Fight Ahead for Final Health Care Reform?

With Congress set to return this week to Washington, there's no official business scheduled until January 19th.  There are many issues of concern on the agenda - including efforts to pass health care reform.  With both the House and Senate passing separate bills, efforts now will focus on a final measure.

In addition to a massive intrusion of the federal government into health care, we're concerned about the push to use federal health care funds for elective abortions.  The House version has pro-life protections, the Senate version does not.  And the question now - how will Congress handle crafting a final health care bill?

The most common practice for reconciling House/Senate differences is the Conference Committee process, where a select group of Senators and Congressman iron-out the differences between the bills.  However, it is certainly possible that Senate Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Pelosi will instead opt for a 'ping-pong' approach where the House will take up the Senate-passed version, amend it slightly, and send it back to the Senate for final approval.

The bottom line is that we expect the Democrat leadership to move quickly in an attempt to finalize the bill.  We remain actively opposed to the legislation, and especially the troubling abortion ramifications it contains.  We remain dedicated to protecting the sanctity of human life and demand that the final version of health care reform include real pro-life protections while providing affordable and sensible health care to Americans.  We will do all that we can to keep these concerns in the spotlight.

Nearly 200,000 supporters have signed on to our petition expressing concerns about health care reform.  If you haven't done so, take a moment and add your name now to the petition.

Also, stay tuned to our daily radio broadcast - Jay Sekulow Live! - as events unfold.