access is a key part of his agenda as a Representative.  He co-authored the Stupak Amendment to the Health Care Reform Act, and his appointment signals a new assault on women and reproductive rights in the new Congress.

A leading Congressional opponent of abortion rights, who is in line to take charge of an influential House panel, plans to press for much stricter limits on the procedure.

The selection of the lawmaker, Representative Joe Pitts, Republican of Pennsylvania, as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health presages a major shift on abortion and family planning, according to opponents and supporters of abortion rights.

Opponents of abortion gained about 45 seats in the midterm elections, and they count the next speaker, Representative John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, as a staunch ally, virtually guaranteeing more conflicts with the White House on the issue.

Read more at  The New York Times

Abortion-Rights Issues Surface In Bids For House Committee Chairs

As House Republicans campaign for leadership positions before the start of the 112th Congress, abortion and reproductive rights are on the table once again.

House Republicans are campaigning for leadership positions as committees reorganize before the start of the 112th Congress. Summaries of recent coverage appear below.

House Appropriations Committee: In his effort to become chair of the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) has outlined a return to strict conservative values, including antiabortion-rights policies, in a booklet, multimedia presentation and letter to colleagues, Politico reports. "We have an historic opportunity to realize a conservative, pro-defense, pro-business, pro-energy, pro-gun, pro-life and pro-fiscal restraint legislative agenda," he wrote. He added that he will "restore longstanding pro-life policies abandoned by House Democrats," including by "reinstating the Hyde Amendment banning federal funds for abortions." Lewis also pledged to block funding to implement the federal health reform bill (PL 111-148). Reps. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) and Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) also are seeking the Appropriations position (Bresnahan, Politico, 11/30).

Read more at Medical News Today