Healthcare

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Thursday evening argued that an abortion bill that is expected to pass tonight violates several Republican principles, including the protection of life and the absence of government intrusion.

Hoyer and other Democrats argued for much of Thursday that the bill, H.R. 358, would go well beyond a prohibition on the use of federal funds for abortion, and give hospitals the choice not to provide services to women in need of care, such as abortions that might be needed in emergency situations. Hoyer said that language seems to go against the title of the bill, the Protect Life Act.

"I don't think that's protecting life," Hoyer said. "In fact I think it's ignoring the protection of life."

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) on Thursday morning said passage of a bill limiting federal funding for abortion-related services would be the same as Congress breaking its promise to Americans that they can keep their current healthcare coverage under last year's healthcare law.

The House is expected to approve H.R. 358 today, which would prevent any program under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) from being used to provide abortion services or fund any health insurance that provides for abortion. Supporters of the bill — more than 140 House Republicans — say this is needed to bring PPACA in line with other federal programs.

The presidential candidate released the legislation a day before she is scheduled to address the Values Voter Summit.

House Republicans next week plan to pass legislation they say would close loopholes that allow federal funding of abortions.

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) on Wednesday afternoon called on the new deficit-reduction supercommittee to find the bulk of the $1.5 trillion in budget savings required under the recent deal to raise the federal debt ceiling by cutting back the programs created under last year's healthcare law.

"The Select Committee is getting to work, and I encourage both parties, all 12 members, to put the Affordable Care Act on the table, alongside other entitlements in need of reform," he said on the House floor.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told an audience in Houston on Monday that she would fight to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from Republican attempts to cut these programs.

Pelosi quoted President Lyndon Johnson, who signed into law the additions of Medicare and Medicaid into the Social Security Act.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) on Monday asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and a key administration healthcare official to reply to questions that he and other senators asked back in May, but have gone unanswered.

Johanns's letter to Geithner and Richard Foster, the chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, noted that the senators asked for a reply within two weeks, and that 81 days have elapsed without a reply.

"As a former member of the President's Cabinet, I can assure you that a letter from 37 Senators with a specified deadline would have been prioritized for response," Johanns wrote. "The time period that has lapsed is unacceptable." Johanns was secretary of Agriculture under former President George W. Bush.

Republicans want to know whether the Supreme Court justice helped develop a legal defense of the law for President Obama.

The House Wednesday afternoon had agreed to three minor amendments to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, all of which would ensure spending on specific health-related issues faced by U.S. service members.

By voice vote, the House agreed to an amendment from Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) that would take $16 million from a broad Defense-wide account and use it for a prostate cancer research program. Members also agreed to language from Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) that would ensure $19 million goes to help people with traumatic brain injuries.

President Obama’s healthcare plan is stripping Americans of their liberty, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Thursday at a meeting in Iowa.

“Are you more free today, do you have more liberty today than you had two and a half years ago?" King asked a group of about 30 people gathered at coffee shop, according to The Globe Gazette. "I don’t know anyone who can say yes to that."