FRC Praises House Judiciary Committee Passage of 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act'

January 15, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today the House Judiciary Committee approved by a 22 to 12 vote H.R. 7, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," authored by U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.). This bipartisan bill would permanently prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions.

Family Research Council Director for the Center for Human Dignity Arina Grossu responded with the following comments:

"This is a victory for women, their unborn children, and taxpayers who should not be forced by the government to pay for someone else's abortion.

"We applaud the passage of this bi-partisan pro-life legislation to remove abortion funding from Obamacare and apply the long-standing Hyde Amendment across the government. Most Americans, regardless of their view on abortion, oppose government funding for the atrocity of abortion. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act restores government neutrality on abortion by removing government funding for abortion and yet allows private health insurance to cover abortion.

"We also know that government funding for abortion will increase the number of abortions, a prospect troubling to all but a handful of Americans. With the Obamacare rollout, it has become clear that many health plans being subsidized by the government cover elective abortion. Even more incredible is that Obamacare requires an abortion surcharge, which in most cases is not even revealed to consumers shopping for a health care plan.

"One member at last week's hearing falsely claimed that the Hyde amendment fully prevented government funding of abortion. However, Hyde does not apply to the nation's capital and the provision stopping abortion funding in D.C. was repealed in 2010. As a result, Americans have paid to abort hundreds of unborn children at a total cost of $185,000 in taxpayer funds. Hyde applies to other funding streams, not the District. Although this abortion funding restriction for the District was restored in 2011, these taxpayer-funded abortions demonstrate how the annual funding restrictions on abortion are tenuous. The passage of H.R. 7 would make this abortion-funding restriction permanent along with other government abortion-funding provisions. It's time to permanently remove government funding for abortion," concluded Grossu.

Rep. Robert Hurt Statement on Financial Services Committee Hearing: The Impact of the Volcker Rule on Job Creators, Part I

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) released the following statement following a House Committee on Financial Services hearing entitled, "The Impact of the Volcker Rule on Job Creators, Part I":

 

"Now that the Volcker Rule is finalized, we are already seeing its detrimental effect on our community banks, not its expressed intended target, and on our capital markets.  Smaller and medium-sized firms seeking to grow their businesses will likely face higher costs of capital, ultimately affecting their ability to hire more employees, because of the regulations behind the Volcker Rule and Dodd-Frank.  These burdensome regulations are sadly emblematic of Washington's current culture of overregulation of our markets and the American people.

 

"After expressing concerns about the Volcker Rule's negative impacts on community banks in Virginia's Fifth District, I was pleased to hear that the regulators released an interim final rule addressing these problems.  Community banks have expressed that the rule's prohibitions would have a significant impact on their communities and customers prior to the fix. 

 

"I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee to bring meaningful reforms to the overregulation by Washington."

·         On January 14, 2014, five federal banking agencies approved an interim final rule to allow banks to invest in certain collateralized debt obligations backed primarily by bank-issued trust preferred securities.

·         Congressman Hurt cosponsored H.R. 3819, the Fairness for Community Job Creators Act, which states that community banks and other financial institutions holding collateralized debt obligations that were issued prior to December 10, 2013 are predominantly backed by trust preferred securities, are not required to divest these investments under the Volcker Rule released last month.  

·         The United States is the only country that has adopted anything close to the Volcker Rule, putting America's financial institutions and capital markets at a competitive disadvantage in our global economy.

 

March For Life

Gary L. Bauer
VISIT AMERICAN VALUES  

The 41st annual March for Life will take place next Wednesday on January 22nd. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will come to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate their commitment to the sanctity of life and to be a voice for the most innocent and voiceless in our society. A lot of hard work goes into making a tremendous event like this possible. Much of it is done by volunteer organizations around the country.

A number of pro-life events will take place in conjunction with the March for Life. I am pleased to report that American Values is co-sponsoring prayer service at Constitution Hall Wednesday morning. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

I hope you'll make every effort to attend the March for Life and the prayer service, especially if you live within driving distance of Washington, D.C. Of course, most folks can't come to Washington, but many churches will observe Sanctity of Life Sunday this weekend. I encourage you to find out what is going on in your community and to be involved in the "good fight" for the right to life!

Staff Members from Robert Hurt's Office to Hold Local Office Hours in Buckingham and Campbell Counties

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Staff members from Congressman Robert Hurt's (R-Virginia) office will hold Local Office Hours in Buckingham County on Thursday, January 16 and Campbell County on Friday, January 17 to meet with constituents who need assistance with federal agencies. For more information, please visit our Local Office Hours Interactive Map.

