Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Shaheen Amendment a Test for Scott Brown

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Just got this email from New Hampshire US Senator Jeanne Shaheen:

 

“Every day, more than 400,000 servicewomen risk their lives in defense of our country and our ideals. For that, they should be honored.

Tragically, right now, they’re being denied respect, care, and basic dignity. Each year, an estimated 19,000 of our servicewomen, who make the greatest sacrifice anyone can make, are victims of sexual assault. And yet they are denied insurance coverage for abortions even in cases of rape and incest.

We can’t let this continue.

My amendment to give these women the coverage they deserve is in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The final vote could come as soon as this week and we have to make sure it’s not stripped.

We just found out there’s going to be a cloture vote at 5:30 today on the National Defense Authorization Act, which contains Jeanne’s amendment to right this wrong

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  2. From the Huffington Post:

    In a historic bipartisan vote on Tuesday, the Senate passed Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-N.H.) amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that would extend abortion insurance coverage to victims of rape in the military. If the House of Representatives decides to include the measure in its version of the defense bill, military servicewomen who have become pregnant from rape will no longer have to pay out of pocket for an abortion procedure for the first time since 1981./blockquote>

    Because the House version of the NDAA does not have a similar amendment attached, a bipartisan conference committee will be charged with deciding whether to include the measure in the final version of the bill. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) both support Shaheen’s amendment, and Shaheen said that House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) has indicated that he would support it as well. House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Ky.) has not indicated whether he would support the measure’s inclusion, but three out of four ranking conferees would make for strong odds

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