Results tagged “United States House of Representatives” from Blog for Choice

The verdict is clearly in: 2012 was a great year for choice at the polls!

Of course, we couldn't be prouder of President Barack Obama.

But you may not know that many other NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC-endorsed candidates won their races.

This cycle, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC contributed more than $709,000 to federal candidates and committees. These contributions top the PAC's totals in 2010 and almost double them from 2008! We're a people-powered PAC, so that means that our members stepped up big time.

What did these contributions mean for our PAC-endorsed candidates? As of today, 79 of the 105 U.S. House and Senate candidates that NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC endorsed and contributed to have won their races.

On top of all that good news, we are thrilled to welcome 43 new pro-choice faces to Congress! Of these incoming members, 23 women and men represent pro-choice pickups - candidates who defeated mixed or anti-choice members.

We welcome all the new pro-choice advocates:

U.S. Senate:
Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Angus King (I-ME)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

U.S. House of Representatives:
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Krysten Sinema (AZ-09)
Ami Bera (CA-07)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Eric Swalwell (CA-15)
Julia Brownley (CA-26)
Tony Cardenas (CA-29)
Gloria Negrete McLeod (CA-35)
Raul Ruiz (CA-36)
Mark Takano (CA-41)
Alan Lowenthal (CA-47)
Elizabeth Esty (CT-05)
Alan Grayson (FL-09)
Patrick Murphy (FL-18)
Lois Frankel (FL-22)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02)
Tammy Duckworth (IL-08)
Brad Schneider (IL-10)
Bill Foster (IL-11)
Cheri Bustos (IL-17)
John Delaney (MD-06)
Joseph Kennedy III (MA-04)
Dan Kildee (MI-05)
Dina Titus (NV-01)
Steven Horsford (NV-04)
Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01)
Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02)
Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-09)
Michelle Lujan-Grisham (NM-01)
Grace Meng (NY-06)
Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08)
Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18)
Dan Maffei (NY-24)
Joyce Beatty (OH-03)
Beto O'Rourke (TX-16)
Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Marc Veasey (TX-33)
Suzan DelBene (WA-01)
Derek Kilmer (WA-06)
Denny Heck (WA-10)
Mark Pocan (WI-02)

We welcome them, and look forward to working together to ensure a woman's right to choose!

Tell me if this sounds familiar.

This afternoon, a key subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing on an anti-choice bill. The bill in question was introduced by anti-choice Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, who's also the subcommittee's chairman.

When a pro-choice elected woman requested to testify at the hearing, Rep. Franks told her NO.

What am I talking about?

Is it the all-male birth-control panel that excluded Sandra Fluke?

Is it a hearing on the "Arrest Grandma Act"?

Nope. It's a brand-new attack on women's freedom and privacy that combines some of the "greatest hits" of the past three months.

Rep. Franks is pushing a bill to ban abortion care at 20 weeks in Washington, D.C., without consideration for the woman's situation, including cases of rape, incest, or fetal anomaly.

(Hear one family's tragic story that makes clear just how cruel this sort of law really is.)

Why does a representative from Arizona get to do this?

Because the District of Columbia is not a state, and opponents of choice have long used it as their anti-choice proving ground. Rep. Franks' bill is a top priority of the anti-choice National Right to Life Committee and continues the anti-choice legacy of undermining home rule in Washington, D.C.

And the pro-choice woman who wanted to testify at the hearing? That's Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, whom D.C. citizens elected with 89 percent of the vote.

Rep. Norton is not allowed to vote on the House floor, and now, thanks to Rep. Franks, she's not allowed to speak out on a bill that will affect the women in her district, either.

Rep. Franks, by the way, got exactly zero percent of the vote in D.C., since he's from Arizona. But I guess he thinks he knows what's best for D.C. women.

Tell your representative enough is enough: stop the War on D.C. Women.

Anti-choice politicians took control of the U.S. House of Representatives 16 months ago, and they've been waging a War on Women ever since.

Defunding Planned Parenthood? Check. Rape audits? Check. An all-male panel attacking birth control? Yep, they did that, too.

But now you might be thinking, "These politicians have spent so much time attacking American women's freedom and privacy. But what about women overseas? Does no one think about them?"

Well, worry no more. The War on Women has gone global.

Today, a key House subcommittee will mark up its annual spending bill, which means it's a great opportunity for anti-choice politicians to make it harder for the world's poorest women to get birth control.

