Fiscal Year 2013 Financial Services Appropriations Bill: Abortion Funding Policies
House: On June 20, 2012, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the Fiscal Year 2013 Financial Services Appropriations Bill (H.R. 6020). Two important abortion funding restrictions were considered.
- Abortion Funding Prohibition for Multi-State Health Care Plans: The Committee approved, 28-yes, 20-no, an amendment by Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-MS) to extend the abortion funding prohibition of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program to any health care plan administered under the bill. The latter would include the new multi-state health care plans to be set up under the health care reform law.
- D.C. Abortion Funding Prohibition: According to current law, none of the funds appropriated under this bill (federal or local) can be used to pay for abortion in the District of Columbia, except to save the mother’s life or in the case of rape or incest. The Committee rejected, 21-yes, 26-no, an amendment by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) that would have weakened the restriction by allowing the local funds appropriated under the bill to be used to pay for abortion.
Jayd Henricks, Director of USCCB Office of Government Relations, applauded the Committee’s actions. He noted that under the new health care law, “All but one of the multi-state plans can include elective abortions, and even receive federal tax credit subsidies.” The Nunnelee Amendment “corrects this glaring contradiction in the law.” He concluded by urging “both House and Senate to ensure that these important provisions are retained in the final appropriations act.” For full statement, see: www.usccb.org/news/2012/11-115.cfm.
For the roll call votes on the Nunnelee and Lee Amendments, see: appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/CRPT-112-HMTG-AP23-Votes-20120620.pdf.
At year’s end, Congress had not passed the Fiscal Year 2013 Financial Services Appropriations Bill. | |
