Time is of the Essence -- Part One of Two

In very short order we'll find out if 14 Senate Democrats really meant what they said July 25. That day, they joined 51 Senate Republicans (out 55 total) to vote in favor of S. 403--the "Child Custody Protection Act."

If the legislation is going to become law before Congress adjourns September 29 or 30 for pre-election campaigning, it'll all happen quickly, beginning tomorrow. The backdrop to this legislation--designed to curb the evasion of state parental notification and consent laws--is that final action has been stalled in the Senate since July 25.

Understanding what will unfold begins with knowing that the House and Senate have passed different versions of parental notification legislation: as noted above, the Child Custody Protection Act in the Senate; and the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act in the House.

Customarily, once the measure had passed the Senate, it would have been sent to a House-Senate conference committee to hammer out the differences. But as we discussed in the August issue of NRL News [www.nrlc.org/news/2006/NRL08/ParentalNotification.html], the pro-abortion Senate Democratic leadership raised an extraordinary procedural obstacle to prevent the conference committee from meeting.

Subsequent attempts have also been stymied, bringing us to Tuesday where the House will take up S. 403. The likely result is to replace the Senate-approved text with new language (a "substitute amendment") that reflects the best provisions of both the Senate and House bills.

What then? According to the NRLC Federal Legislation Department,  "After passage by the House, the amended S. 403 will immediately return to the Senate. This sets up a situation where Senate Republican leaders can, if they choose, force another vote on the bill. Pro-abortion Senate Democrats are sure to object to any fast-track procedures, so it will require 60 votes in order to overcome their objections and send the bill to President Bush for his signature."

If the same 51 Republicans who voted in favor of S.403 in July do so again, the legislation's fate will be in the hands of the 14 Democrats (out of 45 total). The votes of some of these senators are highly uncertain.

To reiterate, 60 votes are needed, or the legislation will die. If the pro-life side garners the necessary votes in the Senate, the bill moves over to the White House where President Bush stands ready to sign the measure into law.

You'll find below the action items that require your immediate attention:

1. Contact Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tn.) and urge him to force the Senate to vote on the House-approved version of S. 403 before Congress leaves Washington on September 29. Tennessee constituents can call Senator Frist's regular Senate office at (202) 224-3344, but for callers from other states, it may also be appropriate to communicate with Senator Frist's political committee, VOLPAC, at (615) 386-0045 (or fax 615-386-3041), which has a national focus.

2. Generate as many contacts as possible to your own two senators -- any Republican, and to any of the 14 Democrats listed below -- to urge them to vote for cloture on S. 403, "the parental notification bill."

Because only a few short days remain before adjournment, all groups should rely primarily on phone calls to the Washington and in-state offices of Senators. All Senate offices can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121.

Call the nearest in-state offices of your two U.S. senators with the same message. The numbers of in-state offices for each senator are listed on the NRLC website under the profile for each senator [www.capwiz.com/nrlc/dbq/officials/]

In addition, e-mail messages can be sent to senators by using the "Take Action Now" tool that appears at http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=8937211&type=CO.

But do not rely exclusively on e-mail -- during the frantic closing days of the session, many of these may not be read or counted until it is too late.

THE 14 DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED TO PASS S. 403 ON JULY 25:

Pryor (Ar.)
Salazar (Co.)
Carper (De.)
Bill Nelson (Fl.)
Inouye (Hi.)
Bayh (In.)
Landrieu (La.)
Ben Nelson (Ne.)
Reid (Nv.) (Democratic leader)
Conrad (ND)
Dorgan (ND)
Johnson (SD)
Byrd (WV)
Kohl (Wi.)

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FURTHER DETAILS ON THE BILL

The bill (S. 403, as amended) contains three main provisions:

-- the "anti-transportation" provision, which is contained in both the Senate's Child Custody Protection Act (CCPA) and the House's Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA). This provision would make it a federal offense to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion, if this abridges her parent's right to be notified or give consent under the home state law.

-- the Boxer-Ensign Amendment, adopted 98-0 by the Senate, which makes it a separate federal offense for a parent who impregnates a daughter through incest to transport that daughter across state lines for an abortion, and bars such a parent from benefiting from the right to sue persons who violate the other provisions of the bill.

-- the crucial "abortionist notification" requirement, contained in the House's CIANA, that requires every abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor who is a resident of a different state (with certain narrow exceptions for special circumstances.

Part 2