Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is prepared to challenge President Obama’s health care plan (if it is passed and signed into law) on the grounds that it violates the 10th Constitutional Amendment and Virginia’s health care freedom laws (thanks to Del. Bob Marshall’s (R-Manassas) HB 10). Cuccinelli recently made appearances on MSNBC and Fox News to discuss the potential challenges.
Fox News:
MSNBC:
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Since the Democrats in Congress are refusing to read the entire health care bill, Virginia Republicans have decided to go around the clock to read the 2,400 page monstrosity. Pat Mullins, Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia decided to do this after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent appearance on Fox News to discuss the health care bill. You would think that she would encourage her party to read the bill before forcing a vote. You can listen to the live stream of the reading here.
“On Fox News this past Sunday President Obama’s Press Secretary stated that by next week ‘we will be talking about healthcare not as a presidential proposal but I think as the law of the land.’ The health care proposal that President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have crafted would have a dramatic impact on the lives of every Virginian,” Mullins said. “Not only would it forever alter the world’s best healthcare system, it will negatively impact 16% of our economy. Make no mistake about it. This is a federal takeover of our entire healthcare system and a large portion of our economy.”
“Democrats have packed a great deal of mischief into these 2,400 pages. The Cornhusker Kickback? It’s still there, along with the Louisiana Purchase.” Mullins said.
“Democrats all over the place are talking about how this is just temporary and a ‘fix’ is coming just as soon as the original bill passes,” Mullins said. “That’s not true. Make no mistake: once the House approves it, and President Obama signs it, it’s the law of the land. Period.”
“The law will be higher income taxes for those who don’t want government-approved health insurance. The law will strip the Virginia General Assembly of its power to set standards for health insurance plans and give it to unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Health and Human Services,” he said.
“With more and more members learning just what’s in this bill, Nancy Pelosi is even prepared to bypass the democratic process to get her law passed,” he said. “Democrats are working up what has been called the ‘Slaughter Solution,’ by which they’ll just ‘deem’ the bill to have passed… without actually having an up or down vote. First they were too busy to read the bill. Then Speaker Pelosi said that we had to pass it to learn what is in it. Now they’re too scared to give it an up or down vote… and who can blame the Democrats? This is just an awful bill and they know they can’t get the votes to pass it without coming up with some slick procedural vote that undercuts the core principles of our Democracy. All across the country, and especially here in Virginia, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi know that anyone who votes ‘Yes’ on final passage of this bill will most certainly be defeated this fall by the voters.”
“Friends, there is just too much at stake this week to allow this monstrous bill to pass and I believe that if folks in Virginia heard what was really in it, they would speak even louder in opposition to it,” he added.
“That’s why on Wednesday at 8 a.m. folks from all across Virginia will start to read all 2,400 pages of this healthcare takeover bill. Volunteers will read each and every page and will read in 30 minute shifts. Any Virginian who really wants to know what’s in this healthcare bill and learn why it is a bad deal for our state is invited to listen in. We will be streaming the volunteer reading of the bill live on our website at: www.RPV.org/ReadTheBill. We would also encourage Congressmen Nye, Perriello, Connolly, and Boucher to listen themselves and learn why this bill is bad medicine for their constituents.
Mullins said he anticpates the reading will take upwards of 40 straight hours and will be conducted around the clock starting at 8am on Wednesday and sometime late Thursday evening. “That’s a pretty good illustration of just how massive this government health care takeover is,” he said.
“We encourage everyone to listen to what’s in the bill, then call the handful of Virginia Democrats who have said they are undecided on this bill, and let them know why this bill is bad medicine for Virginia,” Mullins concluded. “Once people find out what’s actually in here, we’re fairly certain they won’t like it and what it will mean for the longterm health of our country.”
Personnel is policy, whether it be conservative or liberal. The Obama administration has used its heavy hand in every facet of our lives. That is why it is so important that our political action committee has the success it has had in placing conservative, pro-life, pro-family people in leadership positions in both the federal and state governments. We are being rewarded by the candidates in the state of Virginia like Ken Cuccinelli who understands why we supported him. Life will not be easy for him as he stands up for the principles and policies he was elected to uphold, but we will keep him in our prayers and thank him as we do now for his correct interpretation of laws that pertain to discrimination.