Here are some things to look for:

• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): The UNFPA provides birth control and other crucial reproductive-health services (but not abortion care) to the world's poorest women. The U.S. contribution to the UNFPA prevents 2 million unintended pregnancies a year. Look for anti-choice lawmakers to try to block the U.S. from giving any money to this initiative.
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): USAID family-planning programs benefit women and families worldwide, resulting in fewer unintended pregnancies and fewer women dying in childbirth. Anti-choice lawmakers want to slash USAID's family-planning budget by over $100 million.
• Global Gag Rule: The global gag rule was a policy anti-choice presidents had in place that barred USAID funds from going to any organization that provides abortion care, or even took a public pro-choice position. (That's why it was called the "gag rule.") President Obama repealed this outrageous policy his first week in office. Now, anti-choice politicians are trying to bring it back.

So, there you have it. Women of the world: you're welcome.

Anti-choice politicians have a problem.

They spent the last 16 months waging a War on Women, and now--crazily enough!--they're seeing that women voters just don't like what they're doing.

So do they:

a) Stop waging their War on Women.

or

b) Pretend that the War on Women never existed in the first place, and come up with a new slogan to try to paper over the fact that they made attacking women's freedom and privacy one of their "highest legislative priorities."

Congratulations to everyone who picked answer b!

Meet "Woman Up!"

Get it? It's kinda like "man up!" except it's for women.

"Woman Up" is the bright, new idea of the same anti-choice leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives who are leading the charge to wage the War on Women: Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Here's a recap of all the "womaning up" these guys have done since taking power:

• The U.S. House of Representatives held more choice-related votes in 2011 than in any year since 2000.
• The House voted to defund Planned Parenthood and eliminate the Title X family-planning program. And Mitt Romney has vowed to do both of these things should he ever reach the White House.
• Anti-choice lawmakers pushed the Blunt amendment, which could have allowed employers and corporations to block their employees from getting insurance coverage of birth control. Every Republican senator but one voted for this measure--and Gov. Romney voiced his support for it.
• They held a House committee hearing with an all-male panel attacking birth control.
• At the state level, these politicians enacted twice as many anti-choice laws in 2011 as they did in the previous year.

Hey, guys--it's not what you say, it's what you do that counts.

Tell Speaker Boehner and the leading anti-choice politicians that if they really want to "woman up," then they better stop their War on Women.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Do you live in Pennsylvania? Then you must be planning on voting pro-choice in your state's congressional primaries next Tuesday, April 24.

Well, we've got your one-stop shop to find out where all the candidates stand on a woman's right to choose!

It's the NARAL Pro-Choice America primary voter guide.

You can get the scoop on all the candidates--Republican and Democratic--for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. You can find out which candidates received an endorsement from NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC, and learn important information about how and where to vote.

Our primary voter guide makes it easy to vote pro-choice down the line!

Don't live in Pennsylvania? Don't worry. We'll be updating our voter guide as each state holds its primaries.

The voter guide makes it easy to vote pro-choice in every race, in every state.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

While eyes were turned on the Supreme Court today, another front in the War on Women was being waged across the street.

The anti-choice leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives moved one step closer to passing yet another anti-choice attack.

The House Judiciary Committee today voted on the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), a.k.a. the "Arrest Grandma" Act.

This is the bill that would make it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent--say, a loving grandmother or clergy member--to accompany a young woman out of state for abortion care. It also would force doctors to impose a parental-notice requirement on young women from out of state--under the threat of fines and prison sentences.

Our pro-choice champions on the committee offered a total of 15 amendments, all to mitigate the dangers this bill poses to young women who can't turn to their parents in a time of crisis.

The committee rejected all of these proposed amendments.

• It rejected amendments granting exemptions from the law for grandparents, clergy, and other trusted adults.
• It rejected exceptions for survivors of rape or incest.
• It rejected exceptions for health. The "Arrest Grandma" Act contains no exceptions for cases when a woman's health is in danger.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), and Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) all spoke out about the dangers this bill would pose to young women in desperate situations.

Yet, anti-choice politicians keep on pushing attacks on women's health.

From trying to overturn the health-reform law and its promise of no-cost birth control at the Supreme Court to pushing a slew of anti-choice attacks in the House, these politicians have shown that waging a War on Women truly is one of their highest priorities.

NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC has endorsed Rep. Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary for Ohio's 9th Congressional District. The primary election is this Tuesday, March 6.

Rep. Kucinich believes strongly in a woman's right to choose. As politicians in Congress launch more extreme and outlandish attacks on women's freedom and privacy, we need Rep. Dennis Kucinich to continue to be a strong pro-choice voice in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Because of redistricting, Rep. Kucinich is running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the Democratic primary.

Unfortunately, Rep. Kaptur cannot be counted on to vote pro-choice. In fact, she even voted for the infamous Stupak amendment during the health-care reform debate in 2009.

