Both the House and Senate were out of session this week.
Highlights while members were back in the district:
House
After being pushed to vote on the National Women’s History Museum, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) has agreed to hold a vote on this legislation (H.R. 863) sometime this year. While the idea of celebrating women is admirable, we are concerned that the content of such a museum would be slanted to represent feminist ideology and would not provide an accurate portrayal of American women. Already, we have a clear indication about the types of women that would be highlighted. The website attached to this proposed museum references Margaret Sanger nine times and Victoria Woodhull over 20, while referencing Phyllis Schlafly once and not mentioning Beverly LaHaye at all. It also highlights Sandra Fluke, while ignoring Jeane Kirkpatrick, Kay Cole James, Alveda King, and Star Parker. The Public Lands Subcommittee will hold a hearing about this legislation next Tuesday.
Act Now: Please call Majority Leader Cantor at 202-225-4000 and ask him not to bring this legislation up for a vote in the House unless the diversity of opinion among American women about our own history is affirmatively addressed and safeguarded by Congress.
Senate
One year ago, on March 18, Kermit Gosnell and his “House of Horrors” became national news.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) had this to say:
“It was one year ago this week that Americans across the country first learned the name of a Philadelphia abortionist named Kermit Gosnell. The Gosnell trial shocked the conscience of the nation and awakened many to the dangerous conditions that can exist at abortion clinics nationwide. It prompted a renewed commitment to ensuring that health and safety standards at these clinics are actually enforced, and it led to the humane effort to ensure that late-term babies who have developed to the point that they are capable of feeling pain are protected from rogue doctors and lax regulators alike. At the federal level, this effort resulted in the Pain-Capable Abortion Act, which passed the House last summer in a historic pro-life vote. Senator Lindsey Graham has sponsored a companion bill in the Senate, and I am proud to stand with the Pro-Life Women’s Caucus in Congress and a clear majority of women nationwide in support of this common-sense legislation. It is time for America to join the ranks of most other developed nations around the world and restrict abortion at least at the point at which science tells us that unborn babies are capable of feeling pain. On this anniversary of the Gosnell trial, let’s show the world that we remember those who have been victimized by people like Kermit Gosnell and unite in this positive and life-affirming effort to safeguard the most vulnerable among us. Let’s take up this important pro-life legislation and send it to the President.”
Action: Click here to see if your senator supports the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. If not, call your senators and urge them to support S. 1670.