Support CWA Please make a tax-deductible contribution! $25 $75 $150 $500 $   (Ex: Enter 100.00 to contribute $100.00) Interested in joining Capitol Hill Partnership or direct monthly giving? Click here.

Dear Friends,

Liberals are flexing their muscles and trying to ram through their agenda. We need to act quickly or it will be too late!

1. "Hate Crimes":
In July, after the House passed its stand-alone bill, the Senate passed a "hate crimes" amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. This legislation will create a new class of crime based on the victim's "sexual orientation and gender identity" and violate the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection for all citizens under the law.

A House and Senate Conference Committee is now deciding whether the "hate crimes" amendment will be included in the final bill that will be voted on by both houses.

Representative Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) has already circulated a letter to his colleagues urging the removal of the amendment. He said that including "hate crimes" in the Defense Authorization bill is a "backdoor attempt to rewrite the nation's criminal law and put religious liberty at risk. If the bill is necessary and meritorious then let it go through regular order and be voted on without hitching a ride on a bill that actually protects Americans."

Your Representative and Senators need to hear from you now! Please call them today at 202-224-3121 and ask them to press the conferees to remove "hate crimes" from the Defense Authorization bill.

2. Health Care:
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to finish its work on the $1.67 trillion health care bill later this week. And Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is already planning how to strong arm this bill onto the Senate floor next week.

The Finance Committee bill that is being considered right now is not even a complete bill. Rather, it's just a "conceptual framework" of the bill. In fact, liberals on the Finance Committee rejected an amendment requiring the full bill be presented and made available to the public for 72 hours before it could be considered.

According to a new Rasmussen poll, only 41 percent of Americans favor President Obama's and Congressional Democrats' health care plan. This is the lowest rating since they've started taking this poll. Senator Reid knows that their health care agenda is losing public appeal, so he is trying to act quickly.

He has decided to use an unprecedented legislative process to get this bill on the floor for a vote. Once the Finance Committee passes its health care bill, Senator Reid will merge it with the Health Committee bill (with help from the White House). He will then make a motion to proceed to a completely different bill regarding AIG bonuses that is on the Senate calendar. This motion to proceed requires 60 votes. And once the Senate takes up this bill, they will only need a simple majority to pass it. This process completely undermines the legislative process and it discounts our opinion!

Please call your Senators today at 202-224-3121 and urge them to oppose this shell game.

In particular, we need calls to the following Senators:
Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)
Mark Begich (D-Alaska)
Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana)
Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas)
Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut)
Jon Tester (D-Montana)
Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas)
Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) Mark Warner (D-Virginia)
Jim Webb (D-Virginia)
Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska).

Americans deserve to have their voices heard. Without the opportunity for the minority to filibuster, the majority of Americans will lose their freedom to choose their doctors and their health care!

Sincerely,

Wendy Wright

President

Concerned Women for America