Stupak Abortion Language to Be Substituted for Senate Language in Deal to Secure Health Care Votes

FiredogLake ^ | 3/19/10 | Jane Hamsher

[LdSentinal]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made a deal with Rep. Bart Stupak in order to secure his vote and that of other anti-choice Democrats for the health care bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this Sunday. According to a member of Congress who was briefed on the matter, Pelosi has agreed to let Stupak have a vote on his amendment either before or after the House votes to pass the Senate bill. It instructs the Senate to substitute the language in his amendment for the Senate language on abortion.

FDL has obtained a copy of the concurrent resolution (PDF), which includes cosponsors Marion Berry, Sanford Bishop, Joseph Cao, Kathy Dahlkemper, Steve Driehaus, Marcy Kaptur, Dan Lipinski, Alan Mollohan, and Nick Rahall. A second source confirms that with the exception of Cao, these are the members of Congress who are still on the fence. Cao is still considered a firm “no” vote.

The deal calls for Stupak to have a vote on his amendment either before or after the House votes to confirm the Senate bill on Sunday. Stupak is confident that he has the votes to pass the measure and is happy to have the vote after the House passes the Senate bill. He believes that by using a “tie bar” measure, his amendment would be “tied” to the health care bill — which would require just 51 votes in the Senate.

Pro-choice members of the House, however, are demanding that the vote on the Concurrent Resolution happen before the House confirms the Senate bill. If in fact it passes, they plan to vote against confirming the Senate bill. They want Rep. Diana Degette to release the names of the 41 cosigners to her letter who pledged to vote against any bill that restricts a woman’s right to choose, and they are angry that the White House has been whipping to push through the Stupak deal.

“It is outrageous that a Democratic Speaker, a Democratic Majority Leader and a Democratic President should support rolling back women’s reproductive rights,” says one member of the group.

Alan Grayson, who voted against the Stupak Amendment when it went before the house last October, now has 80 cosponors for his public option amendment but has not been granted a floor vote. “I wonder why we can have a vote to please anti-choice clique, and we can’t have a vote on the public option” he says.

Text of the Concurrent Resolution below the jump

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MR. STUPAK (for himself, MR. Berry, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Cao, Ms. Dahlkemper, Mr. Driehaus, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Mollohan, and Mr. Rahall) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the committee on ________

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Correcting the enrollment of H.R. 3590

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring) That in the enrollment of the bill H.R. 3590, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall make the following corrections:

(1) In the section 1303 amended by section 10104(c) of the bill –

(A) in the section heading, insert “RELATING TO COVERAGE OF ABORTION SERVICES” after “SPECIAL RULES”; AND

(B) strike subsection (a) and all of subsection (b) that precedes paragraph (4) and insert the following:

“(a) IN GENERAL — Nothing in this Act (or any amendment made by this Act) shall be construed to require any health plan to provide coverage of abortion services or allow the Secretary or any other person or entity implementing this Act (or amendment) to require coverage of such services.

“(b) LIMITATION ON ABORTION FUNDING –

“(1) iN GENERAL — None of the funds authorized or appropriated by this Act (or an amendment made by this Act), including credits under section 36N of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, shall be expected for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion, except in the case where a woman suffers from the physical disorder physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or unless the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.

“(2) OPTION TO PURCHASE SEPARATE COVERAGE OR PLAN _- Subject to paragraph (1), noting in this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting any non-Federal entity (including an individual or a State orlocal government) from purchasing separate coverage for abortions for which funding is prohibited under this subsection, or a plan that inclues such abortions, so long as such coverage or plan is not purchased using the non-Federal funds required to receive a Federal payment, including a preminum payment required for the qualified health plan towards whith the credit described in paragraph (1) is applied or a State’s or locality’s contribution of Medicaid matching funds.

“(3) OPTION TO OFFER COVERAGE OR PLAN — Subject to paragraph (1), noting in this subsection shall restrict any non-Federal health insurance insurer offering a qualified health plan from offering separate coverage for abortions for which funding is prohibited under this subsection, or a plan that includes such abortions for which funding is prohibited under this subsection, or a plan that inclue3s such abortions, so long as any such insurer that offers a qualified health plan through any Exchange that includes coverage for abortions for which funding is prohibited under this subsection also offers a qualified health plan through the Exchange that is identical in every respect except it does not cover such abortions.”

(2) In subsection (a) of the section 1334 added by section 10104(q) of the bill, strike paragraph (6) and redesignate paragraph (7) as paragraph (6).

[comebacknewt]

Ballgame?

[kevao]

The way things are going now, they could just change whatever language they wanted, and then simply deem the language changes as original language.

Yes, theirs is a much more convenient way to govern.

[Diogenesis]

Where is RINO Romney
as the Dems push through ObamaCARE?

Answer: The RINO coward is hiding, sending out his saboteurs
against Gov. Palin and all conservative GOP stars again,
selling his ghostwritten book, helping Gore push the fraud of climate change,
and attacking the "tea party".

Mass. State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill (I): RomneyCARE
is bankrupting Massachusetts and will do the same nationally.

---

"Romney admitted ... that about half of the real costs of "extending
coverage to the uninsured... is covered by federal tax dollars.

---

Mr. Romney's RomneyCARE is doing what entitlements do: crowding
out private insurers, compounding the cost explosion, walking the state toward rationing.

---

From CATO (the whole article is worthwhile): "Of the 133,000 people who have signed up for insurance since the plan was
implemented, slightly more than half have received totally free coverage."

