By Laura Litvan March 5 (Bloomberg) — U.S. House leaders are facing the possible defection of about a dozen anti-abortion Democrats from a health-care bill just as lawmakers enter their final push for the landmark legislation in Congress. Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan said Senate-passed language on abortion isn’t acceptable to him and the other lawmakers in the bloc, and that if the issue isn’t resolved they will vote against the broader health legislation. “We’re prepared to take responsibility” for the defeat of the bill, Stupak said yesterday on ABC Television’s “Good Morning America” program. “I want to see health care, but we’re not going to bypass some principles and belief we feel strongly about.” His comments underscore the risk the abortion issue poses as congressional Democrats seek to pass a measure overhauling the nation’s health-care system with no Republican support. “It’s probably the biggest challenge we have,” said Representative Bill Pascrell , a New Jersey Democrat. The legislation passed the House on Nov. 7 with just 220 of 435 votes, and the potential loss of support over abortion may be enough to sink the bill. Some House Democrats who favor abortion rights have said their votes also may hinge on how the matter is addressed. Echoes of Past Abortion policy has delayed — or killed outright — past legislation ranging from a rewrite of bankruptcy law to foreign aid and military spending measures. To avoid that fate last year, Democratic leaders in both chambers let anti-abortion lawmakers attach tougher restrictions to the health legislation, President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority. Stupak took the lead in the House, while Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska provided Democrats in that chamber with the 60th vote needed to clear the health measure after he negotiated abortion language. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday the Senate language should satisfy those who oppose federal funding for abortions. “If you believe that there should be no federal funding of abortions and if you believe there should be no change in the policy and if you believe we need health care for all Americans, then we will pass the bill,” she told reporters. Democratic leaders say they’ll try to approve health legislation by first pushing the Senate bill through the House. Then each chamber would address a host of changes through separate legislation via a parliamentary maneuver called budget reconciliation, which would allow the Senate to pass it with just 51 votes, sidestepping Republican opposition. Up to Pelosi Democratic leaders said because reconciliation is designed for matters that relate to the federal budget, not social policy, it can’t be used to resolve abortion differences. Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin , an Illinois Democrat, said it will be up to Pelosi to find the votes in her caucus for the Senate language. “She’s got to deal with this,” Durbin said. The broader legislation, which will cost about $1 trillion over 10 years, is intended to ratchet down health costs and extend coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, offering government subsidies to low-income people. The president, who this week called on Congress to have an up-or-down vote on health care in the next few weeks, met yesterday at the White House with members of the House Progressive Caucus to shore up their support. He pledged to push in the future for ideas championed by the group, including a government insurance option to compete with private insurers, said Representative Raul Grijalva , an Arizona Democrat, who co-chairs the group. Same-Day Signing “Down the road, we’ll continue to work on these issues,” Grijalva said. Grijalva said Obama told the lawmakers he intends to sign both the Senate-passed bill and the reconciliation bill on the same day. The abortion issue may get in the way. Richard Doerflinger, the top lobbyist for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops , agreed with Stupak that a dozen House Democrats will oppose a final measure if the Senate abortion language is in it. They include Representative Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and Representative James Oberstar of Minnesota, he said. “Those members are standing firm,” said Doerflinger. The House health bill restricts federal dollars from being used to pay for insurance plans that include abortion coverage. The Stupak amendment would bar the use of new federal subsidies to pay the costs of any plans covering abortion offered through a new insurance-purchasing exchange. ‘Ban on Abortion’ In the Senate bill, the federal Office of Personnel Management would oversee at least two multistate insurance programs in the exchange. At least one would provide abortion coverage and one wouldn’t. States could opt out of having any plan with abortion coverage. Groups such as the National Right to Life Committee say the Senate language is unacceptable because it would let one plan in each market allow abortion coverage. Pro-choice groups are lobbying against abortion provisions in both the House and Senate bills. Nancy Keenan , president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the Stupak language would effectively block private plans on the exchange from offering abortion coverage for many lower-income women. “It is a ban on abortion in the exchange,” she said. To contact the reporters on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net
Originally posted here:
Democratic Defections on Abortion Issue May Imperil Health-Care Overhaul
