Abortion-Rights Caucus Won't Oppose Ellsworth Language
Abortion-Rights Caucus Won't Oppose Ellsworth Language
November 5, 2009
By: Kasie Hunt with Billy House contributing
Abortion-rights supporters in the House will not oppose strengthening protections to make sure federal money is not used to pay for abortions, eliminating one more hurdle for House leaders working to secure votes from anti-abortion Democrats.
Abortion-Rights Caucus Won't Oppose Ellsworth Language
November 5, 2009
By: Kasie Hunt with Billy House contributing
Abortion-rights supporters in the House will notoppose strengthening protections to make sure federal money is not usedto pay for abortions, eliminating one more hurdle for House leadersworking to secure votes from anti-abortion Democrats.
Ellsworth's proposal is an effort to ease the concerns of some anti-abortion Democrats who are worried that a compromise drafted by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., doesn't do enough to make sure that no federal money would be used to pay for abortions. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., had threatened that 40 anti-abortion Democrats were prepared to vote against the rule if leaders did not allow a vote on an amendment to codify the Hyde Amendment.
Ellsworth sent his proposal to the Congressional Research Service, which he said confirmed that no federal money will be used to fund abortions. If leaders include his language in the rule, "I can vote for the rule and rest assured that no public dollars are going to fund abortion," Ellsworth said. He said that at least three anti-abortion Democrats approached him and said they could back his changes in light of the CRS report.
House Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer addressed the issue at a meeting Wednesday night with Democratic sophomores. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said one of the messages was that "there's still a group of Democrats out there who would be willing to use abortion to scuttle this whole bill."
He said the strategy of the two leaders was to impress upon members that "the bottom line is we have a reasonable position that we're going to stick to on abortion."
Hoyer said abortion discussions were ongoing. He said the Ellsworth language "is certainly one of the parts of the discussion, but it's not the exclusive part."
But even if leaders can secure enough votes to mitigate Stupak's threat, they still have to address an emotional dispute over immigration -- a delicate balance as they work to find 218 votes before a possible Saturday vote on the bill.
"We have to come to a place where we don't lose votes. The whole idea is to get votes," Pelosi said.
Vulnerable Democrats have launched a last minute push to include language excluding undocumented immigrants from buying insurance in the exchange with private money -- a provision included in the Senate Finance Committee bill.
But adding the language to the House bill could jeopardize passage. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., said if the provision is included in the bill, a majority of the 22-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus will vote against the rule.
Losing those votes could combine with remaining anti-abortion Democrats to leave leaders unable to bring the bill to the floor, said Pastor, a chief deputy whip. "With the issue of pro-life and other people voting against it, it becomes pretty difficult to deal with," he said.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said leaders would risk his support. "It would make it extremely difficult for me to vote for the bill," he said.
"I have already said no tax dollars shall go to support healthcare for undocumented workers. What more do you want me to do?" Gutierrez said. "I'm being consistent. But now they want to feed the frenzy of the xenophobic, right-wing anti-immigrant."
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the assistant to the speaker, is set to meet with CHC members, a party aide said. Pelosi tasked Van Hollen with coordinating negotiations with Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra of California.
A Democratic aide said the CHC should focus any anger on the White House and the Senate, which added the language after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress. "The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," Obama said, prompting Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., to shout, "You lie!"
Obama intends to come to the Capitol Friday to meet with House Democrats and make a final pitch for the legislation, congressional officials told the Associated Press.
The issue will re-emerge in conference, the aide said. "We're going to come back to this thing," the aide said. "They should be directing their energy and frustration toward the Senate for creating this daylight ... and also at the White House, which has embraced the Senate language."
"They [the Senate] either have to move toward us or we have to move toward them. The reality is that the president needs to step in and make it clear about where he stands," the aide said.
Gutierrez criticized Obama because he referred to "illegal" immigrants in his speech instead of referring to them as undocumented. Obama used "undocumented" on the campaign trail, Gutierrez said, but "he's not so careful when he's got them in his back pocket."
Obama's top domestic priority will get a boost today when the AARP is expected to endorse the overhaul, the Associated Press reported. Republicans argue the overhaul would hurt seniors in part because it cuts reimbursement rates to Medicare Advantage plans. But the AARP's backing could give leaders a boost in their push for 218.