House
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: Pro-life victory inthe House!On June 18, the House, led byRep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), passed the Pain-Capable Unborn ChildProtection Act by a vote of 228-196.Thislegislation, introduced by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Arizona), prohibits abortionsafter twenty weeks gestation, a time at which the baby is capable of feelingpain.
CongresswomanBlackburn was joined on the floor by pro-life women – Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NorthCarolina), Renee Ellmers (R-North Carolina), Diane Black (R-Tennessee), KristiNoem (R-South Dakota), Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), Martha Roby (R-Alabama),Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), Vicki Hartzler (R-Missouri), and Ann Wagner(R-Missouri) – to fend off ridiculous charges by liberal Democrats that thisbill jeopardizes “women’s health.”
Action:
1.Pleasethank Rep. Marsha Blackburn for leading thislegislation on the House floor.
2.Pleasethank the pro-life women speaking on the floor for their efforts.
3.Pleasethank your representative if he/she voted in favor of this legislation.Click here to see how your Member of Congressvoted.
Conscience Mandate: We are only a fewweeks away from an August 1 deadline, where all Americans, except houses ofworship, will be expected to disregard their moral or religious convictions andpurchase health insurance plans that cover abortion-inducing drugs like ella and Plan B.
In the June 7 Legislative Update, we urged you tocall your representative and encourage him/her to participate in a SpecialOrder on June 12.Thanks to your efforts,Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was joined by a bipartisan group of 10 Congressmen on theHouse floor, including Reps. Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania), John Fleming(R-Louisiana), Chris Smith (R-New Jersey), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), TimWalberg (R-Michigan), Dan Lipinski (D-Illinois), Mark Meadows (R-NorthCarolina), Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and Diane Black(R-Tennessee).
Action:Please thank the representatives who stood upfor our First Amendment rights on religious freedom.Click here to find your representative’s contactinformation.
Father’s Day Special Order: On June 18,following our pro-life victory, Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Missouri) led a specialorder on the House floor on the importance of fathers.This special order was done in anticipationof the Supreme Court’s expected marriage decisions.Concerned Women for America LegislativeAction Committee (CWALAC) suggested this idea during a Values Action Teammeeting in the Capitol and helped get Members of Congress to participate.
Action: Please thank Rep. Hartzler for herleadership on marriage.Also, pleasethank Reps. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), Phil Gingrey (R-Georgia), James Lankford(R-Oklahoma), Jim Bridenstine (R-Oklahoma), Trent Franks (R-Arizona), and DougLaMalfa (R-California) for their participation.Click here to find your representative’scontact information.
Senate
Immigration: The Senate continuesto focus on Immigration and will likely have votes on the final passage beforethe July 4 recess.
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): The Senate ArmedServices moved the NDAA out of committee, including two important amendments.
Sens.Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) successfully offered amendmentsaddressing religious liberty in the military. The first was offered by both Sens.Lee and Cruz; all Republicans on the committee supported the amendment, alongwith seven Democrats. The Lee-Cruz Amendment strengthens existing law toprotect the rights of conscience for military service members and protectstroops who express their religious faith appropriately from discrimination and retaliation.The other amendment was offered by Sen. Lee and instructs the DefenseDepartment Inspector General to investigate reports of religious discriminationagainst troops sharing their faith. Sen. Lee’s amendment was adopted by voicevote.
Action: Please call Sens. Lee (202-224-5444)and Cruz (202-224-5922) and thank them for successfully offering theseessential amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Health Care Conscience Rights (S.1204): On June 20, Sens.Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) took the lead in thedefense of religious freedom by introducing the Senate companion to Rep. DianeBlack’s House Health Care Conscience Rights bill (H.R. 940).
Thismeasure addresses the Health and Human Services mandate that will forcereligious and other non-profit groups to violate their conscience by providing healthcoverage offering abortion inducing drugs.
Action: Please call your senators at202-224-3121 and urge them to cosponsor S. 1204. Also, please call Sens.Fischer (202-224-6551) and Coburn (202-224-5754) and thank them for introducingthis bill.