|
|
|
|
Rep. Pitts to Chair
Important House Subcommittee Part One of Three By Dave Andrusko Editor's note. Good evening and thanks for taking time out of your busy day to read TN&V and National Right to Life News Today. Part Two brings you up to speed on a pro-abortion challenge to Alaska's new parental notice law. Part Three wonders if Joe Biden can possibly be the adult presence in the Obama White House! There is a lot to ponder over at National Right to Life News Today (www.nationalrighttolifenews.org). There's good news--an abortion clinic that's been around forever has closed. And bad news--a Canadian pro-life campus group is under attack. We also talk about "California Embryonic Stem Cell Program under Scrutiny." Please send your comments on Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha.
Under the ongoing saga of "elections do have consequences," in the next Congress pro-life Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) will chair the influential House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. The confirmation that Pitts would hold the position that National Right to Life encouraged House Republican leadership to appoint him to was duly noted by the New York Times on Friday. Pitts' selection "presages a major shift on abortion and family planning, according to opponents and supporters of abortion rights," according to the Times' Robert Pear. In addition, the fact that pro-life forces made major gains in the House last month (40-55 votes, depending on the issue) and that pro-life stalwart John Boehner will be the next Speaker "virtually guarantee[s] more conflicts with the White House on the issue."' The Times' summary of the
subcommittee's jurisdiction explains why having a staunch
pro-lifer like Rep. Pitts is so important: "private health
insurance, Medicaid and much of Medicare, as well as the Food
and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health." Under the headline "Push
for Stricter Abortion Limits is Expected in House," Pear
outlined the backgrounds of Rep. Pitts and Rep. Boehner some of
the areas they (along with most House Republicans) will probe
deeply. For example, Rep. Pitts
wants to repeal and replace ObamaCare. "Short of that goal, Mr.
Pitts said he was determined to ban federal subsidy payments to
any health insurance plans that include coverage of abortion --
a benefit now offered by many private health plans." Pear quoted
Rep. Pitts who said, "The new health care law is riddled with
loopholes that allow taxpayer subsidies for coverage that
includes abortion." The article also alluded to the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act." H.R. 5939 would permanently bar federal subsidies for abortion in all programs. If the bill, introduced by Congressmen Chris Smith and Daniel Lipinski bill were enacted, it would no longer be necessary to win annual renewal of the Hyde Amendment or other such temporary bans. In another article that appeared today, the pro-abortion Daily Kos lamented Rep. Pitts' selection, adding about Rep. Boehner that "Of his 142 votes on reproductive rights in his 20 years as a Representative, Boehner has voted pro-choice zero times." |