And that's not all. This past year, Rep. Kaptur:

• Voted with anti-choice politicians on a bill that would ban abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges;
• Voted to impose tax penalties on small businesses and many individuals who purchase private health plans that include abortion coverage;
• Voted to make permanent several restrictions that block many women from accessing abortion care; and
• Supported an anti-choice amendment to the agriculture bill that would make it more difficult for rural women who use telemedicine to discuss all their options, including abortion, with their doctor.

Simply put, there's only one pro-choice candidate in this primary race: Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

If you're a registered Democrat in Ohio's 9th Congressional District, check out our Voter Guide for more information on how and where to vote.

And be sure to vote for pro-choice Rep. Dennis Kucinich on Tuesday, March 6.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

On Sunday, hundreds of pro-choice bloggers and activists took to the Internet to share the ways in which they planned to help elect pro-choice champions this year.

This morning, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC took one key step toward making 2012 a year of pro-choice victories at the polls.

NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC is proud to endorse 20 of the greatest champions of choice in the U.S. House of Representatives.

From California:

Rep. Lois Capps 

Rep. Judy Chu 

Rep. Barbara Lee 

Rep. Nancy Pelosi 

Rep. Jackie Speier 

Rep. Henry Waxman

From Colorado:

Rep. Diana DeGette

From Connecticut:

Rep. Rosa DeLauro

From Florida:

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

From Illinois:

Rep. Mike Quigley 

Rep. Jan Schakowsky

From Maryland:

Rep. Donna Edwards 

Rep. Steny Hoyer

From my home state of New York:

Rep. Joe Crowley 

Rep. Steve Israel 

Rep. Nita Lowey 

Rep. Carolyn Maloney 

Rep. Jerry Nadler 

Rep. Louise Slaughter

From Wisconsin:

Rep. Gwen Moore

These 20 pro-choice heroes have consistently stood up against the anti-choice House leadership's War on Women.

In addition, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC proudly endorses two other pro-choice champions from the House who will take their support of women's freedom and privacy to the U.S. Senate:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada

Here's what Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said at a breakfast honoring these pro-choice leaders:

Our priority is to elect pro-choice champions and defeat opponents of women's freedom and privacy. We are prepared for campaign battle in 2012 and will mobilize our one million member activists in support of candidates who will stand with our allies in countering legislative attacks on a woman's right to choose.

Twenty-two pro-choice champions, and 22 more ways we'll stop the War on Women in 2012.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Ann McLane Kuster is a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the 2nd District of New Hampshire and an adoption attorney in Concord, N.H.

For the past 25 years as an adoption attorney, I have represented women - from age 14 to 40, from junior high school to juniors in college, from living in cars to the most prestigious neighborhoods - who face unplanned pregnancy. Every time, with hundreds of women, year by year, I witnessed the courage, compassion and conviction that women across the country face every day.

Thanks to the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, these women have the choice - the personal, private and legal choice - about their reproductive health and their future.

There is more we can do. I applaud President Obama this week for standing up for women across the country. Thanks to health reform, women across the country with private insurance can get birth control without paying anything out of pocket. This lets women make the health care decisions that are right for them and puts every one of us in charge of our own reproductive health. I know firsthand how painful the choices are, and these are the steps that will prevent so many women from having to face this challenge.

The extreme positions being advocated by the far right will roll back the clock on women's rights and access to the healthcare they need. We need to be on the side of progress and less government interference in people's personal lives, so women will be able to make the choices that fit in their lives.

As an adoption attorney, a mother, a daughter and a friend, I will work every day here in New Hampshire - and in the United States Congress - to honor women everywhere and their right to freedom of choice. I hope you will join me and together, we will be heard and our legal rights will be protected!

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.358, the "Let Women Die" bill.

This bill is so extreme that it would allow hospitals to refuse to provide emergency abortion care even when it's necessary to save a woman's life!

And it effectively would ban abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges, denying this coverage to millions of women.

With the passage of H.R.358, the House has now held more votes on choice in 2011 than in any year since 2000.

Next stop for the bill: the U.S. Senate.

Anti-choice Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has already introduced the Senate companion to H.R.358, the "Let Women Die" bill. It has the bill number S.877 and it already has more than 30 cosponsors.

We need to make sure this extreme attack on women's freedom and privacy goes no further!

Tell your senators to stop any effort to advance the "Let Women Die" bill.

And we need pro-choice Americans to speak out: while the Senate currently is under pro-choice leadership, only 40 senators can be counted on as reliably pro-choice votes.

Add your voice today, and make sure your senator puts a STOP to the War on Women.

After a weekend getting fired up to STOP the War on Women, NARAL Pro-Choice America's state affiliates went to Capitol Hill yesterday to meet with members of Congress from their states. They visited nearly 50 offices in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives!

NARAL Pro-Choice California staff had the opportunity to meet with pro-choice hero Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.).

They thanked Rep. Chu for being one of the leading voices against the War on Women. They also had the chance to talk with her about the dangers of anti-choice "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) that mislead and deceive women.

