On a mostly party-line vote, the Senate rejected Sen. Roy Blunt’s (R-MO) amendment to exempt religious employers from covering services that contradict their teachings. Retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine is the only Republican who voted against the measure. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined Ben Nelson of Nebraska, an original co-sponsor, as the Democrats who voted for it.
The media coverage of the Blunt amendment certainly didn’t help. Politico describes it as “an amendment to allow employers to cover health services.” The Christian Science Monitor reported it brought the culture wars to the Senate, even though it is actually in response to a mandate imposed by the Obama administration’s HHS.
