New Attorney General & Planned Parenthood

By 

Nathanael Bennett

|
June 21, 2011

2 min read

Pro Life

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On Capitol Hill, the ACLJ continues to work on a variety of issues - including the ongoing push to confirm nominees to the federal judiciary and Congressional efforts to strip Planned Parenthood of taxpayer funds.

As Congress went into recess last week, several nominations and pieces of legislation were approved.  In the Senate, Michael Mukasey was reported out of the Judiciary Committee and confirmed on the Senate floor by a vote of 53-40 as the next Attorney General of the United States. We were hopeful that Judge Mukasey would be given a floor vote and not filibustered.  It's vitally important that the United States have a chief law enforcement officer in place.  We're delighted that the nomination - and now confirmation - of Judge Mukasey as the nation's 81st Attorney General of the United States has finally taken place.

While Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has promised more hearings on circuit court nominations, there has been a concerted effort by some groups to put a halt to all of the Presidents nominees.

ACLJ's Director of Government Affairs, Drew Ryun, reports that there are numerous judicial nominees still pending -- Catherina Haynes for the 5th Circuit and Robert Conrad and Steve Matthews for the 4th Circuit.  While the ACLJ would like to see a Senate vote on these nominees before next summer, the fact is these nominations - and their fate - rests with Chairman Leahy and floor action as dictated by both the majority and minority leaders.

On the legislative front, the ACLJ is seeing renewed action on several of the Title X funding bills in light of the case against Planned Parenthood in Kansas.

In the House, Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana introduced H.R.4133 on Friday, seeking once again to strip Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers of taxpayer funding. On the Senate side, our Government Affairs staff is working closely with several Senators and their offices on amendment language that will continue to curtail the amount of money Planned Parenthood gets each year from the federal government.

We will continue to keep you posted on these and other issues as development warrant.  And, as always, you can get the very latest on the legislative and legal issues that matter most to you and your family.  Check out the website regularly and listen to Jay Sekulow Live!