And today, Rep. Chu signed on as a cosponsor to the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act!

This bill would stop CPCs from using false or misleading advertising to lure women into their storefront operations.

Staff from NARAL Pro-Choice Texas went to the office of pro-choice Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) to let him know that pro-choice Texans have got his back.

This kind of pro-choice visibility adds to our day-to-day communication with our allies on the Hill. We have channeled more than 550,000 messages to Congress opposing the War on Women--so lawmakers know the NARAL family has backup.

It's also important that our allies know we're holding Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his anti-choice cohorts in the House leadership accountable. These politicians claim to want less government interference in our lives, but it seems what they really want is government that's just small enough to fit in your bedroom or inside your medicine cabinet.

Kudos to our state affiliates for meeting with senators and representatives from their states.

Next Tuesday, September 13, there will be two special elections for U.S. House of Representatives. With the anti-choice House leadership hell-bent on waging a War on Women, these are two more reasons for pro-choice Americans to get out and vote.

In Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC has endorsed Kate Marshall.

Kate is pro-choice, and will be a voice for mainstream Americans as she stands up to attacks on reproductive-health care. She'll focus on creating jobs and working to solve Nevada's housing crisis--not attacking a woman's right to make personal, private medical decisions.

Kate's opponent is anti-choice politician Mark Amodei. Amodei supports defunding Planned Parenthood and would be just another vote for extreme attacks on women's health.

If you live in the 2nd District of Nevada (or have pro-choice friends who do), make sure you know all about where to vote and how to vote early because this election is too important to miss.

In New York's 9th Congressional District, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC has endorsed David Weprin.

David believes that a woman's right to choose is a fundamental right and is a member of the New York State Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus.

Next Tuesday, David faces off against anti-choice businessman Bob Turner. Turner has been quoted saying, "when I'm elected, I would certainly oppose all federal funding of abortion."

Turner is far outside New York's mainstream. Let's stand up for our pro-choice values by sending David Weprin to Congress.

If you live in New York's 9th District, make sure you know where your polling place is.

David Weprin and Kate Marshall: two strong voices for a woman's right to choose. Let's send the anti-choice House leadership a message by sending these two candidates to Washington next Tuesday, September 13.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Regardless of how one feels about legal abortion, reasonable lawmakers can agree that doctors should be as well trained as possible to deal with any medical situation that may arise. Women should have access to the best care possible in any and all circumstances. This amendment is yet another example of the disregard anti-choice politicians have for women's health.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) 

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25) 

Rep. Mark Critz (PA-12)

Rep. Chris Gibson (NY-20)

Rep. Nan Hayworth (NY-19)

Rep. Leonard Lance (NJ-7)

Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-3)

Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11)

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25) 

Rep. Chris Gibson (NY-20)

Rep. Nan Hayworth (NY-19)

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) 

Rep. Leonard Lance (NJ-7)

Rep. Mark Critz (PA-12)

Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-3)

Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11) 

If anyone had any doubt that America's pro-choice majority is fired up and ready to STOP the War on Women, then they should have seen what I just saw on the National Mall.

Thousands of citizen activists in purple and pink t-shirts gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol, and rallied against the extreme, anti-woman agenda brewing in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, gave a boisterous speech. She fired up a crowd that had traveled from all over the country to be here, and sent John Boehner and his anti-choice cohorts a strong message. We, the people, have had enough of the bait-and-switch that puts attacks on women's freedom and privacy ahead of creating jobs and growing the economy.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, spoke out against the attacks on community-health clinics that many American women rely on as their sole provider of health care.

Top pro-choice members of Congress rallied the troops. Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Barbara Boxer of California, Patty Murray of Washington, and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey promised that the pro-choice leadership in the U.S. Senate would STOP the War on Women.

Sen. Schumer said the Senate would never, never, never accept eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood and the Title X program. Then, he said it again, just to make sure folks far and wide could hear him.

Some of our strongest pro-choice champions in the House spoke. Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, and Louise Slaughter of New York promised that they would never stop fighting attacks on women's health.

Pro-choice activists from the entertainment community spoke out too. Amy Madigan and Ed Harris stood up with their teenage daughter, Lily, and made it clear that they were fighting for her rights.

David Eigenberg (Steve from "Sex and the City") and Connie Britton (of "Friday Night Lights" fame) said the attacks on women's health care were attacks on us, and our sisters, daughters, wives, mothers and partners.

Leading coalition partners voiced their support. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Humans Rights, made it clear that an attack on a woman's right to choose is an attack on human rights. Period.

Bravo to them, and to all the pro-choice Americans who came out to show their strength. They're back in the congressional office buildings now, making sure their representatives get the message: STOP the War on Women.