---

"Health Care Speechwriter for Edwards, Obama & Clinton Now Without Health Insurance"
I'm a critic because what Washington is talking about doing
has made health insurance unaffordable in Massachusetts.

---

"Small businesses bridle at health insurance hikes (Romneycare strangles Mass. businesses)
some really bad news from Blue Cross-Blue Shield: His company's health insurance rates are going up 47 percent in January."

---

" Rationing medicine has already begun
… government-
run health care has introduced rationing and waiting lists and cost the lives of the people under its provisions."

---

"DEATH PANELS OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN MASSACHUSETTS"

---

"President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar defended the
possibility of removing organs from terminally ill patients without their permission."

---

"You can't reap these savings without limiting patients' choices in some way," said Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess."

---

"State plan may place limits on patients' hospital options( Mass. RomneyCare )"

---

"Romney Visits Nebraska, Talks Health Care [where he defends Romneycare] "

---

"Paying the Health Tax in Massachusetts [Romneycare]
Unless we ponied up for a pricier policy we
neither need nor want-or enrolled in a government-sponsored insurance plan-we
would have to pay $1,000 each year to the state.
How did we become outlaws?"

---

The Massachusetts debacle, coming soon to your neighborhood."
The state's overall costs on health programs have increased by 42% (!) since 2006."

---

A Very Sick Health Plan; Bay State's 'Grand Experiment' Fails [RomneyCare]

---

Health care in Massachusetts: a warning for America [Romney brings Mass. to its knees]
The Bay State's mandatory insurance law is raising costs, limiting access, and lowering care. "

---

"'Severe' doc shortage seen hiking wait time
"The shortage is getting more severe""

---

"Health costs to rise again.( RomneyCare )
The state's major health insurers plan to raise premiums by about 10 percent next year"

---

"Nation's ill-advised to follow Mass. plan [Health plan a failure]
September 17, 2009 The canary is dead."

---

"Bay State Insurance Premiums Highest in Country - Boston Globe August 22, 2009"

---

"Massachusetts: the laboratory for ObamaCare"

---

"Massachusetts' Obama-like reforms increase health costs, wait times [RomneyCare]
Premiums are growing 21 to 46 percent faster than the national average"

---

"Mass. Pushes Rationing to Control Universal Healthcare Costs (RomneyCare)"

---

"1,000 cancer patients 'refused treatment'"

---

"Massachusetts Universal Healthcare System Breaking Down Already"

---

"Hospital patients 'left in agony'"

---

"Mr. Romney should have known better before signing on to this not-so-grand experiment, especially since the state's "free market" reforms that he boasts about have proven to be irrelevant when not fictional.
Only 21,000 people have used the "connector" that was supposed to link individuals to private insurers."

---

A Very Sick Health Plan; Bay State's 'Grand Experiment' Fails [RomneyCare]
Even though the Bay State commenced its program with a far smaller percentage of uninsured residents than exists nationwide,
"RomneyCare" is threatening to bankrupt the state."

---

"Dem Congresswoman Admits Obama Health Care Plan Will Destroy Private Health Insurance Industry"

---

"Romney's mistreatments a sick man,"

[Gene Eric]

>> “...should support rolling back women’s reproductive rights,”

No one’s taking away their right to get pregnant - we just don’t want the lil’ humans to be butchered to death after the decision was made to create them.

[BARLF]

That is what I thought,too.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Rush already said today that Pelosi will strip any amendments away leaving only the Senate bill. If Stupak believes he’s getting some type of deal in that there won’t be any abortion funding he’s smoking crack.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Is Stupak dumb enough to fall for this garbage? He’d have better luck responding to one of those bank account emails from some guy in Nigeria.

[Sgt_Schultze]

I don’t guess voting present would be a good idea. If the yeas outnumber the nays in the vote, then the yeas will have won.

[MHT]

Can't be done--they have to vote on the Senate bill as written---or "deem" it to be so--

Forcing the Senate to vote--and everything is up in the air again.

[SunkenCiv]

After the fake passage of this monstrosity, the Stupak language will be removed. They’ve played this game with this same project and same process already in this Congress. Thanks LdSentinal. G’night again, for sure this time.

[jennyjenny]

Wouldn’t the senate have to vote on it?

[cajungirl]

You are wrong. Nobody is interfering with their getting abortions,,they just have to pay for them.

I have the right to a big screen tv,,I pay for it.

[xkaydet65]

If they vote present it still requires a majority of those voting.

[Hostage]

Ok. What is a ‘tie bar’ measure that allows only 51 votes to pass.

The article says it will go back to the Senate with this ‘tie bar’ measure.

[SunkenCiv]

Oh, they’ll find a way around that, no problem, and any other of that Constitutional junk and legal inconveniences that crop up.

[annieokie]

I don’t believe this.

[nina0113]

Can’t do it - if the bill is changed AT ALL, they have to start over. If Nancy’s promised him this, she’s blowing smoke, and if he’s not smart enough to see that, he really doesn’t belong in Congress. Or anywhere it might rain, cause he wouldn’t come in out of it.

[BARLF]

You are right.. Stupak will fold..

Sheesh, no wonder he is comfortable in the Democrat party.

[upstanding]

He's not. He's jockeying and this is more or less scripted.

And sort of unrelated, we can trust Cao about as far as we can throw him.

[comebacknewt]

Is Stupak dumb enough to fall for this garbage?

My guess is he is desperate to vote for healthcare but needs to ave face.

He may have decided that this bizarre option allows him to do that.