 

Thursday, January 16

9:00 to 11:00 am

Buckingham County

Buckingham County Administration Building

Conference Room

13360 W. James Anderson Highway

Buckingham, VA

 

Friday, January 17

9:00 to 11:00 am

Campbell County

Campbell County Public Library, Rustburg Branch

Program Room

684 Village Highway

Rustburg, VA

 

Christie In The Crosshairs

Gary L. Bauer
VISIT AMERICAN VALUES

Finally! The media have woken up and are focusing on scandals. What took them so long?

If you think I'm referring to the IRS scandal, sorry. That's not it. Is Benghazi on the front page of the New York Times? No. In fact, as we have reported, the New York Times has devoted its resources to aiding the Benghazi cover-up. Fast and Furious? Nope. Are the extra-constitutional actions by the president getting attention? Not that either.

No, it is the traffic scandal currently threatening to engulf New Jersey Governor Chris Christie that has big media celebrating. The media smell the first, faint scents of a possible conservative scandal so, of course, it's on the front page of the Washington Post and leading major news sites. Welcome to "Bridgegate."

Here's a brief summary of the situation: Starting on Monday, September 9th, the first day of school, a top official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed several lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest bridge, for a "traffic study." This went on for several days, creating horrendous traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Incensed area commuters, local media and politicians immediately began to ask who ordered the study and why? It quickly became apparent that something wasn't right.

By December, a long-time Christie friend at the Port Authority was forced to resign. Now emails have emerged indicating that top Christie officials intentionally created the huge traffic jams to politically hurt the mayor of Fort Lee who refused to endorse Christie's reelection.


The Media's Double Standard

Liberals hope "Bridgegate" will be the end of the Christie for President boomlet. He was already battling the perception of being a political bully. This story only reinforces it.

Ted Kennedy can drive a woman off a bridge and go on to serve decades in the Senate and be hailed as a courageous leader. But if a conservative shuts down a bridge, the left is ready to breakout the pitchforks.

Having said that, this was a really stupid mistake. Gov. Christie's reelection was never in doubt. Polling showed he was up as many as 30 points. He won by 22. Why be so petty and vindictive? The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner.

Christie's operatives wanted to punish the mayor. But to get at the mayor, they went after hard-working New Jersey commuters. Emails show Christie's staffers were callously dismissive about the fact that many children were late for school. After all, their parents may have voted the wrong way.

Every American has experienced the frustration of traffic gridlock. The idea that any politician would intentionally cause major traffic jams is beyond arrogance.

"Bridgegate" puts a major chink in Christie's armor, making him look like just another big city machine politician. Some have suggested that this is just a minor issue that will blow over quickly. Maybe. But there is now talk of criminal charges. A federal attorney is now investigating.

There were emergencies when these roads were intentionally tied up, and emergency response times doubled as a result of the traffic delays. In one case, an elderly woman lay unconscious waiting for help and later died.

Don't think the left won't blame Christie for her death? Think again! Remember the ad that ran blaming Mitt Romney for a woman's cancer death? The left will use this incident to make it look like Chris Christie was standing in the road, blocking the ambulance himself!


Christie Responds

Governor Christie held a two-hour press conference this morning and profusely apologized to the people of Fort Lee. He admitted he was blindsided by the revelations in the emails from his top staff members. Christie announced that he fired a senior aide for lying to him. He blasted the incident as "stupid" and "deceitful," denied any knowledge of it and took responsibility for falling short of the people's expectations.

Christie also announced that he asked Bill Stepien, one of his closet political advisors, to withdraw his nomination to lead the New Jersey Republican Party as well as his consultancy at the Republican Governors Association, which Christie leads. Later today, the governor will go to Fort Lee to personally apologize to Mayor Mark Sokolich and to the people of that community.

This strong performance may be his best defense. But the liberal killing machine couldn't care less how he handles it. As Christie said today, "Politics ain't bean bag."


Obama vs. Christie

Think about this, friends. Christie is being pummeled today because his aides punished New Jersey commuters in retaliation for a mayor not doing what they wanted. Is that really very different from Barack Obama punishing veterans and tourists during the government shutdown because congressional conservatives wouldn't do what he wanted? There is little doubt that the open air memorials and national parks were closed in the hopes that outraged visitors would blame conservatives in Congress.

And at least Christie is acting like a chief executive by firing the people responsible. Has anyone at the IRS been fired yet? Has anyone at the State Department been fired for Benghazi? Has anyone at the Justice Department been held responsible for Fast and Furious? The answer would be no, no and no.

FRC Endorses State Marriage Defense Act

January 09, 2014

Legislation Addresses Administrative Chaos In Determining Marital Status

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council (FRC) today praised U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) for introducing the "State Marriage Defense Act of 2014," and urged members of the House of Representatives to support it.

