By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200) must not include provisions for taxpayer-funded abortions, a bipartisan group of Congressmen led by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) said Wednesday morning.

Right now, it’s unclear whether or not such provisions are included in the proposed health care plan. “Failure to explicitly exclude abortions under this health plan will mean that they will be included. That, of course, is a de facto mandate to have them,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.).

Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.) said she asked President Obama to clarify his position on whether taxpayer money would be used to provide abortion care, but said she has yet to hear from him. On Wednesday, she called upon him once more at the news conference to come forward and specify his intentions.

Fleming stated that 51 percent of Americans are against abortions, and 69 percent are against taxpayer-funded abortions. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) complained that the proposed health care plan would do more to facilitate abortion than any government action since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, despite the fact that the majority of Americans are against it.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said that he expects at least 39 House Democrats to vote against the bill if it does not explicitly exclude abortion from being funded by taxpayer dollars.“We cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government defined or subsidized health care plan,” said Stupak.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) notes that the proposed health care reform legislation will include minimum benefit standards, which will detail the basic coverage every American will be entitled to. Pitts goes on to point out that without a statutory exclusion, these benefits may include publicly funded abortions. (0:29)

 

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By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

House Republicans gathered on Tuesday to denounce the inclusion of publicly funded abortions in the proposed health care reform.

“If the President is serious about passing true health care reform… [he] needs to step up, clarify his position about whether he wants abortion to be included in his health care reform,” said Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Ok.)

The proposed health care reform legislation requires every American to have the right to benefit from a minimum health care coverage, which may include abortion unless Congress makes abortion a statutory exception.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) warned that “The issue here is clear – abortion is not explicitly excluded, it is implicitly included. The stakes are high and the implications incredibly far reaching.”

GOP leaders claim that allowing abortion to be funded by taxpayers may legitimize the procedure, which in turn could lead to an increase in abortion rates.

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) noted the disrespect shown to pro-life Americans who, through this legislation, would indirectly fund abortion through taxation.

“Millions and millions of American women have profound moral qualms about the killing of unborn children by abortion, putting these American women in a position that violates their deeply held beliefs on abortion… [The legislation] will trespass their rights to refrain from funding an industry that they find to be destructive to our nation’s social and moral fabric,” Foxx said.

“Abortion, except in rare circumstances, is not heath care,” noted Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) says it is outrageous that the US sends $700 billion overseas to “dictators and thugs” for oil, when that money could be spent on American oil and creating more domestic jobs (:19).

 

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Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) says he was shocked to learn that many of his constituents at a recent meeting still thought that the Republican Party currently controls Congress. He also says that because they are, in fact, in the minority, Republicans are not able to call up bills. In addition, the Democrats have not been allowing the Republicans to offer amendments, despite the fact that the minority is customarily given this ability (:35).

 

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“Hearing [Nancy Pelosi's] name and ‘president’ in the same sentence makes me sick!” exclaimed Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) today on the floor of the House of Representatives. He and his fellow Republicans continued their speeches protesting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision to call the Congress into recess.

“This is an ineffective Congress, I’m embarrassed to say”, said Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.). He went on to describe legislation passed so far in the 110th Congress, including a bill creating “National Passport Month” and another designating “National Plumbing Industry Week”. However, it is common for every session of Congress to pass these pieces of symbolic legislation. He said he advocated a diversified energy solution that utilizes both renewable sources of energy and allowing expanded oil drilling in coastal regions and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In a recent interview with CNN, Speaker Pelosi said that she would be open to holding a vote on energy reform that would expand drilling.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) said that during Hurricane Katrina, no oil spills occurred. He went on to say that this is a testament to the safety of these oil rigs for the environment. Pitts also said that if more oil refineries were built within the US, which hasn’t happened in over 30 years, hundreds of thousands of new jobs could be created.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) said that since the construction of the Alaska Pipeline, the state’s caribou population has tripled despite environmental reports warning of harm to the animals. He credits the pipeline with keeping the caribou warm during extremely cold weather, thus contributing to the resurgence of the population.