Cross-posted at The Cloakroom
The Washington Post reported on March 6 that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has asked Virginia public colleges and universities to rescind anti-discrimination policies that include protection based on sexual orientation, because it is not covered by Virginia law. (The Virginia General Assembly has rejected such a change over the years, and again as recently as this month.) All of the largest Virginia schools have such policies which mainly relate to the hiring and admissions processes. Homosexual activist groups and some student groups have protested the change.
Here’s some buzz from the blogosphere in Virginia. As the General Assembly session winds down in Richmond, I plan to add the top ten bills from this past session as the encore.
Action Alert from the VA Family Foundation:
Read Our Latest Blog Posts @ www.familyfoundationblog.com
On Thursday, the VA Senate Education and Health committee will vote on several pro-life bills that are priorities of The Family Foundation. Please contact the members of the Ed and Health committee and urge them to pass the following bills:
HB 334 (Delegate Bob Marshall, R-13, Manassas) – this bill would require that our Informed Consent law be updated to include information that has been published in a peer reviewed medical journal about the consequences of abortion on future pregnancies. Ironically, Planned Parenthood, which has accused pregnancy resource centers of disseminating information that is not “medically accurate,” is opposed to this bill that requires the information given to women at Virginia’s abortion centers to be exactly that – medically accurate.
HB 393 (Delegate Matt Lohr, R-26, Harrisonburg) – this legislation would require Virginia’s abortion centers to have on site life saving equipment, as well as require licensing and regular inspection. Currently, Virginia’s abortion centers are unregulated and uninspected.
HB 1042 (Delegate Kathy Byron, R-22, Lynchburg) – this bill would require that abortion centers perform an ultrasound to better determine the gestational age of the unborn child prior to an abortion, and offer the woman seeking the abortion the opportunity to view the ultrasound. It would bring Virginia’s Informed Consent law in line with modern medical technology.
If you are familiar at all with the Virginia General Assembly then you are aware just how antagonistic the majority of the Ed and Health committee usually is toward even the most reasonable pro-life legislation. On an annual basis we see pro-life bills die on what we have begun to call “Black Thursday.”
Why, you may ask, bother contacting these legislators who seem so clearly opposed to protecting the unborn? I offer several reasons.
First, past votes are not always indications of future action. Legislators change their minds. You may recall Senator Creigh Deeds (D-25, Charlottesville), while running for Governor, talking about “growing” as a legislator (he was referring to his flip-flop on the marriage amendment). We have worked with legislators who have become more and more pro-life over their time in the legislature, often through the education process associated with debate over these bills.
Which leads me to reason a second reason, education. These bills offer us the opportunity to educate both legislators and the public on these important issues. They give you the opportunity to discuss controversial issues with friends and neighbors by talking about reasonable measures often supported by large majorities. Each time we present these bills to a committee we are able to reach more people with the message of the importance of protecting both the unborn and women who face a crisis pregnancy. You never know when a legislator is going to hear an argument that is going to change their opinion of a certain piece of legislation.
Finally, these votes expose where legislators currently are on reasonable abortion measures. Several members of the Ed and Health committee are in districts that have a constituency that is pro-life. These Senators have pretended to be “moderate” but their voting record on these bills has exposed their real position. Next year, when these Senators are up for reelection, the voters in their districts will know exactly where they stand on these issues because they will have a four-year voting record to look at. Voters will then be able to hold them accountable for their votes.
ACTION: Please contact the members of the Ed and Health committee and urge them to support HB 334, HB 393 and HB 1042. Click the link to log in and send your message: http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/vaff/ctiRMK6y.aspx
Delegate Bob Marshall explains in a statement to supporters why his pro-life Personhood bill for the unborn (HB 112) failed in committee.
Why HB 112 Personhood Bill Failed
Despite excellent testimony in favor of HB 112, Delegate Bob Marshall’s bill to begin the process of restoring civil rights for preborn children, HB 112 was rejected five to two in the House Courts of Justice Constitutional Laws subcommittee Wednesday, February 10.
