So much with the knocks against Joe Biden…
The House is poised to pass spending legislation on Wednesday that includes the Hyde Amendment, the decades-old ban on federal abortion funding that recently created an uproar in the Democratic race for the White House.
Weeks after former Vice President Joe Biden flip-flopped from supporter to opponent of the amendment under heavy pressure from his party’s liberal base, the Democratic House will vote in favor of a package that retains Hyde — which progressives say disproportionately hurts poor and minority women.
The reason for including Hyde is simple: The broader spending package cannot pass the GOP-controlled Senate and would not be signed into law by President Trump if it did not include language banning the use of federal funds for abortion.
Democrats supporting the funding measure note it also includes provisions, backed by abortion rights groups, that would roll back some of the Trump administration’s anti-abortion policies, making it a little easier for the lawmakers to hold their noses and vote for the bill.
That means Democrats likely won’t pay a political price for backing legislation that includes Hyde. Yet it is a bit of a bitter pill, reminding the party of the hurdles it faces in getting rid of the long-held restriction…
“So much with the knocks on Biden”
Any bill that goes to the Senate without the Hyde Amendment is dead on arrival – you should know that. The GOP holds both the Presidency and the Senate, so nothing will get done on this in the next two years. But it’s possible (although currently unlikely) that the Dems might hold both chambers and the presidency in 2020. So this issue is important.