Tell Your Senator to Vote NO on Cloture

Eagle Forum Urges an Unconditional NO Vote on the Cloture Motion to Proceed to the Anti-Life Senate Health Care Bill

Washington, DC - Last evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unveiled his 2,074-page health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act. Not only is less strict, less-than-Stupak abortion funding language contained in Reid's bill, but there is still nothing in place to remedy the problem that is the underlying mechanism for carrying out single-payer, government-run health care — the rationing of life-saving medical treatments and placing the most intimate health decisions of every American in the hands of Washington bureaucrats.

Eagle Forum urges the U.S. Senate to cast an unconditional NO vote on the cloture vote on the motion to proceed, which requires a 60-vote threshold and will likely occur sometime on Saturday, November 21^st.

"This bill in its entirety is an attack on life at all stages," said Eagle Forum president and founder Phyllis Schlafly. "The presence of the end-of-life counseling provisions in this bill and the Democrats' rejection of all offered amendments to ban the practice of rationing is not a fluke. It is the foundation around which this legislation has been written."

"Regardless of any tweaks made to the abortion language in the bill, one thing is for sure. A YEA vote for cloture on the motion to proceed is not only a vote in favor of government-run health care, but it is also a vote for government-sanctioned euthanasia," said Schlafly. "Just think 'Terry Schiavo' on a massive scale."

Defending life has been a top priority for Eagle Forum since Mrs. Schlafly began battling the radical pro-abortion feminists in the 1970s.

"We all know that being pro-life is more than just being anti-abortion," said Schlafly. "This week, the pro-life community must unite to defend not only the unborn, but the lives of those who rose up all across America in town hall meetings and revealed this bill for what it really is — anti-American socialism."

"There is no cleaning up this bill. Supporting cloture and just hoping for the best is not an acceptable strategy," concluded Schlafly. "The American people's overwhelming opposition deserves to be recognized, and they'll be watching as their Senators cast their votes this week. I urge every Senator who values the will of their constituents to vote NO on this motion."

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About the Cloture Motion to Proceed: Some "on the fence" Senators have recently released statements trying to frame the cloture vote on the motion to proceed as merely procedural and technical and that this vote does not amount to an endorsement of the bill or of government-run health care. When you make your calls, some staffers may give you this excuse — Do not accept it. Here is some background information for you to use while discussing this topic:

According to an analysis conducted for this office by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), between the 106th and 110th Congress, there were 41 cases in which the Senate approved the motion to proceed to a bill that the Senate eventually held a vote on final passage. Of those 41, 40 of the bills received Senate approval (S. 1805 in the 108th Congress was the lone exception). Based on these numbers, when the Senate votes to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed to a bill, that bill has a 97.6 percent chance of inevitably passing the Senate.

TAKE ACTION!

As we wade through all of the details of the new legislation for you, please begin taking action right now by calling your Senators and urging them to vote NO on the cloture motion to proceed.

Please call (phone calls are best!) both their district offices and Capitol Hill office.

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121