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S. 3297, The Advancing America's Priorities Act
- This item is from the 110th Congress (2007-2008) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.
Comparing revision saved on July 28, 2008, 19:55:48 (TastyWheat), with revision saved on July 28, 2008, 20:07:01 (webmaster):
S. 3297 would advance America's priorities.
== Detailed Summary ==
<summary>
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</summary>
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== Status of the Legislation ==
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Latest Major Action: 7/23/2008: Read the second time. Placed on7/26/2008: Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 894.floor actions. Status: Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate.
</status>
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== Points in Favor ==
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== Points Against ==
Senator Harry Reid has added a highly controversial bill called The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act to section D of this bill. This bill has not been discussed, marked up, or passed out of the appropriate Senate committee and has been held up in the HELP committee for the past 6 months. Due to the highly dangerous nature of this bill alone, the omnibus package should be voted down. The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act would make groups who push drugs on pregnant women eligible to receive huge grants. The result of this legislation will be that more mothers will die just as Melanie Stokes did, by drug-induced suicide. More mothers will join the ranks of Andrea Yates when they commit murder of their own children due to involuntary intoxication on psychotropic drugs. There is absolutely no safeguard for informed consent in the bill. In addition, as more mothers are placed on antidepressants and other drugs, the number of babies dying from spontaneous abortions, still births, preterm birth complications, heart disease and PPHN will go up. Please read the following article: http://christiannewswire.com/news/425397285.html and then go to www.uniteforlife.org to take action and save mothers and unborn and newborn babies.
As a side note, you can read the evidence of who is buying the promotion of this bill at: http://www.uniteforlife.org/implications.pdf or http://www.uniteforlife.org/weblettertosenateurgent.pdf
A fax you can send can be printed out at: http://www.uniteforlife.org/mylifeisinyourhandsfax.pdf and the contact information for all 100 senators is at: http://www.uniteforlife.org/senatecontacts.pdf
* This bill contains earmark spending (i.e. designated for projects not equally beneficial to all citizens and states).
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Visitor Comments 
Douglas
July 24, 2008, 12:51pm (report abuse)This bill may have some worth portions, but like too many actions in congress it is then loaded with a bunch on nonsense. It should be turned down, stripped of the garbage and then reconsidered.
Our congress needs to stop throwing money around like is was growing on trees - but then I guess that it is and the tree is called the US Printing Office.
Entrench
July 25, 2008, 8:35am (report abuse)Amen Douglas. This Congress has certainly been the worst and most wasteful of my lifetime but since it is Democrat controlled as is most of the media no one will call them on it.
Shirley Reed
July 25, 2008, 12:52pm (report abuse)Good for Senator Coburn for trying to keep our money from being wasted on a bunch of stuff that the government should stay out of anyway!I'm sure there are some worthy causes in this bill, but does the government have to support EVERY worthy cause?There's lots of important business they should be taking care of but are neglecting, such as hearings for judges.
Cass A
July 25, 2008, 4:43pm (report abuse)We need to have ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME!! This bill is horrible!! And, is a demonstration of what needs to change in our legislative system!
Norm
July 26, 2008, 8:33pm (report abuse)Why is Colburn holding The Christopher & Dana Reeve Paralysis Act?????????? I would love to walk again after 26 years. I was the victim of a hit & run accident at age 16! Btw, the bill has nothing to do with stem cells!
Amy Philo
July 26, 2008, 9:03pm (report abuse)I believe that Coburn is in favor of the Paralysis Act. I think I read on his website that he wanted Senator Reid to allow him to pass an amendment to get rid of some B.S. program that is a total waste of money that the Congress has done nothing about - he outlined $47 billion in waste for Reid to pick from to pay for the $10 billion in the omnibus bill. But Reid doesn't like to have to deal with challenges to his almighty authority over our country. Message to Senator Reid: should you pass the Omnibus package, be prepared for political and legal ramifications due to your outrageous attempt to pass The MELANIE BLOCKER STOKES DRUG THE MOTHERS ACT in this bill
GoForward
July 26, 2008, 9:47pm (report abuse)Colburn has been unwilling to speak to the paralysis community regarding his hold. In addition, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act is actually structured to reduce redundancies in paralysis research and better utilize limited research dollars currently directed to paralysis research. It's fiscally friendly.
He's holding up this bill while extremely promising research is having a difficult time moving forward. This is the first bill to address paralysis. This is the second time this community has worked to see this passed.
I'm sure if you were to examine a number of the bills in this package you might have a better understanding of why Sen. Coburn's actions are viewed as unacceptable.
Do you homework before you buy into what a politician is selling
Argus
July 27, 2008, 1:41pm (report abuse)There's little inherently wrong with the Reeve Paralysis Act. What's wrong, however is packaging it with other legislation that needs to be carefully considered and fully debated. Tacking a "For Mother, Apple Pie, etc." provision like the Reeve Act onto legislation that contains much junk is a typical political move.
S.3297 is almost 400 pages long! Before you fault Coburn for placing a hold on it, take a look at the bill yourself and consider whether passing an omnibus bill with much wasteful spending in it -- even though the Reeve Act is in itself OK -- is in the best interests of the country. If you're honest, I think you'll agree there's a better way to handle the Reeve Act. The end does not justify the means.
