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Shell game on abortion language?
By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
11/09/09 5:12 PM EST
Liberal House Democrats are intent on stripping language from just-passed House health care legislation that would block most federal funding of abortion.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fa., told reporters on Monday that she will fight to make sure it is not included in a final compromise bill merged together by the House and Senate.
"I would expect that the Senate bill would not include that language because of the dynamic in the Senate are quite a bit different," Wasserman Schultz said. "I intend to push very hard to ensure that the language is not included in the final product."
House Republicans accused Democrats of playing a shell game by inserting the anti-abortion language in the bill to attract the votes of pro-life Democrats even though it may not be in the final legislation. They used Wasserman's words to target swing-state Democrats like Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., who agreed to vote for the bill only after the provision prohibiting abortion funding was included.
"Now that it looks like he can no longer hide behind an abortion provision that won’t exist, will Ellsworth finally side with Hoosiers or will he reveal himself once again as a loyal crony to the big-government Democrats who insist on bankrupting the country with their reckless government healthcare takeover?" National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain said Monday.
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