House
Abstinence Day on the Hill: On April 3, Shari Rendall joined National Abstinence Education Association and Family Research Council to host a Hill briefing for 45 staffers on abstinence education. The briefing highlighted the importance of sexual risk avoidance. In addition, we were joined by Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Illinois). He and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Illinois) are the cosponsors of the Abstinence Education Reallocation Act, which gives money for sexual risk avoidance from an ObamaCare comprehensive sex education fund. Please call Rep. Hultgren at 202-225-2976 and Rep. Lipinski at 202-225-5701 and thank them for introducing the Abstinence Education Reallocation Act, H.R. 718. Call your representative and ask him/her to cosponsor H.R.718. Click here to find your representative.
Religious Freedom in the Military: CWALAC and the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition sent a letter to Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, questioning her about a recent incident where a Bible verse was removed from a cadet’s white board. This was done despite official academy policy, which permits the use of white boards for personal messages.
In the letter, the Coalition asked for a meeting with Lt. Gen. Johnson to discuss what this incident means for religious liberty in the Air Force.
ObamaCare: The House voted on H.R. 2575, the Save American Workers Act, sponsored by Rep. Todd Young (R-Indiana), to protect hardworking Americans from losing wages as a direct result of Obamacare’s 30-hour rule. ObamaCare has incentivized employers to cut employees’ hours.
Budget Act: The House voted on Rep. Tom Price’s (R-Georgia) Pro-Growth Budgeting Act, H.R. 1874. This requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide detailed information on the economic impact of major legislation as a supplement to the CBO cost estimates.
Senate
Sexual Risk Avoidance: On Monday, March 31, the Senate passed (64-35) the “Doc Fix” Medicare Compensation legislation. This measure includes language that will allow for the continuing of Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) funding. This is a small, yet strategic victory that promotes abstinence as opposed to mere Sexual Risk Reduction (SRR) or “comprehensive sex education.”
Education: This week, CWALAC worked diligently to gather much needed signatures for Sen. Grassley’s (R-Iowa) “Dear Colleague” Letter. This circulated letter demands that the FY 2015 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bills include provisions that increase parental control and foster greater accountability. Most importantly, Sen. Grassley’s letter clarifies that all funds appropriated will not be used to develop or implement the Common Core state standards!
Paycheck Fairness Act: On April 1, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the Paycheck Fairness Act. Understanding that this bill places undue burdens and regulations on employers, discourages flexible working arrangements, and in the end does not help women, CWALAC is working hard on the Hill to halt this dangerous piece of legislation.