Republicans have successfully halted pro-abortion and LGBT-related bills in Congress, according to a report.
The Christian Post said conservative activists and congressional Republicans are celebrating the “stunning” victories from the derailment of pro-abortion and LGBT-related bills by the House of Representatives. The said bills, Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act and the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act, were “suspended” by the lawmakers.
The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act or H.R.3798 was passed in the House of Representatives in September 2020 with the “motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill” based on a “voice vote.” The bill actually “prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from requiring payment from a veteran for any contraceptive item that is required to be covered by health insurance plans without a cost-sharing requirement.”
The bill was referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs during the 116th Congress. For the 117th Congress, the bill was then introduced as H.R.239 with the same title by its main sponsor California Representative Julia Brownley last January 11.
However, the bill has “failed under suspension” last Tuesday which meant it is “provisionally dead due to a failed vote” that is “a fast-track procedure called ‘suspension'” and “may or may not get another vote.” However, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Wednesday that the “bill may be considered in the week ahead.” The bill is currently “committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union” for printing.
The Christian Post cited Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in saying that the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act includes “emergency contraceptives” and its passing would mean taxpayer money funding “abortifacient drugs.”
“This includes ’emergency contraceptives’ like Plan B and Ella, which act as abortifacients by preventing implantation or ending the life of an embryo before implantation. American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortifacient drugs, but that is exactly what H.R. 239 mandates,” Perkins said in a statement.
On the other hand, the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act intends to “amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require the collection of small business loan data related to LGBTQ-owned businesses.” It was introduced by its main sponsor California Representative Harley Rouda as H.R. 3374 during the 116th Congress “but it did not receive a vote.”
“This bill requires financial institutions to report certain credit application data to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the purposes of enforcing fair lending laws,” the bill’s Summary said.
“Specifically, financial institutions must report this data regarding lesbian-, gay-, bisexual-, transgender-, or queer-owned businesses,” it added. “Currently, this data is reported regarding women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.”
This was reintroduced in the 117th Congress by New York Representative Ritchie Torres under the Financial Services Committee and has already received “1 roll call vote.” Similar with HR239, the bill has “failed” in the House on the “motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill.”
The Christian Post highlighted that House Freedom Caucus Committee Chairman Representative Andy Biggs found the defeat of both bills “stunning” and implies that a restoration of the “balance” in Congress since he said Democrats were trying to “force all their agenda…down our throats” by trying to “change all the rules and traditions of the House.”
