Pro-Family Groups Applaud GOP's 'Values Agenda'
by Jody Brown
June 29, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Calling Republican leaders "proactive" and "in touch," two prominent pro-family groups are applauding a move in the U.S. House they say shows a commitment to traditional family values.Earlier this week, House GOP leaders unveiled a list of legislative initiatives they hope to push through their chamber of Congress in the coming months. Dubbed the "American Values Agenda," the list includes bills addressing issues deemed by those legislators as top priorities for America's families. House Majority Leader John Boehner describes the agenda as "a collection of legislative initiatives that speak to the values many American citizens hold dear."
The Republican lawmaker from Ohio describes those values -- "freedom to display the American flag ... freedom of religious expression ... the right to keep and bear arms ... respect for the sanctity of marriage, and the dignity of all human life." All, he says, are values that have defined the American character, protected families, and shaped society.
"The House of Representatives belongs to the American people, and the American people want us to act on the issues they care about," says Boehner in a press release. "This is their agenda."
Specifically, the measures called out in the agenda are: Pledge Protection Act (HR 2389); Freedom to Display the American Flag Act (HR 42); The Public Expression of Religion Act (HR 2679); Marriage Amendment (HJRes 88); Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (HR 356); Human Cloning Prohibition Act (HR 1357); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (BATFE) Reform (HR 5092); Internet Gambling Prohibition; Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act (HR 5013); and Permanent Tax Relief for Families.
One of the bills, however, has already faltered -- likely due to an absence of Republicans when the vote was taken. Republicans failed to move out of committee the Pledge Protection Act, which would have protected the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Republicans could not muster a simple majority on the issue on Wednesday (June 28) in the House Judiciary Committee, where they outnumber Democrats by six. Ten of the committee's 23 Republicans did not show up for a vote -- and one sided with Democrats. The bill boasted 197 co-sponsors in the House.
Important Issues on 'Values Agenda'
Before that vote was taken in the Judiciary Committee, two pro-family groups had expressed their approval of the American Values Agenda. Concerned Women for America is praising GOP leaders for taking head-on important issues it says have been "too long ignored."
Lanier Swann, CWA's director of government relations, says her organization is encouraged by the "proactive leadership" demonstrated in the agenda. "American families will be encouraged to know that House leaders understand that values issues are critically important to the nation's future," she says. Of particular interest, Swann adds, are those measures dealing with pro-life issues.
"Protecting life at every stage is a most important aspect of any American Values Agenda," she offers. "A vote cast to protect life is the most significant vote a member of Congress can cast."
Joining Swann in applauding House leaders who are championing the agenda is Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family Action. Dobson says the GOP-led action demonstrates courage among House Republicans -- and a lagging behind of those in the Senate.
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Dr. James Dobson |
Announcement of the agenda, says the well-known conservative leader, sends a signal that the GOP leadership in the House "is in touch with the concerns with the values voters" who sent them to Capitol Hill. He compares that with recent activity in the U.S. Senate."This encouraging sign in the House is contrasted by a string of disappointing events in the Senate," Dobson says, pointing to two recent examples. "This week's defeat of an amendment to protect the American flag from desecration, as well as the repeated failures to pass a constitutional amendment to defend marriage, are only the most obvious symptoms of a Senate that has lost touch with the soul of the America people."
The Focus on the Family Action chairman warns that senators who continue to "neglect their duty" to the values voters who put them in office may themselves be neglected by that same voting bloc during the next election cycle.
