LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING MAY 6, 2005
HOUSE IN SESSION / SENATE IN RECESS THIS WEEK
PRESIDENCY
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER
President George W. Bush commemorated the National Day of Prayer at the White House saying, "Prayer has been an important part of American public life, as well. Many of our forefathers came to these shores seeking the freedom to worship. The first Continental Congress began by asking the Almighty for the wisdom that would enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. And when our Founders provided that sure foundation in the Declaration of Independence, they declared it a self-evident truth that our right to liberty comes from God." President Bush has been consistent in proclaiming his faith and the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation. Much to the dismay of the secularists the President's public display of his faith and his reliance upon prayer is moving this nation spiritually.Click here for text of President's message.
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
Secretary John Bolton is an honorable man appointed by the President to be Ambassador to the United Nations. Suddenly all sorts of people who worked with him in the past have come forward to claim that sometime in the past, maybe 20 years ago, he was abrupt or abrasive to them. Liberals such as Senator Biden (D-DE) have grabbed onto this in hopes of blocking Bolton. Why? Bolton wants to fix the ills of the United Nations and most liberals think the anti-American stance of the UN is just great. So who are these people who have the sudden memory of John Bolton being "mean"? I checked on the woman who is chief among them and found her Internet site that contains information on among other things "recovered memory." Her Internet site at lynnefinney.com tells a lot about the accusers of John Bolton. The Senate confirmation vote on John Bolton is now set for May 12th.
CONGRESS
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER
The National Day of Prayer was held on May 5th by an act of Congress passed in 1952; however the first call for a National Day of Prayer was by the Continental Congress. There is a great deal of activity on Capitol Hill leading up to the day itself including a marathon Bible reading on the steps of the Capitol Building facing the Mall during which the entire Bible is read aloud. Both myself and RFC executive Director Peggy Birchfield took our turns at the podium reading from the book of Ezekiel. On the day itself Peggy participated in various events on Capitol Hill praying for our nation and its leaders. (Click on image)
RIGHT TO LIFE
Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and 46 other members of Congress have introduced the Right to Life Act of 2005. The bill recognizes unborn children as persons under the Constitution of the United States. This legislation is important because the basis of Roe v Wade rests on the assumption that unborn babies are not persons. As part of the Roe v Wade decision the Court stated, "If the suggestion of personhood is established, the appellants' case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment." The "Amendment" the Court refers to is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which holds that no State shall, "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ..." If passed by the House and Senate it would end the abortion industry as we know it in the United States.
FAMILY FORUM
As part of RFC's participation on Capitol Hill I serve as the co-chairman of the Family Forum, a working group of social conservative groups that meets twice a month when Congress is in session. During this week's meeting Matt Blackburn of Senator Tom Coburn's (R-OK) office discussed the Parent's Right to Know Act which has already passed the House as the Child Interstate Notification Act, but which has not yet been introduced in the Senate. As mentioned last week Dr. Coburn will be the chief sponsor of the bill. Under the provisions of the bill a parent must be informed before a clinic funded by the federal government furnishes contraceptives to a minor child. Because of the nature of the Senate, Senator Coburn will need all the support he can get. This will be an important battle in the Senate later this year.
INTERNATIONAL
ISRAEL
On Wednesday, May 4th the Fourth Annual Christian Israel Solidarity Event was held at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. I was a part of the Host Committee for the event. Other members of the Host committee included Gary Bauer, Pat Boone, Richard Land, Janet Parshall, Pat Robertson, Paul Weyrich and others. Dr. Pat Robertson was the key note speaker at the event this year. In a private meeting prior to the main event the Host committee met with Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon and all present expressed their support for Israel's right to the defensible homeland. At the main event William Sutter, the Executive Director of Friends of Israel, introduced a proclamation "opposing the efforts of certain denominations and churches to divest moneys from companies doing business with Israel." The proclamation continues, "We believe that people who support divestment demonstrate hostility to freedom and democracy." The Presbyterian Church USA has been a leading advocate of divestment of stocks and bonds of US companies doing business in Israel. Oddly the Presbyterian Church USA sees no problem with companies doing business with totalitarian Islamic nations such as Iran and Syria.
BETHLEHEM AND SAMARIA
I may return to Bethlehem and Samaria in the first week of August to assist in helping create jobs for Christians in the West Bank (Samaria) and in Bethlehem. More and more Christians are moving from Palestinian Authority controlled areas every day. Most move to Chile, but others move to various areas of the world including the United States. Unless jobs can be created for Christians, Bethlehem will become a Christian theme park operated by Muslims and to some extent that has already happened. I ask your prayers as I work with American businessmen to bring jobs to Christians in the Palestinian Authority controlled areas. If you are a businessman or investor and would be interested in a project in Samaria or the Bethlehem area please call my office at (202) 543-0300.
MEMORIAL DAY
Our patriotic ties have been discounted for Memorial Day . Our custom made patriotic ties are now just $10.95 each! The Religious Freedom Coalition also has a variety of other patriotic men's ties and ladies patriotic scarves available for Memorial Day and Independence Day. Proceeds from sales at our Internet store are used to promote our advocacy work on Capitol Hill. Please shop at our Internet store for a variety of items. There is also a banner link below to a Christian bookstore that pays the Religious Freedom Coalition a commission on all sales.
URGENTLY NEEDED
Since January 1st, three of our older Windows 98 computers have failed. Our last two Gateway machines failed on the same day in April indicating a common motherboard problem. We now have one older e-machine that is barely functional on our network and at our Hill advocacy office we have a Compaq machine to which a broadband modem cannot be attached because of its age. We have been replacing the older Gateway and E-machines with Dell XP machines. Contributions to help with updating this equipment are urgently needed. Please consider a gift to the Religious Freedom Coalition this month. A secure donation link is located at: http://www.rfcnet.org/donate.html
PLEASE TELL SOMEONE ABOUT THESE UPDATES
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William J. Murray, Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition, P.O. Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013. Phone: (202) 543-0300
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Religious Freedom Coalition * Copyright - 2005