GOP senator pans revised birth-control rule as 'more of the same'

The Obama administration's revised birth-control mandate for religious employers is "more of the same," according to a Senate Republican leader.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, on Monday said he sees no distinction between the original birth-control mandate and the revised rule the White House announced Friday. 

"President Obama last week announced what he called a compromise, which I don't see how you could see it as anything but more of the same," Blunt said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The original mandate required religiously affiliated employers, but not churches and houses of worship, to provide contraception coverage to their employees without a co-pay.

After an uproar from the Catholic Church, Republicans and some members of his own party, Obama changed the rule Friday to shift the cost for the contraception coverage from faith-based employers to health insurers.

Blunt panned the change as mere sleight of hand and said the debate is far from over.

"Saying the insurance company pays is like saying the utility company pays the extra cost of your utility bill. We all know who pays the utility bill — you do." 

Blunt, along with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), is pushing legislation that would overturn the birth-control rule. 

He introduced broader legislation in August meant to block certain religious organizations from being required to provide any services that conflicted with those institutions' religious beliefs.

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