Delegates Albo (R-Springfield), Kilgore (R-Wise), Toscano (D-Charlottesville), McClellan (D-Richmond) and Watts (D-Annandale) voted no. Delegates Athey (R-Front Royal) and Jackson Miller (R-Manassas) voted yes. Delegate Miller moved to report HB 112 and Delegate Athey seconded the request. (Please thank them!)
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sent his Solicitor General to testify in support of passing HB 112 and to affirm its constitutionality. Attorney Rita Dunaway expertly fielded questions of Committee members. Attorney Pat McSweeney along with Delegate Marshall also testified in favor of HB 112.
The ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NARAL representatives testified against HB 112. Virginia Family Foundation (VFF) representatives were present but did not speak. The Virginia Catholic Conference (VCC) told the Committee that the bill’s purpose was acceptable, but they did not support HB 112.
Delegate Dave Albo cited the VCC’s position in his explanation for voting against HB 112. “Even the Catholic Church through its legislative affairs representative stated that … the Church does not think this bill is the way to implement it. (See Black Velvet Bruce Lee (BVBL) political Blog (Comment 11 at http:///www.bvbl.net/index.php/2010/02/11/are-albo-and-kilgore-pro-abortion/#comments) Delegate Kilgore in a 2/11/10 email told an HB 112 supporter that “The bill as presented was not even supported by the Catholic Church.”
Had delegates Kilgore and Albo voted for HB 112, it would have passed to the full House of Delegates! (The position of the two Virginia Catholic bishops and the Catholic Conference in not supporting HB 112 is in direct opposition to the testimony of four Catholic American Cardinals before the US Senate in 1974. The Cardinals said establishing legal personhood for preborn children was essential to outlawing abortion. For details, contact Del. Bob Marshall.)
Opponents to HB 112 claimed the bill would have adverse consequences, such as counting preborn children in the census, criminalizing miscarriages as homicide, outlawing birth control, taking income tax deductions for children before birth, or closing in vitro clinics, yet in the three states which have laws similar to HB 112, nothing like this has happened. HB 112, though not identical, was modeled after a 1986 Missouri law which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Delegates Albo and Kilgore both told Delegate Marshall and other HB 112 supporters Wednesday night at the hearing and later that had HB 112 contained the original Missouri language they would have supported HB 112. Delegate Marshall therefore had the Missouri language drawn up as an amendment the next day, hoping a Courts Committee member would offer the original Missouri language at the full committee meeting on Friday.
However, on Friday, February 12, no Republican member of the full Courts of Justice Committee brought up HB 112 in order to amend it, apparently because a Republican Caucus policy (applies only to Republican delegates) states that bills failing in Subcommittee should not be taken up by the full committee even though the Rules of the House of Delegates and Parliamentary Rules allow for such actions.
Delegate Albo noted that HB 112 did not stop even one abortion. Delegate Marshall explained that HB 112 was not introduced to outlaw abortion now. However, HB 112 challenged the two legal assumptions of Roe vs. Wade by affirming the humanity and personhood of preborn children, and providing a definition for a human being which the Roe Court said it was unable to do. However, HB 112 would require Virginia Courts to allow “wrongful death” suits for the parents of a preborn child who was killed. HB 112 would also create a public policy tension by questioning why some persons are not protected under Virginia law, and then later offering a direct challenge to the conclusion of Roe and Doe by outlawing abortion and providing for criminal penalties for doctors who perform abortions.
Delegate Albo wrote to a constituent on February 12, that HB 112 “is in violation of Roe vs. Wade.” This is not correct as the original Missouri language was upheld in 1989 by the US Supreme Court in Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services, which also affirmed Roe vs. Wade.
This fact was explained to Delegate Albo by attorney Rita Dunaway at a public hearing on February 10 and in a memo from Rita Dunaway sent to Del. Albo several days before the hearing. Del. Albo also wrote that HB 112 would make the Pill and In-Vitro clinics illegal, even though he was told that this has not happened in Missouri, Louisiana or Illinois which have similar laws, and the Dunaway memo pointed out this claim was false. Delegate Marshall also explained that a corpus dilecti, (dead body) is needed for proof of homicide, which would be impossible to produce by use of the Pill.
