The U.S. House of Representatives will vote today on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, or House Resolution 3, which was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith
“„The decision to put [HR 3] on the floor is giving new hope to some social conservatives who want their issues swept up into the debt limit debate.
“„Rep. Trent Franks, an anti-abortion advocate, said that House Republicans “have some leverage” to get the Democratically controlled Senate to take up the legislation, similar to the way House Republicans forced an amendment onto the continuing resolution that would defund federal funding for Planned Parenthood. As part of a larger agreement on the final CR, Senate leaders agreed to hold a separate vote on the Planned Parenthood amendment.
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“„While Franks, a two-term lawmaker from Arizona, acknowledged that a balanced budget amendment may be better suited to be part of a compromise debt limit vote, he still has hope for a Senate vote on an anti-abortion bill.
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“„Although conservative organizations have not yet begun pushing for this as part of the debt limit debate, activists said they would support the effort and argued that Republicans should make it a matter of routine that deals include requirements that the Senate vote on social issues. “Republicans making such demands shouldn’t be out of the ordinary,” Family Research Council’s Tom McClusky said.
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“„While social conservatives have highlighted the anti-abortion measure as being tied to federal funding, the Congressional Budget Office reported on March 15 that the bill has “negligible effects on tax revenues,” which has led such groups as Americans for Tax Reform to stay out of the debate.