The State Marriage Defense Act is a response to the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor. The Court struck down as unconstitutional Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage for all purposes under federal law as the union of one man and one woman. The plaintiff in Windsor had entered into a marriage with a person of the same sex that was recognized as legal by the state in which she lived, so the Court said that the federal government should also recognize the relationship as a marriage.

However, the Court was silent on the status of same-sex couples who may have obtained a civil marriage in one state, but who live in a state that recognizes only marriages of a man and a woman. The Obama administration has implemented guidance for some federal agencies that ignores the marriage laws of states that define marriage between a man and a woman. At the same time, other federal agencies defer to the laws of a person's state of legal residency to determine marital status for federal purposes. The State Marriage Defense Act would address this administrative chaos with a simple rule that tells the federal government to respect state determinations of the marital status of their residents when applying federal law.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins issued the following statement:

"In recent months, we have witnessed the growing serious consequences of redefining marriage. We've seen wedding florists, bakers, photographers who have been hauled into court, fined and even ordered to violate their religious beliefs by participating in same-sex weddings. And last month, a federal judge cited same-sex marriage in his decision striking down Utah's law against polygamy. Another consequence has been the Obama administration's chaotic actions through federal agencies that demonstrate total disregard for the 33 states that have not redefined marriage.

"Family Research Council strongly supported the Defense of Marriage Act, and disagreed with the Court's decision in Windsor. However, if the federal government is required to defer to state determinations of which of their residents are 'married,' it must defer to those determinations in all fifty states - not just those that have redefined marriage.

"The State Marriage Defense Act is consistent with the ruling in Windsor, which reiterated that states have the 'historic and essential authority to define the marital relation.' The current Obama administration policy is doing the very thing which the Court condemned - 'creating two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State.'

"The State Marriage Defense Act serves to protect state definitions of marriage against what the Court called efforts 'to put a thumb on the scales and influence a state's decision as to how to shape its own marriage laws,'" concluded Perkins.

U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) will join Family Research Council President Tony Perkins today on his daily radio show, Washington Watch, at 5:20 p.m. Eastern. Listen online at tonyperkins.com.

Email of the Day

 

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Rep. Robert Hurt's Statement on Latest Unemployment Report

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) released the following statement in response to the latest unemployment report issued today:

 

"While I was pleased to see that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent, our economy added just 74,000 jobs in December – far short of the recovery that Fifth District Virginians expect.  The drop in the unemployment rate is largely based on the plunging labor force participation rate.  Unfortunately, the labor force participation rate fell to 62.8 percent, its worst level since January 1978, as more Americans ended their job search in this stagnant economy.

 

"Over the course of the past year, my colleagues in the House and I have put forth dozens of bills aimed at eliminating job-hampering regulations and saving our economy from the job-crushing burden of debt.  Unfortunately, our colleagues in the Senate are stifling this effort as they have failed to pass much-needed jobs legislation, including two bills I introduced to protect our small businesses and the vital jobs they create from costly, inefficient, and unnecessary Washington red tape.

 

"It is my hope that, in the coming year, we are able to come together in a bicameral, bipartisan way to make progress toward bringing good-paying jobs to our communities and guarantee a brighter future for all Virginians and Americans."

Rep. Robert Hurt Votes to Address Security Vulnerabilities in the President’s Healthcare Law

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -€“ Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 3811, the Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act of 2014, which requires the Department of Health and Human Services to notify Americans of a breach of security by a federal or state health exchange within two business days:  

 

"Over the last several months, the House has held four separate hearings on the issue of data security, and through this Congressional oversight, we have discovered many unsettling vulnerabilities to personal information within the President'€™s online healthcare exchanges.  Cybersecurity poses a significant and growing threat to individual privacy, yet the Obama Administration has been so focused on getting the health insurance website to function at a basic level that it has not taken sufficient action to ensure that users€™ personal and medical information will be protected, which is unacceptable.  I was pleased to see this important legislation pass the House today with bipartisan support, as it brings much-needed security measures to Healthcare.gov and protects Americans'€™ most private information.  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to ensure that the American people are protected from the harmful impacts of the President'€™s heath care law, which are becoming more apparent every single day."

Get Ready For Class Warfare -- It's All They've Got!

Gary L. Bauer
American Values

Harry Reid and his liberal Senate majority are once again suspending the normal rules to rush politically-driven legislation on unemployment benefits and the minimum wage to the Senate floor. Why? They are desperate to change the subject from Obamacare.

Don't take my word for it. Today's Washington Post says it all: "Income Gap Takes Shape As Central Issue Ahead Of 2014 Midterms." The Post writes that Barack Obama will speak from the White House later today. Obama loves using unemployed Americans as his props. Just once I wish one of the folks would turn and ask him why his economic policies don't work. I can dream, can't I?