HB 112 provided rules of legal construction for statutes for Virginia Courts and state agencies to affirm personhood for preborn children. HB 112 could not be applied as a criminal statute because of constitutional due process requirements to clearly specify the elements of a crime.
Attorney Pat McSweeney (former Chair, Republican Party of Virginia) eloquently told the Subcommittee that it was unconscionable for legislators to duck the simple task of affirming personhood for preborn children and that legal definitions matter and have profound personal and social consequences. McSweeney pointed to the practice of German guards, who wrote on box cars containing Jews, the number of “sticke” which meant “pieces,” a dehumanizing label which allowed the Nazi’s to rationalize the killings.
Please ask your delegate if they support the original HB 112 or with the modified Missouri language. This personhood fight might not be over for 2010 just yet.
Bob Marshall
Delegate Bob Marshall,
Office: 804-698-1013, Cell: 703-853-4213, www.delegatebob.com
P.S. Below is the original Missouri personhood language applied to Virginia.
1. The General Assembly of Virginia finds that:
(1) The life of each human being begins at conception;
(2) Unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being;
(3) The natural parents of unborn children have protectable interests in the life, health, and well-being of their unborn child.
2. The laws of Virginia shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of the unborn child at every stage of development, all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and decisional interpretations thereof by the United States Supreme Court and specific provisions to the contrary in the statutes and Constitution of Virginia.
3. As used in this section, the term “unborn children” or “unborn child” shall include all unborn child or children or the offspring of human beings from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development.
4. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as creating a cause of action against a woman for indirectly harming her unborn child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to follow any particular program of prenatal care.
HB 112 provides that:
1. § 1. That a human being is any organism, including an embryo, who possesses a genome specific for and consistent with a member of the species Homo sapiens. For the purposes of certain inherent and constitutionally guaranteed rights, every human being is deemed a legal person in the Commonwealth.
§ 2. Unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being, and the natural parents of unborn children have protectable interests in the life, health, and well-being of their unborn children.
§ 3. Subject to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Virginia, the laws of the Commonwealth shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of all human beings, including unborn children at every stage of development, the equality and inherent rights guaranteed by Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia and the right to due process guaranteed by Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia.
§4. Nothing herein shall be construed to expand, limit, or otherwise modify any determination of law regarding what constitutes appropriate medical services for pregnant women.
Richmond, Va.–Yesterday, the Virginia State Senate voted to approve three bills protecting the freedom to decide whether or not to accept health insurance. SB 283, SB 311, and SB 417, which were patroned by Sens. Fred Quayle (R-Suffolk), Stephen Martin (R-Chesterfield), and Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Upperville), will defy President Barack Obama’s health care plan, if it is passed by Congress.
According to a Richmond Times-Dispatch article, Quayle mentioned that these bills were a way of telling Washington that the Federal government is going beyond its authority.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Virginia Chairman, Pat Mullins, indicated that the passage of these three bills should send a clear signal to two vulnerable Congressmen up for re-election, Tom Perriello and Gerry Connolly.
“Monday’s bipartisan vote illustrates just how far out of touch Democrats like Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, are on the issue of health care,” Mullins said. “When Republicans asked Senate Democrats to join them in standing up against federal overreach, five decided to put the rights of their constituents ahead of the wishes of Washington, D.C.”
…
“Even Democrats in the Virginia Senate realize that the health care nightmare being negotiated behind closed doors across the Potomac is bad news for their constituents,” Mullins said. “Monday’s vote shows again that Reps. Perriello, Connolly and the rest of the Democrats in Washington, D.C., aren’t listening to their employers — the voters of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats are not satisfied by the passage of these bills. The Times-Dispatch interviewed Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax), and he said that this is nothing but a stunt for the 2011 State Senate elections. His colleague, Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) mentioned that the Senate should be focusing on addressing other important issues, and said these bills are merely playing politics with health care.
