Heritage Action Overview of Parliamentary Maneuvering in the US House to mask plans to continue funding Planned Parenthood

If you are following the effort to fund or defund Planned Parenthood, here is a clear overview from Heritage Action of the party tricks being used to mask what is really happening. If you want Congress to DEFUND Planned Parenthood, then contact your US House Rep. via phone or twitter and “urge them to vote against invoking “same day authority” on H.R. 3495.” Vance JochimFiscalRangers.com   
 

 

 

SENTINEL HUB
Florida Sentinels,I wanted to let you know that the Senate passed the “clean” Continuing Resolution that funds Planned Parenthood minutes ago by a 78-20-2 vote. Sen Bill Nelson voted in favor of the bill and Sen Marco Rubio was absent and therefore didn’t vote. The CR (H.R. 917) now goes to the House where there is some parliamentary maneuvering going on to fast track an approval vote by changing the rules and granting “same day authority”. It easiest to explain by copying a Daily Signal article from Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham which reads:Washington Gimmickry Protects Planned ParenthoodMike Needham / @MikeNeedhamOne of the reasons Washington works so well for the well-connected is because opaque congressional procedures often determine the real policy outcome well in advance of the actual policy debate.This afternoon will provide yet another example of such duplicitous maneuver.The House will vote on a rule to govern debate on a seemingly innocuous pro-life bill (H.R. 3495) introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc. On the merits, Duffy’s bill is a good one. It would explicitly allow states to deny Planned Parenthood access to state Medicaid money.The Obama administration has fought states that have sought to take this defunding approach.Here’s the problem: the rule governing debate for that pro-life bill will also grant the House what is called “same day authority.”If the rule is adopted, the House will have the ability to consider any bill at any time during the next three days with virtually no notice.In 2010, House Republicans, including current Rules Committee ChairmanPete Sessions, R-Texas., decried Democrat’s use of this (also called “martial law”) saying that it was “the ultimate tool to avoid accountability.”The report went on to say that martial law “was designed to stifle debate, rush legislation through with little or no scrutiny, and keep the American people out of the loop.”What does all of this mean from a practical standpoint?Adoption of “same day authority” will allow the House to expedite consideration and passage of the continuing resolution (CR) that continues Planned Parenthood funding once that bill passes the House.Put another away, the pro-life lawmakers are being asked to vote in favor of a rule that paves the way for an anti-life bill becoming law for a show vote that will die without a vote in Mitch McConnell’s Senate.House Republican leaders should not be putting their pro-life members in this position.Sessions was correct back in 2010 when he and his colleagues criticized Democrats for “employing heavy-handed tactics, parliamentary maneuvering” and thus “by ignoring the will of the American people.”The clearest way for pro-life members to register their objection to this heavy-handed maneuvering is to oppose that rule vote later today.In the immortal words of former Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the longest serving member in the history of Congress, “If you let me write the procedure and I let you write the substance, I’ll [beat] you every time.”Though Duffy’s bill is good policy, invoking “same day authority” to bring it up for consideration would shift the House into a different rules paradigm, which would allow for the consideration of any bill at any time during the next three days, with virtually no notice. This rule, however, requires a two-thirds majority to pass, giving conservatives a good chance to vote it down.Call your Representative and urge them to vote against invoking “same day authority” on H.R. 3495.Sincerely,Karen Jaroch
Florida Grassroots Manager
Heritage Action For America
(202) 716-8087
 
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