HHS nominee to face abortion questions

Republicans will question Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Kathleen Sebelius on abortion issues when she
appears before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, according to a GOP committee aide.

Anti-abortion-rights groups have been hammering away at the Kansas governor since President Obama nominated her for his final vacant Cabinet position last month. Republican senators on the Finance Committee plan to carry their banner at the confirmation hearing.

{mosads}”Gov. Sebelius was told by committee staff in a Tuesday meeting to be prepared to respond to the abortion issue during her confirmation hearing because it would be raised,” a spokeswoman for Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in an e-mail.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a Finance Committee member, has already decided to oppose Sebelius’s confirmation, largely because of her record in favor of abortion rights, a spokesman said. “For Sen. Cornyn, his reservations are specifically over the abortion issue,” the spokesman said.

Anti-abortion-rights groups are engaged in a campaign against Sebelius. The Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and Focus on the Family were among 30 organizations that sent a letter to every senator Monday urging them to vote against Sebelius, citing her record on abortion as governor and as a state legislator.

The efforts of anti-abortion-rights activists and lawmakers likely will not be enough to scuttle Sebelius’s confirmation. In addition to widespread support among Democrats, Sebelius received key endorsements from her home state’s two Republican senators, both of whom are staunchly opposed to abortion rights: Sen. Pat Roberts, who sits on the Finance Committee, and Sen. Sam Brownback, who is running to replace her in the governor’s mansion in Topeka.

Abortion got scant attention when Sebelius appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Tuesday. HELP Committee ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) mentioned abortion in passing: “We may not always agree on every issue. I am and will remain staunchly pro-life and will continue to advocate for legislation to protect the rights of the unborn. My hope and expectation, though, is that we will focus on legislating solutions that will make a positive difference in people’s lives.”

Enzi’s spokeswoman declined to say whether he agrees with the anti-abortion-rights groups that Sebelius’s abortion record renders her unqualified to serve as HHS secretary. “Sen. Enzi looks at all nominees’ qualifications and their stance on all issues that impact their potential job jurisdiction. He takes the ‘advice and consent’ clause of the Constitution seriously, and looks at the full spectrum of issues and considers the consequences of the nomination,” the spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a prominent anti-abortion rights lawmaker and member of the HELP Committee, questioned Sebelius about two issues related to abortion. Coburn raised the issues of Medicaid coverage of the prescription abortion pill sometimes called RU 486 and about the Obama administration’s plans to lift Bush administration “conscience clause” regulations designed to permit medical workers to decline to participate in procedures they consider immoral.

Sebelius also could escape unscathed from revelations Tuesday that she discovered errors in her tax returns during the vetting process for her nomination, leading her to pay more than $7,000 in back taxes. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) issued a strong statement of support Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Grassley indicated that the tax issue would not be an impediment to her confirmation. “I think the tax policy would have less with how I’m going to vote on her than the other things that might come out in the hearing,” Grassley said. “I think we wouldn’t be having this hearing if we didn’t think the tax things were pretty well taken care of.”