Week Ending April 30, 2004
Religious Freedom Coalition
April 30, 2004 1:58PM EST

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING APRIL 30, 2004

CONGRESS IN SESSION

THE PRESIDENCY

BIOETHICS - CLONING

The President's Council on Bioethics has released a chilling report on the biotech industry. The industry has fused sheep and goat embryos and a sheep-goat has been born. The technology now exists for two human female eggs to be fused to produce a child without the need of sperm. The biotech industry is basically out of control. Implantation and fertilization has reached the point that parents can control not only the sex of their child, but the hair color as well. Cloning is now a real possibility. Liberal Canada has passed a law against human cloning, but in the United States the cloning bill introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) cannot get sufficient votes to pass in the Senate. Liberal Senators want to tag on language that would allow experimentation on unborn babies. The Democrats are promoting a "clone and kill" bill that would allow cloning, as long as no child would actually be born. In other words, the bill approves cloning as long as the child produced is killed before birth. Proponents insist that experimentation on the unborn is necessary in order to find "miracle cures" for existing diseases.

Beyond cloning, the President's Council on Bioethics proposes specific recommendations such as prohibiting the "production of a hybrid human-animal embryo" and prohibiting the transfer of a human embryo to a woman's womb for any purpose other than producing a "live birth." Other recommendations include prohibiting the sale of human embryos. This last practice is more common than one may believe. Homosexual "couples" now pay for the production of an embryo at a fertility clinic and then pay a woman to have the embryo implanted so they can "conceive" a child. The woman who gives birth is not related to the child. (To view the site of a company that supplies surrogate mothers for homosexuals so they can buy a child click here.)

THE HOUSE

BAGHDAD JIM STRIKES AGAIN

Before the Iraqi war, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) traveled to Baghdad with Congressman Bonior (D-MI) to extoll the virtues of Saddam Hussein. In Baghdad in the fall of 2002, they claimed that American policy was "killing" 70,000 children a year and demanded that the sanctions against the terrorist government of Saddam Hussein be lifted. In March of 2003 McDermott was one of six left-wing congressmen who filed a lawsuit to stop the war with Iraq, because, like many leftists he believes true power should be in the hands of UN-elected judges, not elected congressmen such as himself. McDermott is a true believer in leftist ideology. He is for killing unborn babies and against executing hardened murderers. How far left and insensitive to the majority of Americans can this man go? This week he led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and deliberately deleted the words "under God." Even the left leaning Democrat House leadership was in a state of shock. McDermott was one of only seven House members who voted against a March 2003 resolution in support of "under God" in the Pledge. The House records were altered to show the proper wording of the Pledge.

HOLLY'S LAW

The RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2003 authored by Congressman Jim DeMint (R-SC) now has 84 co-sponsors. Congressman DeMint offered the legislation after 18-year-old Holly Paterson died taking the abortion drug. Including Holly, four women have died in North America and 13 have required transfusions, with at least 400 other major "adverse events" reported to the FDA. "Adverse events" for the most part are reported by hospitals, because few abortion clinics report on the drug's adverse effects. The abortion pill was approved by the Clinton Administration by bending FDA rules toward the end of his administration. No American company will produce the drug and the distributor will not even confirm where it is manufactured. Sources indicate it is currently manufactured in China by a firm controlled by the Red Army that also produces chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. If passed, Holly's Law would stop the sale of RU-486 in the United States. Check the list of co-sponsors here. If your congressman is not a co-sponsor please contact him at congress.org.

TAXES

On Wednesday, April 28th the House voted to make permanent the elimination of the marriage penalty. The Republican led bill passed the House by a 323-95 margin with 102 Democrats voting for it for election year reasons. These Democrats feel sure they can now take home the credit for voting for lower taxes knowing that Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle will block a vote on the bill in the Senate. In other words, despite the front page news of passage in the House, the bill by Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-PA) will probably never be signed by the President. House Republican leaders plan a series of votes over the next few weeks on making tax cuts introduced by President George W. Bush permanent. Votes are expected to make the repeal of the "death tax" permanent as well as to extend the $1,000 per child tax credit. Don't hold your breath waiting for the Senate to pass any of this legislation this year. Obstructionist Democrat Senate leader Tom Daschle has now publicly vowed not to allow any Republican legislation to pass this year. He has also vowed to block any appointments of President George W. Bush to judgeships or any other posts.

APPROPRIATIONS

House leaders have assured me that all 13 appropriations bills will pass the House before the election. That does not mean that any of those bills which must be passed every year to fund the government will also be passed by the Senate for reasons stated above. A better idea: change the system to pass two-year budgets, and consider them only in non election years. There would be no budget work during an election year so the appropriations process would be less politicized and needed programs would not be held hostage to politics. Just a thought.

