CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Feb. 28, 2012 – 10:59 p.m.
GOP Conservatives Grab Chance To Pivot Toward Social Issues
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
An upcoming Senate vote on the administration’s requirement that insurance companies cover birth control for employees of religious-affiliated institutions is inspiring conservative Republicans to press for more election year votes on family planning and abortion.
And such votes may very well happen. “If Republicans want more votes on issues like this, bring it on,” said a senior Democratic aide.
The Senate will vote Thursday on Blunt’s amendment to a surface transportation bill (
But Majority Whip
A Senate showdown is almost certain over a House-passed proposal (
The administration has threatened a veto of any such measure. President Obama issued an executive order banning federal funding of abortion, but the GOP wants a statutory prohibition.
Hatch vows to press for a vote on the House-passed proposal, but says he will wait until the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of parts of the health care overhaul.
Hatch said he and his conservative colleagues are facing some pushback within the Republican caucus as they press for votes on social issues. “I don’t know many that really want to get into that right now, when we know that the principal problems in our society are the economy and jobs,” he added.
In order to offset such reservations, Ayotte, Blunt and Florida Republican
“I don’t think you can separate the soulful and moral well-being of your people from their economic well-being. They are interrelated,” Rubio said.
Ayotte has also been pushing the administration to justify its decision not to renew a grant to the U.S. Conference of Bishops for counseling victims of sex trafficking.
And Rubio has taken the lead on a proposal (