CONDITION RED CONGRESSIONAL ALERT

THIS IS A "CONDITION RED" CONGRESSIONAL ALERT FROM THE NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

ISSUED MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010

PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY ON THIS ALERT.

President Obama, Speaker Pelosi pull out all stops to pass massive pro-abortion health care bill -- the days immediately ahead will decide the issue

WASHINGTON -- President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are making a final, all-out push to ram through a massive health care restructuring bill that the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) has branded "the most pro-abortion single piece of legislation that has ever come to the House floor for a vote."

The health care bill (H.R. 3590) has already passed the Senate, on December 24, 2009.  In order to enact it, however, Obama and Pelosi must convince a majority in the House of Representatives to also vote for the bill.

The Associated Press reported on March 7:  "In private pitches to Democrats, President Barack Obama says he will persuade Congress to pass his health care overhaul even if it kills him and even if he has to ask deeply distrustful lawmakers to trust him on a promise the White House doesn't have the power to keep. . . .The party's strategy calls for House Democrats, despite many misgivings, to go along with a health care bill the Senate passed in December [HR. 3590]. Obama would sign it into law, but senators would promise to make numerous changes demanded by House Democrats."

"House members who vote for the Senate bill will be accountable to their constituents for what the Senate bill contains, including its pro-abortion mandates and subsidies, without regard to . . solemn assurances that Congress will revisit the issue in future legislation, or any other artifice or gimmick," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, in a detailed statement on the Senate bill issued by NRLC on March 5.  "Any House member who votes for the Senate health bill is casting a career-defining pro-abortion vote."

The NRLC statement describes seven separate pro-abortion components in the 2,407-page Senate bill, including provisions that would allow direct federal funding of abortion, federal subsidies to help purchase private insurance that covers abortion, and federal regulations that would expand access to abortion.  NRLC noted that these problems could have been prevented only by a comprehensive pro-life amendment such as that authored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mi.).  The House passed the Stupak Amendment on November 7, 2009, but the pro-life amendment was opposed by President Obama and later rejected by the Senate, so it will not be part of the health care bill that the House actually votes on.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Time is short.  Most political observers agree that if Speaker Pelosi does not succeed in ramming the Senate bill through the House by the time Congress goes into recess for Easter on March 26, the bill is effectively dead.  Pelosi wants to force the vote by March 19.  But, she does not yet have the votes.  "I think we can get there, but I'm going to need help from any place I can get it," Pelosi told one group, according to the Los Angeles Times (March 8).

Whether she succeeds or not depends on what House members hear from their constituents during the next two weeks. 

Please immediately TELEPHONE the Washington, D.C. office of your U.S. House member.  Any U.S. House office can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121.  But better yet CLICK HERE and enter your zip code into the "Call Now" box, and you will be shown a direct-dial phone number for your representative in the U.S. House, along with helpful short talking points that you can use during your call.  You will also be shown a "Your Feedback" form, which allows you to easily send a short e-mail report to NRLC about how your conversation went, if you wish to do so.  This feedback is very helpful to NRLC's lobbying efforts against the health care bill.

The best time to call is between 9 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time.  If you call during the evening, you are likely to get a recording machine or a message asking that you call again during office hours.

Even if you previously have called your representative to oppose the health care bill -- please do it again!  And ask any like-minded friends and relatives to do the same.  Remember, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are putting all their muscle into this, and they are getting plenty of help from the mainstream news media.  It is critical that your representative gets loud and clear guidance from the people who he or she actually represents.

AGAIN please immediately TELEPHONE the Washington, D.C. office of your U.S. House member.  Any U.S. House office can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121.  But better yet CLICK HERE and enter your zip code into the "Call Now" box, and you will be shown a direct-dial phone number for your representative in the U.S. House, along with helpful short talking points that you can use during your call.