Help Homeless Kids
July 28, 2008, 9:09am (report abuse)Senator Coburn has put a hold on a bill that authorizes a 30 year old program that helps homeless kids and that the Office of Management and Budget has rated effective. Remember - this package of bills will not impact spending - that is the job of our appropriators.
T. Jacobs
July 28, 2008, 9:11am (report abuse)Why has Coburn interfered with the ALS Registry Act?!!!! Shame on those who applaud him for his obstructive, power abuse. There is no cure for ALS and my wonderful husband who is a dedicated father and professor of physics is dying of ALS. This registry funds basic, tracking of this horrible disease nationally for purposes of basic research and understanding that might save the lives of so many in the future. PASS THE ALS REGISTRY ACT, darn it!
crosis
July 28, 2008, 10:09am (report abuse)So Norm, GoForward, Help Homeless Kids and T. Jacobs all want thier bills passed, without regard to the feces that harry reid has smeared all over it?
Why not attack harry reid for refusing to propose the bills on thier own and instead trying to ram them thru combined with trash that none of us care for.
No... instead you want to trash the republican who wants money to be left over for the next worthwhile bill that crosses the congress, as few as they are...
I guess you are all ok with unrestrained spending.. just spend and tax, spend and tax. enjoy watching all of your jobs head overseas because of the taxes here. But of course, you libs all think that a corporation that wants to keep more of the money it makes by taking thier ball and going elsewhere is inheritly evil, even if they do no evil.
Amy Philo
July 28, 2008, 10:53am (report abuse)I agree that Reid is absolutely acting for his own ego here. Many of the bills in the omnibus would pass easily if Reid were open to the possibility of CONSIDERING amendments or debate, which the majority could overrule - but he isn't. The one obstructing is Harry Reid. He is obstructing the process of deliberation. Please go to www.uniteforlife.org for information on the DRUG AS MANY MOTHERS AS YOU CAN ACT, and call all the Senators and demand that they stop screwing with American lives and do their jobs. It's an outrage that we even have to act to defend ourselves against legislation like this because it violates our basic human rights as well as the constitution. That alone is a sign that there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with this country / this Congress.
Our lives are in their hands quite literally with this bill, and they choose to gamble with many of our deaths a very likely possibility if this bill passes.
Leon Peek
July 28, 2008, 11:07am (report abuse)The U. S. Senate has to change its ways. Any senator can place a bill on hold to prevent it from being voted on. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has 95 bills on hold.
One of them is a bill overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives, which would give the CDC the ability to collect data on ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The ALS Registry Act would support research in finding a cure and passed 411-3 in the House. What is the role of the House? Why do we have committees that approve bills sent from the house?
Senate Republicans often put bills on hold in 2007 to give the Democratic-led Congress a bad reputation, and it is working.
Hopefully, nine Republican senators will be defeated so 60 Democratic senators can move legislation approved in the House, that's how it works.
This is more important than the presidential election.
Islestar
July 28, 2008, 12:30pm (report abuse)No one wants his or her favorite welfare program from becoming reality.
The majority of the bills in the omnibus package address the wants of some groups at the expense of others.
If the goals are so important, find like minded people to fund what you want. At a minimum, find silly programs within government that don't work and eliminate them in order to find the money for silly programs in the bill.
For example, would we rather spend money on medical research or millions restudying the growth of coral in the tropics?
Left-handed/Right-Brain
July 28, 2008, 5:54pm (report abuse)Kudos to Sen Coburn. If anyone bothered to listen to his speech on the Senate Floor Saturday you would realize why he has placed a hold on these bills. Personally I can see no social redeeming value for sending my money to Poland for them to establish a museum. Read it all carefully and you will see the inanity of most of the bills Sen Coburn has objected to. And listen to or read his speech on the Senate floor saturday and you will understand the rationality behind his decision!!!!!
CALS
July 29, 2008, 3:15am (report abuse)Various Senators have tried to introduce these bills on their own. It is Sen. Coburn who has used various maneuverings to prevent even a vote on the individual bills on their own merits. Sen. Reid was merely trying to group several of the bills that Coburn has blocked together, to try to improve the chances of them getting at least a chance at a vote. Coburn is an obstructionist who has offered no real reasons for what he does.
TLS
July 29, 2008, 1:46pm (report abuse)The Melanie Blocker Stokes Mother's Act is not about drugging new mothers. It is about educating them about postpartum mood disorders. Obviously some people commenting on here have never suffered from post partum depression. Yes, some of these mothers need medication but they all need education.
Jodi
August 13, 2008, 8:37pm (report abuse)Amy, I'm not sure how you got "pushing drugs on mothers" out of a bill that provides grants to be used for screening for perinatal mood disorders. I suffered from Post traumatic stress disorder after having my son, and if I would have been screened before I left the hospital, my doctor would have known that my birth experience was traumatic. If my doctor would have known, I would have been able to start counseling immediately and I may have been saved from the year of torture after having my son that was plagued with flashbacks, nightmares, and intense anxiety. Do you think it's any coincidence that this country has the second worst infant mortality rate in the developed world, and one of the highest rates of cesarean births in the as well (one in three, while the World Health Organization recommends one in ten)? We are also the only country in the developed world that discourages having midwifes attend births. Prevention and screening is the key.
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