House Votes To Prohibit Taxpayer Funded Abortions | Senate Votes On More Amendments In 3 Weeks Than In All Of 2014

Today in Washington, D.C. - Jan 22, 2014
The biggest event in Washington, D.C. is the annual pro-life "March for Life" calling for the end of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision 42 years ago that legalized wholesale abortion in the United States. Since that time, there have been approximately 57,762,169 abortions that have destroyed the lives of unborn children.

The House reconvened at 9 AM and immediately proceeded to consideration of H.R. 7 — "To prohibit taxpayer funded abortions." After debate, at 1:16 PM, the House passed the bill along party lines by a vote of 242 - 179.

The House had been expected to vote today on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. According to a November Quinnipiac poll, 60 percent of Americans back banning abortion, except in cases of rape or incest reported to the authorities, after 20 weeks. According to The Daily Signal, "Conservative commentators and pro-life advocates expressed frustration with the last-second decision to change course. Some said that those opposed to the original bill were ceding to politics over policy. . . . During debate, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who led the effort to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, called late-term abortion “the greatest human rights atrocity in the United States today.”"

"Prominent Republican members who rallied against the plan to limit late-term abortions include Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Renee Ellmers of North Carolina and Jackie Walorski of Indiana. . . . Conservative commentators and pro-life advocates expressed frustration with the last-second decision to change course. Some said that those opposed to the original bill were ceding to politics over policy."

The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today. Following an hour morning business, the Senate resumed consideration of S.1, the bill to authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

More votes on amendments to S.1 are planned for this afternoon and evening.

Yesterday, the Senate rejected five amendments to the Keystone bill and adopted one. By unanimous consent, all these amendments required 60 votes for adoption.

Senators voted 54-45 to reject an amendment from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to cap legal fees on lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act, 41-58 to reject an amendment from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) that would have prevented construction of the pipeline until the EPA produced guidelines about a substance known as petroleum coke, 54-45 to reject an amendment from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) to exempt power plants that burn coal refuse from new EPA standards, 59-40 to reject an amendment from Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) expressing the sense of the Senate on climate change, and 50-49 to reject an amendment from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) expressing the sense of the Senate that human activity significantly contributes to climate change.

Senators also voted 98-1 to adopt an amendment offered by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) expressing the sense of the Senate that the climate changes.

Politico reports today, “The Senate is about to reach a milestone: By the end of this week, it will have held more amendment votes than it did in all of 2014. On Thursday — just three weeks into the new year — the chamber is set to surpass last year’s total of 15 amendment votes, thanks to a flurry of voting centered almost entirely on the Keystone XL pipeline. The only non-Keystone vote so far this year came on an amendment by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on changes to the Dodd-Frank financial law. . . .

“‘Just 15 roll call amendments, that was in all of 2014,’ said Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). ‘My hope is that we’re going to exceed last year’s total, hopefully here today.’

“Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made opening up the Senate’s amendment process a key mark of his new reign. . . . ‘It’s great to see a real debate on the floor of the Senate again,’ McConnell said Thursday. ‘I saw some action in the chamber yesterday, even some unpredictability.’ . . .

“Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada has taken most of the blame for producing last year’s dearth of amendments by using Senate procedure to protect bills from alteration.”

A year ago, in a key speech, Leader McConnell set forth his views on how to restore the Senate to its traditional role as a place of prominent debates about policy and the direction of the country. He said, “[B]ills should come to the floor, be thoroughly debated, and include a robust amendment process. . . . The answer is to let folks debate; to let the Senate work its will. And that means bringing bills to the floor. It means having a free and open amendment process. It means legislating.. . . It’s time to allow Senators on both sides to more fully participate in the legislative process, and that means having a more open amendment process around here. Inevitably, this would involve taking tough votes from time to time. But that’s always been the cost of being a Senator. . . . Voting on amendments is good for the Senate, and it’s good for the country. Our constituents should have greater voice in the process. They should also know where we stand on the issues of the day . . . .”

As Politico notes, in just the first three weeks under the new Republican majority, the Senate is on its way back to being a place of consequential debate, where ideas are actually voted on. Today’s milestone says a lot about the different vision Republicans have for the Senate and how the previous Democrat majority mismanaged this chamber.

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