What We're Reading - July 30
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Good morning, everyone! There are only 99 more days until the election and only about a month until the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention. As many voters remain undecided, the candidates will continue hitting the trail — we’re in for the final sprint. Here’s what we’re reading this morning…
What Congress is doing is a preview of Mitt Romney’s plan for women. “Republicans vs. Women” – “Even with a persistent gender gap in a presidential election year, House Republicans have not given up on their campaign to narrow access to birth control, abortion care and lifesaving cancer screenings. Far from it. A new Republican spending proposal revives some of the more extreme attacks on women’s health and freedom that were blocked by the Senate earlier in this Congress. The resurrection is part of an alarming national crusade that goes beyond abortion rights and strikes broadly at women’s health in general. These setbacks are recycled from the Congressional trash bin in the fiscal 2013 spending bill for federal health, labor and education programs approved by a House appropriations subcommittee on July 18 over loud objections from Democratic members to these and other provisions… There is a striking overlap between the subcommittee’s regressive politics and the polices espoused by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. That makes it a window on what a Romney presidency could mean for women’s rights and lives.”
Disappointing news in Colorado as a judge temporarily blocks the new birth control benefit. “Federal Court Rules Against Birth Control Mandate” – “A federal court on Friday ruled against the Obama administration’s birth control mandate, the first court to side with its opponents. The decision isn’t final, but the move could represent a breakthrough for conservatives determined to overturn the regulation made possible by the Affordable Care Act. A federal district judge in Colorado issued a temporary injunction permitting Hercules Industries, an air-conditioning company based in the state, not to abide by the rule until the courts reach a decision on the merits of the case. The business owner, a Catholic who opposes contraception, argued that the mandate violates his religious liberty. Carter-appointed Judge John Kane ruled that Hercules raised serious enough questions about the validity of the mandate under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to be given injunctive relief. The 1993 law says the government may not ‘substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion’ — that laws that clash with religious freedoms be justified by compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored to meet that interest.”
The House is set to vote on the D.C. 20-week abortion ban bill. “District Residents Outraged Over Anti-Abortion Bill” —“A bill that would ban abortions in the District after 20 weeks has residents and leaders steaming as the U.S. Congress has again taken it upon itself to impose its will upon city residents. Last Wednesday the House Judiciary Committee passed an anti-abortion bill, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). All Republicans voted for the legislation and all Democrats voting against it. Anise Jenkins, the executive director for Stand Up! for Democracy in DC, a non-profit group that promotes D.C. statehood, attended the vote. She’s livid about the outcome. ‘It is D.C. residents, not Congress who need to use their oversight powers to monitor the undemocratic actions of congressional members who target D.C.’s local laws,’ Jenkins said. ‘We resent being used as a tool by Rep. Franks and other conservatives to overturn Roe vs. Wade or any national legislation. We hope Rep. Franks is not neglecting the needs of his own constituents while he spends considerable time and energy interfering with us.’”