This is all part of a massive, well-coordinated effort by the left to advance its socialist agenda. Remember the union walkouts at fast food restaurants last month? On the same day (Coincidence? Hardly.) stories ran that bank tellers were paid so little that many had to use welfare. Many on the left quickly jumped to the conclusion that this is just one more way in which taxpayers are subsidizing the big banks, which aren't paying their workers enough. You could apply that silly logic to just about any industry.

But don't miss the big picture: It's all being done to distract the public from Obamacare and to highlight the issue of income inequality. And, of course, as Obama will make clear, the solution to income inequality is higher taxes and bigger government.

FRC Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Stay Utah Marriage Ruling

January 06, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council (FRC) today welcomed the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a ruling by a federal District Court judge in Utah last month which had resulted in the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples across Utah.

The Utah state constitution defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and the Court's decision today means that definition will continue to be enforced until final disposition of the case by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, to which the state has appealed.

FRC President Tony Perkins issued the following statement:

"The Supreme Court has today signaled that it will not allow state laws defining marriage to be set aside by a lone judge without a careful consideration of the issues involved. The issuance of a stay is consistent with the Court's ruling last year in Windsor v. United States, in which they affirmed that states have the 'historic and essential authority to define the marital relation' and condemned federal efforts 'to influence or interfere with state sovereign choices about who may be married.'

"FRC plans to support Utah in its appeal of this case to the Tenth Circuit with a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the definition of marriage adopted by the people of Utah."

Staff Members from Rep. Robert Hurt's Office to Hold Local Office Hours in Brunswick and Charlotte Counties

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Staff members from Congressman Robert Hurt’s (R-Virginia) office will hold Local Office Hours in Brunswick and Charlotte Counties on Friday, January 10 to meet with constituents who need assistance with federal agencies. For more information, please visit our Local Office Hours Interactive Map.

 

9:00 to 11:00 am

Brunswick County

Brunswick County Government Building

Auditorium

100 Tobacco Street

Lawrenceville, VA

 

1:00 to 3:00 pm

Charlotte County

Charlotte County Administration Building

Conference Room

240 LeGrande Avenue, Suite A

Charlotte Court House, VA

 

Tweet of the Day

Alexis In VT ‏@AlexisinVT 3 Jan

Blood will forever be on her hands Never forget #Benghazi #JusticeForBenghazi4 #2016 #tcot pic.twitter.com/0WWcgHEroN

Inconvenient Irony

Gary L. Bauer
VISIT AMERICAN VALUES

Speaking of anecdotal evidence, did you hear about the ship of French researchers and tourists trapped in the Antarctic ice? After a tense week, they were finally rescued yesterday by a Chinese ice breaker, which transported the scientists and tourists (via helicopter) to an Australian ship. But now the Australian vessel has been ordered to stay put because the Chinese ice breaker may be stuck in the ice!

Now here's the funny part: 98% of news stories have failed to mention that the folks on the rescued ship were global warming enthusiasts on a mission to document the impact of global warming on Antarctica. As one pundit said today, they found themselves frozen in 15 feet of irony!

I'm writing today's report from globally warm Washington, D.C., where wind chill temperatures are near zero. Global warming science is a thin gruel indeed. We should continue to question the demands of leftist governments and politicians who constantly seek more power and more of your hard-earned tax dollars to enforce their gloom and doom prophecies.

FRC Statement in Response to Justice Sotomayor Issuing a Stay for the Little Sisters of the Poor

January 02, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement in response to Justice Sotomayor issuing a temporary stay for the Little Sisters of the Poor against the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) mandate. The U.S. Department of Justice has until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to respond to the Little Sisters of the Poor temporary stay.

Tony Perkins said:

"We are somewhat heartened by the temporary stay of the HHS mandate by Justice Sotomayor. This stay stops HHS from forcing one charitable organization, the Little Sisters of the Poor, to violate their religious beliefs, pay massive fines or drop coverage altogether. However, thousands of other religious non-profit employers and businesses are still threatened by this ObamaCare mandate, which forces them to choose between violating the teaching of their faith, or paying massive fines.

"While the court process continues, Congress must act quickly to protect the religious freedom of these Americans before they are forced to pay fines or drop coverage for families.

"The HHS mandate's safe harbor for religious organizations and businesses run from a faith perspective expired on January 1st. These groups must now choose between violating their faith, paying crippling fines of up to $100 per day per employee, or dropping healthcare coverage for their employees altogether," concluded Perkins.

Tweet of the Day

Lance Fisher ‏@lancemfisher 2h

Life is too short to live in a state that does this to its residents @chipwoods: CT men wait in line to register guns pic.twitter.com/RRP6oouZNR

 

Retweeted by Chip Woods