GOP Leader: Invite Pro-Life Democrat Stupak to White House Health Care Summit
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 24, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The top Republican in the House says President Barack Obama should invite the leading pro-life Democrat to tomorrow’s White House health care summit. Meanwhile, Rep. Bart Stupak says even more Democrats will oppose the pro-abortion Senate health care bill.
Stupak is the famous pro-life Democrat whose amendment to ban abortion funding in the government-run health care bill bears his name.
He initially said as many as 10-12 Democrats who voted for the House measure would join him in opposing the Senate bill that Democrats are seeking to push through Congress using the controversial reconciliation procedure.
Now, he’s upped that number to 15-20 Democrats who are willing to say no to the bill — though not all of them because of the massive abortion funding and other pro-abortion problems it has.
Asked on Fox News today if he thinks the bill will get House approval, Stupak responded, "Despite the abortion language, no, there are other problems with this bill…[I have spoken to] probably about 15 or 20 of them in the last 24 hours — they’ve said there are other problems with this bill."
Stupak’s remarks follow a prediction from House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, a pro-life Republican from Virginia, who predicts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats will fall 14 votes short of the number they need to get the bill approved.
Meanwhile, pro-life House Minority Leader John Boehner sent a letter to Obama today, according to information provided to LifeNews.com by the Susan B. Anthony List, asking him to invite Stupak to the summit.
"I write today to respectfully ask that you invite Rep. Stupak to participate in the February 25 health care summit so that the will of the American people – and that of a bipartisan majority in the House – on the critical issue of life will be appropriately represented during the discussion," he says.
"Regrettably, millions of Americans are already deeply skeptical about the February 25 summit. They have noted with disappointment the decision by the White House to use the existing legislation as the starting point for the discussion – despite the fact that the current bills are opposed by a majority of the American people – rather than starting the discussion with a clean sheet of paper," he continued.
"Including Representative Stupak in the February 25 discussion, by contrast, would send a signal that the White House respects the views of a majority of Americans and a bipartisan majority of the House on the critical issue of life," Boehner concluded.
This request comes on the heels of two Susan B. Anthony List-led pro-life coalition letters sent to the president and Republican leaders.
The letters, signed by over 30 leading pro-life organizations, including this author, urged the GOP to stand firm for the Stupak Amendment and encouraged the President to honor the American majority (72% according to Quinnipiac) by embracing the bipartisan Stupak amendment.
—
Full text of Boehner letter to Obama:
February 24, 2010
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,
During legislative action on the House Democratic leadership’s health care legislation (H.R. 3200) last November, a majority of members of the House of Representatives voted in favor of a bipartisan amendment authored by Reps. Bart Stupak (D-MI) that would prohibit federal funding of abortion. The Stupak amendment passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 240-194 and is part of the House-passed health care bill.
As you know, the Stupak amendment is not included in the Senate version of the health care bill, nor in the new proposal you put forth earlier this week and designated as the starting point for the discussion that will take place at Blair House on February 25. But public opinion surveys (including two recent surveys conducted by CNN and Quinnipiac University) consistently indicate that the Stupak amendment reflects the will of the American people.
During the House floor debate on H.R. 3200, I individually questioned each of the Democratic committee chairmen with jurisdiction on health care issues to seek their assurances that the will of the House, as reflected by the support of a bipartisan majority for the Stupak amendment, would be preserved when a final health care bill is crafted by the Democratic majority in Washington. None committed to working to ensure that the House position is preserved in a final health care bill. These same majority committee chairmen will be representing the House in the February 25 summit.
On February 8, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and I wrote a letter to your chief of staff, Mr. Emanuel, posing a number of questions about the proposed February 25 summit. Among the questions we asked was whether congressional Democrats who are opposed to the House or Senate versions of the health care bill would be invited to participate in the summit. As of this writing, Mr. Emanuel has not responded to our letter, and the Democratic leadership in the House has not indicated any plans to include such members in the delegations they are sending to Blair House.
I write today to respectfully ask that you invite Rep. Stupak to participate in the February 25 health care summit so that the will of the American people – and that of a bipartisan majority in the House – on the critical issue of life will be appropriately represented during the discussion.
Regrettably, millions of Americans are already deeply skeptical about the February 25 summit. They have noted with disappointment the decision by the White House to use the existing legislation as the starting point for the discussion – despite the fact that the current bills are opposed by a majority of the American people – rather than starting the discussion with a clean sheet of paper. They have noted with consternation the White House decision to exclude governors and state legislators representing states that will bear the heaviest burdens if the current legislation is enacted. Including Representative Stupak in the February 25 discussion, by contrast, would send a signal that the White House respects the views of a majority of Americans and a bipartisan majority of the House on the critical issue of life.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
John Boehner
Republican Leader
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