Depending on the status of Del. Bob Marshall’s (R-Manassas) HB 10, Virginia is merely standing up to assert its own granted authority under the Constitution of the United States, when it comes to decisions that impact the Commonwealth.
The Virginia Senate approved measures (23-17) on Feb. 1, 2010 to make illegal a federal or state mandate that requires citizens to buy health insurance. The state House is also expected to approve it. Gov. McDonnell opposes government mandates and has indicated support for the bill’s intent. The Federation of Virginia Tea Party Patriots had pushed for the legislation. See the front page story in the Feb. 2, 2010 Washington Post.
Why doesn’t this surprise anyone? U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, delayed Virginia’s offshore drilling plans until 2012, and according to a Reuters report, it is creating a possibility that offshore drilling plans will ever be carried out.
Funny, how this happens? Governor Bob McDonnell wrote a letter to Salazar shortly before being sworn in to urge him not to delay the offshore drilling.
“Any effort to remove or delay Virginia’s participation in the lease sale would significantly hamper our efforts to create jobs, eliminate much-needed new revenue, and undermine support for President Obama’s stated commitment to make the United States more energy secure”
And now, Virginia’s U.S. Senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner, are angry at Salazar’s delay of allowing offshore drilling.
The Honorable Kenneth Salazar
Secretary of the Department of Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Mail Stop 7229
Washington, D.C. 20240Dear Mr. Secretary:
We are writing to state our support for the development of oil and gas resources off the coast of Virginia, specifically for the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Lease Sale 220, scheduled for 2011. In the 110th Congress, then-Senator John Warner and Senator Webb jointly sponsored legislation (S.3147) to allow the Commonwealth of Virginia to conduct energy exploration activities in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), with revenue-sharing provisions, a view that we share today.
Support among Virginia’s political leadership for the development of oil and gas resources is strong. Virginia’s governor, Robert F. McDonnell, as well as members of the General Assembly from both parties, recognize the potential benefits to the Commonwealth and to our nation. Therefore it is understandable that recent media reports highlighting additional delays are a source of frustration to Virginia and to a nation that is looking to turn around the economy while simultaneously addressing energy security.
In October 2008, months after S. 3147 was introduced, the 26-year federal moratorium on OCS oil and gas exploration expired. We believe the time has come for implementing the intent of this legislation by going forward with Lease Sale 220 in a more expedited manner. We understand that additional steps must be completed for this sale to occur, including the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sale 220, and potentially a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that would allow seismic surveys of the Atlantic OCS by private entities. But we would urge you to promptly commence these steps in order to ensure that the Virginia Lease Sale is conducted in a manner that is timely and consistent with the interests of the environment and our national security.
If accomplished with a fair and equitable formula for sharing of revenues between the federal and state government, Lease Sale 220 will attract well-paying jobs to the Commonwealth to support a range of projects, from the transportation sector to coastal restoration. Further, it holds significant promise for boosting needed domestic energy production. The MMS estimates that the Sale 220 area could contain 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 130 million barrels of oil.
Over the next 20 years, U.S. demand for energy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.4 percent. Lease Sale 220 would be part of a comprehensive approach to meeting our critical energy challenges. The offering of 2.9 million acres 50 miles off the coast of Virginia would significantly improve Virginia’s and America’s energy security, as well as assist in meeting growing energy demands. Improved technology that allows for minimally invasive drilling techniques many miles off shore and out of sight from Virginia’s coastline can provide oil and natural gas in an environmentally sustainable manner.
We look forward to working with you to ensure that this resource is developed in a timely fashion, through a fair distribution of revenues between the federal and state government, and in an environmentally sound manner.
While this may not seem like a family related issue, this issue will impact family economics. With the economic situation and outlook looking grim, families are forced to cut back and evaluate their budgets. Since fuel prices are increasing significantly across the Commonwealth, families are being forced to pay more, resulting in more economic hardships. Fuel prices are expected to take a sharper climb due to the outright demand and reliance on foreign oil. Allowing offshore drilling in Virginia will help eliminate our reliance on foreign oil, create more employment opportunities, as well as reducing the cost of fuel prices.
