Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill is Not Dead.

Three troubling facts you should know about:  

1st: To date thirty-four (34) U.S. Senators, Democrats all, have gone on record as supporting the use of the procedural maneuver called “reconciliation” to pass universal health care without a single Republican supporter.  The 34 are pressing Majority Leader Reid to bypass the ordinary means for passing the bill in the Senate [1]. 

2nd: Twenty of the same Senators have signed a letter urging Reid to use the same reconciliation process to re-introduce into the universal health care bill the so-called “public health option” (i.e., a massive government run health insurance plan to compete with private plans) that was removed last Christmas to placate Senator Liebermann [1]. 

3rd: The New York Times reported yesterday (Thursday) that President Obama intends to release his own version of “comprehensive” health reform legislation in advance of his planned summit with Republicans on Feb. 25th.  (Congressional Quarterly On Line said on Wednesday that he’ll release the bill this weekend! [2]) Why so soon?  So Democrats can ram the bill through using reconciliation by attaching it to the Obama budget:

“Democratic officials said the president’s proposal was being written so that it could be attached to a budget bill as a way of averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate. The procedure, known as budget reconciliation, would let Democrats advance the bill with a simple majority rather than a 60-vote supermajority” [3]. 

Many thought that with Scott Brown’s election to the Senate, universal health care was either dead, or if not dead, that only major revisions, including pro-life revisions, could get it passed.  This is not the case.  It’s alive and well.  Notwithstanding the fact that a majority of citizens oppose it as it stands, liberal politicians in D.C. are intent on passing this signature piece of White House legislation.

Action items:
1. Call your U.S. Senators and tell them that using reconciliation to pass this controversial legislation is unacceptable.  Let them know that their decision, which you intend to follow carefully, will affect the way you vote when they run for re-election.

2. Pray fervently that God protects the lives of the unborn in our country.

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Notes:
[1] For the names of the Senators see: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsAvRfTpZcIkdHNBNGFIaWJtbUdMbHVHaGRnNzNuRGc&hl=en        
[2] To read the CQ essay, go to Jill Stanek’s website; CQ’s is subscription only: http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2010/02/heads_up_obama.html
[3] For the NY Times piece, see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/health/policy/19health.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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