THE SENATE

SENATOR SPECTER

In Pennsylvania, liberal Republican Senator Arlen Specter beat back a challenge by conservative Congressman Pat Toomey in the Republican primary. Despite having been in the Senate for four terms, Specter received only 51% of the vote. Of over a million votes cast, he won by less than 20,000. By every account he would not have won had it not been for President George W. Bush making four campaign swings through Pennsylvania to help the pro-abortion Senator. So how did Specter thank the President? Less than twelve hours after winning the primary Specter held a news conference in which he highlighted his differences with the President. He made it clear he did not support school vouchers. He also wants to eliminate some of the President's tax cuts and for good measure wants to move forward with stem cell research. Because of his seniority, Senator Specter will take control of the Senate Judiciary Committee next year if he is elected in November. He will block all pro-life legislation.

PRO-LIFE

I am not sure how Senator Specter was re-nominated by the GOP considering the latest polls on abortion. The Senator is clearly out of step with America as are most Democrats. The latest Zogby International poll clearing shows that the majority of Americans are against abortion in most circumstances including 56% of women; 62% of African Americans; 79% of Hispanics; and 61% of the 18-29 year olds. A staggering 74% are against tax dollars being used for abortions yet the Congress gives Planned Parenthood millions of dollars every year. Senator Specter is not in touch with the new pro-life reality in America.

LOST AGAIN?

The Law of the Sea Treaty is going down in flames in the Senate. The latest blow came in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works of which Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is chairman. During testimony it was revealed that the treaty not only gave to the United Nations authority to control all the oceans, but to control the air above the oceans as well. If the Senate ratifies the treaty, the U.S. must ask permission from the United Nations to intercept a hostile ship or aircraft before it enters our 200 mile economic zone. The UN will be able to tax any exploration in ocean waters and tax the product of the exploration. This would give the UN billions in revenue. In the last few months it has been discovered that United Nations officials may have taken as much as $5 billion (yes billion) in graft payments from Saddam Hussein, money that was supposed to go to feed children and provide them with medicine. Many UN, French and Russian officials became very wealthy from the Iraqi "food for oil" program. Just think how well they would do for themselves if they were able to tax anything that moved in or over the oceans of the world. Let's get real: most member nations of the UN are dictatorships and monarchies. They are a band of thieves who should have no authority at all over any democratic nation. The Law of the Sea Treaty needs to be LOST.

INTERNATIONAL

CANADA ELIMINATES FREE SPEECH

Canada has passed law C-250, the "chill bill" which makes it illegal for anyone to publicly criticize homosexuality. As a result, certain verses of the Bible will now be considered "hate speech" in Canada. Some Christian TV programing has already been banned in Canada. As mentioned in last week's update democracy and freedom are not the same thing. It is possible to have freedom of speech under a King, and it is possible to have little or no freedom of speech in a democracy. Morocco is an Islamic Kingdom, yet Christians may well have greater freedom of speech there than in Canada.

MOROCCO

On Thursday April 29th I participated in a Round Table discussion sponsored by the Institute for Religion and Public Policy in a hearing room of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Other participants were Hassan Hami, the Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Morocco and Jack Rusenko, founder of the George Washington Academy in Casablanca, Morocco. The discussion centered on the continued secularization of Morocco and its move toward democracy. If progress continues, Morocco may well become the first Islamic nation in the world to fully embrace a democratic form of government. Islamists, supported by the Wahabbis of Saudi Arabia, are desperately attempting to undermine young King Mohammed's efforts to modernize the nation.

ISRAEL

Tuesday April 27th was the 56th anniversary of the independence of Israel. Staff of the Religious Freedom Coalition attended an event marking the nation's independence held by the Israeli Embassy at the Omni Hotel in Washington, DC. Secretary of State Colin Powell represented President George W. Bush at the event. I was amazed to learn that Powell actually speaks some Hebrew and Yiddish, as he was raised in a Jewish neighborhood in Bronx, New York. His first job at age 14 was with a Jewish shop keeper in the Bronx where he worked for eight years. During his address to the group he made his support for Israel and for President George W. Bush abundantly clear.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

A brand new Ten Commandments silk tie is now available for men! The tie, in your choice of red, blue or tan is custom made of 100% silk for the Religious Freedom Coalition. These ties cannot be bought at any other Internet site or retail store. The ties were manufactured in South Korea and are now in stock in our Virginia office. Over the years we have offered several different inspirational and patriotic ties for men. This is the first tie made specifically for the RFC, and all of us at the Religious Freedom Coalition are very proud of it. I hope you will be equally as proud to wear it. To view the ties please click here or on the image.

Please feel free to forward this update to your friends ... If you received this as a forward please click on the "subscribe" link below to be added to our weekly update.

William J. Murray, Chairman - Religious Freedom Coalition

Visit our Internet store at www.rfcstore.com

To make a contribution to our work click here.

Please address all comments and questions to support@rfcnet.org.

TO SUBSCRIBE OR BE REMOVED CLICK HERE