Week Ending February 15, 2008 - Washington, DC

Nancy Pelosi takes away ability of President Bush to spy on terrorists / Global Aids stalls in House / 29 GOP congressmen call it quits / Two incumbent congressmen lose seats in Maryland primary / Indian Health Act and abortion / Senate to recess / Sacrifice for Freedom memorials / What is Coltan? / Death for Internet article still possible

THE PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT LOSES ABILITY TO FIGHT TERROR- In a stunning move, San Francisco radical Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has blocked passage of the bill that gives authority to the President to fight terror. At midnight Saturday all intelligence gathering by the Administration against terrorists all over the world will be curtailed because Pelosi refused to bring the Protect America Act to a vote. Oddly Pelosi had time to issue contempt citations against two former Bush staffers, to try to arrest them because they will not testify before one of her committees.

THE HOUSE

AIDS BILL STALLS? - The President's Emergency Program For Aids Relief (PEPFAR) was scheduled for a vote in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, but the hearings have been put off due to the death of its chairman, Congressman Lantos (D-CA). Democrats are insisting that funds to fight AIDS in Africa be used for abortions and President Bush has indicated he will veto the bill if that is the case. Click here to read the Administration's position on PEPFAR funding.

29 GOP CONGRESSMEN OUT - There are now 29 Republican congressmen who have either outright resigned or announced that they will not run for reelection this year. (This includes Bobby Jindal who resigned to become governor of Louisiana.) With that many incumbent Republicans leaving, we need as many good conservatives as we can find to fill the slots. A good friend of mine, Woody Jenkins, a true social conservative who fights for the Christian values this nation was founded on has announced that he will run for the seat vacated in Louisiana by Congressman Jindal. He is one of many seeking seats of departing GOP congressmen.

TWO CONGRESSMEN LOSE IN MARYLAND - In the middle of the presidential primary, people forget that there are other candidates on the ballot. In Maryland there were both Democrat and Republican primaries for Congress as well. And two incumbents lost their seats. Both were defeated because they had run afoul of the party's activist base.

Reps. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) and Albert Wynn (D-MD) are from different parties. Neither had been involved in a scandal, and there had not been recent redistricting. Both lost because they were not ideologically in sync with their party's base.

Congressman Gilchrest, the Republican, voted with Democrats more often than with his own party, and his constituents had enough. Groups such as the Club for Growth spent nearly $1 million to dump him. He did not vote with social conservatives and I am glad to see him go. Wynn, the Democrat, had the opposite problem, having sided with business more often than with his left-wing constituency.

THE SENATE

INDIAN HEALTH ACT - As I have previously noted, social conservative Senators led by Senator Vitter (R-LA) have offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds in the Indian Health Act for abortion. In response the Democrats have offered the following language: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to effect or otherwise modify provisions of current Federal law with respect to the funding of abortion" as a side-by-side to Vitter's pro-life amendment. If passed, that language would essentially gut Senator Vitter's amendment. Please contact your Senator and ask him to support Senator Vitter's Amendment and reject the Democrats' pro-abortion amendment.

SENATE TO RECESS - The Senate went into recess Thursday night without a vote on the Indian Health Act and will remain in recess all of next week in honor of President's Day. The Senate will reconvene at 5:30 PM on Monday, February 25th.

RELIGION AND CULTURE

SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM - A new group, Sacrifice for Freedom, is working to honor those who have fallen in the current conflict while giving their families a daily visible reminder of the nation's gratitude toward them. Sacrifice for Freedom is delivering to families a beautiful three dimensional memorial for their homes. The cost of the memorials are $250 each and so far they have been delivered to over 400 families who have lost loved ones to the cause of freedom in the current conflict. You can designate a family to receive a memorial if you contribute sufficient funds to deliver it to them. For information click here or on the image of the memorial.

ALL NEW CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The January 4, 2008 issue of the Chairman's Report is now available online. This new issue contains details of "under God" in the Pledge petition deliveries to the Senate and first hand accounts of the huge Right to Life march in Washington. Read about adding a pro-life amendment to Indian Health Services. There is also Information on the church bombings in Iraq. Click here to read in PDF format

INTERNATIONAL

WHAT IS COLTAN? - Coltan' is the African colloquialism for columbite-tantalite, a metallic ore that is used in the manufacture of your cell phones and other devices to keep them cool. About 80% of this material comes from Africa, primarily the Democratic Republic of the Congo where a bitter war has been waged for a decade killing as many as five million people. The war has gone on unnoticed by the world and financed for the most part by "conflict coltan." Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) has expressed an interest in legislation to stop the sale of coltan as a means of stopping the continued slaughter in that nation.

DEATH FOR INTERNET ARTICLE PART III - It has now been nearly a month since an Afghan student, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, was sentenced to death for copying a paper from the Internet that the courts there deemed "blasphemous" to Islam. I and others continue to push the Department of State and the White House for information on his fate but as of now we have no answers.

VISIT OUR INTERNET STORE

OUR INTERNET STORE - We have lots of great Christian themed products at our Internet store. Not only are there books and CD's, but everything from candy to jewelry. Unlike Amazon and other major Internet stores, we do not sell porn and satanic materials right beside Christian books. Please take a look. The store is located at www.rfcstore.com.
Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.