U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, blocked an attempt by a Senate Republican to introduce an amendment to a highway bill that would reverse President Barack Obama’s highly discussed healthcare contraception rule.
Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, introduced the amendment Thursday to a highway bill that is currently up for a vote in the Senate.
The amendment’s purpose is to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act so that the “conscience” of certain organizations would not be infringed upon by requiring them to provide birth control as a part of their health coverage to female employees.
Mr. Reid called the amendment “senseless,” because it would accompany a highway bill meant for reauthorizing federal highway funds to be used for other purposes.
The Senate Majority Leader believes that a healthcare amendment to a bill regarding highway legislation would not be useful to either chamber of Congress.
“They’re talking about First Amendment rights and the Constitution,” said Mr. Reid Thursday. “That is so senseless. This debate that’s going on dealing with this issue of contraception is on a rule that hasn’t even been made final yet.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services introduced the rule last month that would require religiously affiliated organizations to provide contraceptive services as part of their health insurance.
Republicans in both chambers of Congress have voiced strong opposition to the rule, because it would require Catholic organizations to provide contraception, which is considered immoral in the Catholic religion.
Republican presidential candidates have called the new requirement an attack on religious freedom.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican also voiced his opposition to the rule in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday.
There have also been several Democratic Catholic members of Congress and Vice President Joe Biden who is a Catholic, that have voiced opposition to the rule.
In contrast, there has also been several female members of both chambers of Congress that have voiced their support of the new rule, stating that it provides gender equality in the president’s government funded healthcare plan.
House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, recently promised to provide action from the House to block the contraception rule from becoming a mandate for Catholic organizations to abide by.
Mr. Blunt invoked the rhetoric of the late former President Thomas Jefferson into the amendment, which is four pages and length and currently posted to his Senate website.
The Missouri senator expressed disappointment in Mr. Reid’s decision to block a vote on his amendment Thursday.
“This is about the First Amendment. It’s about religious beliefs. It’s not about any one issue. In fact, this amendment specifically does not mention a specific issue. It refers to the issue of conscience,” said Mr. Blunt.
The rule does not become effective until August, and the Obama administration implemented a provision that states that religious organizations would be exempt from the contraceptive requirement for a year, in order to work out a compromise.
Although there has been an outcry of Republican and Democratic opposition to the contraceptive rule, Mr. Reid told his fellow senators to “calm down” on Thursday.
“This is a rule that hasn’t even been made final yet. There’s no final rule. Let’s wait until there is at least a rule that we can talk about,” said Mr. Reid.
Mr. Blunt stated Thursday that fellow Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Kelly Ayotte agree with his notion to amend the highway bill, and exempt health care providers from providing contraception coverage if it violates their “faith principles.”
The debate over the contraception issue will likely continue to cause a rift between Republicans and Democrats through the upcoming general election in the fall.
