The American Spectator

home
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The Largest Selection of Liberal-baiting Merchandise on the Net!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Print Email

AmSpecBlog

Sen. Johanns Calls Reid's Abortion Language a "Bookkeeping Gimmick"

Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska said in a Thursday conference call that Harry Reid’s abortion language in the Senate health care bill was merely a “bookkeeping gimmick” that would not prevent federal funding for abortion.

Under the language approved by the House of Representatives, nobody could use federal subsidies toward the purchase of a policy that covered abortion. But under pressure from pro-choice groups, Reid placed language in the Senate bill that would work out a complicated formula aimed at segregating funds so that women who received federal subsidies could still purchase policies with abortion services as long as the subsidies didn’t support the cost of the abortion coverage.

“It’s a bookkeeping gimmick,” Johanns said. “The same argument was made on the House side and it was just aggressively rejected by the pro-life community and by those House members who stood up.

He explained, “A premium is a premium. The government is going to have its dollars in that and this idea that somehow you’re segregating that just isn’t going to past muster. You just can’t draw that line in a bookkeeping entry, and they know it. What they’re trying to do is to provide some cover to pro-life members, but the pro-life community has aggressively rejected that.”

Johanns also warned that if Reid gets the necessary 60 votes on Saturday’s motion to bring the bill to the Senate floor in its current form, that the abortion language will not get changed. Once the bill is on the floor, it would take 60 votes to amend it, and there aren’t that many pro-life votes in the Senate. That’s why he said it was crucial to stop the bill from moving to the floor in the first place.   

“The real key vote here is on the motion to proceed if you’re pro-life,” he said.

Comments

Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 4:35PM

Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Sen. Johanns Calls Reid links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Plugin – WordPress Shortened Links Linking to the spectator.org page http://bit.ly/Pj9qu info http://bit.ly/2TL9dY info   2 tweets retweet The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Sen. Johanns Calls Reid's Abortion Language a "Bookkeeping Gimmick" spectator.org/blog/2009/11/19/sen-johanns-calls-reids-aborti – view page – cached Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska said in a Thursday…

Big Jim| 11.19.09 @ 4:42PM

We'll now see that Sen. Casey (D-PA) doesn't have the backbone his father had. I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut that he votes with the majority on sending the bill to the floor. Later, when only 50 votes are needed, Reid will let him vote against the language. Then he'll come home and pretend he's pro-life. We have to hold his feet, as well as Sen. Nelsons, to the fire on this. Call them now!

Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 7:03PM

Valuable Internet Information » The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Sen. Johanns Ca links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…abortion language in the Senate health care bill was merely a “ bookkeeping gimmick” that would not prevent federal funding for abortion. Originally posted here:  The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Sen. Johanns Calls Reid's … Bookkeeping, Health, Health Care, Language abortion-language, Bookkeeping, harry, harry-reid, Health, johanns, language, senate, thursday Comments (0) Trackbacks (0)…

Pingback| 11.20.09 @ 4:35PM

ADF Alliance Alert » Nelson to support motion to proceed on Senate health care reform links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…to Vote to Advance Senate Health Bill At the American Spectator Blog, Philip Klein comments on Sen. Nelson’s rationale: “The problem, as [Nelson's] co-Senator from Nebraska Mike Johanns noted yesterday, is that once the bill gets to the floor, there will need to be 60 votes to change the abortion language. And there simply aren’t that many pro-life votes in the Senate. So this really was a…

laptop lcd screen| 11.24.09 @ 1:32AM

inspiron 1520 ac adapterinspiron 1520 ac adapter
inspiron 1521 ac adapterinspiron 1521 ac adapter

ugg classic cardy| 12.4.09 @ 9:12AM

Welcome to our website: http://www.infls.com
As the commodities we supply are of excellent quality and low price,
we have won a very good reputation from our clients all over the world.
If you are interested in any of our products, please don't hesitate to contact with me by email.
i trust that through our cooperation we shall be able to conclude some transactions with you in the near future.
Website: http://www.mbtshoe.co.uk
Best regards!

Leave a Comment

ADVERTISEMENT

What Democrats Don't Want to Hear

Doug Bandow

* * * *

Holder on His Way Out at DOJ?

Jeffrey Lord

* * * *

Can Tim Cahill Win in Massachusetts?

W. James Antle, III

* * * *

Democrats Against Democracy

Andrew Cline

* * * *

The Masscare Massacre

W. James Antle, III

* * * *

Blame Israel First

Aaron Goldstein

* * * *

A Fine Texas Wind

William Murchison

* * * *

Aborting Healthcare Reform

Lisa Fabrizio

* * * *

Who Throttled Toyota?

Eric Peters

* * * *
ADVERTISEMENT