{"id":4691,"date":"2009-10-21T13:57:23","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T18:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=4691"},"modified":"2013-05-10T15:27:39","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T19:27:39","slug":"senate-democrats-discussing-moral-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/10\/21\/senate-democrats-discussing-moral-issues\/4691\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Democrats: Discussing Moral Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senate Democrats invited religion reporters to the Capitol on October 21\u2014no\u00a0 cameras were allowed\u2014to talk about \u201cthe moral imperatives of health care and climate change.\u201d The session was organized by the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee as part of an ongoing Democratic effort to reach out to faith groups. Eight Democratic senators pleaded for bipartisanship and teamwork in the face of Republican filibusters of bills, nominations, and other legislative initiatives that are not moving ahead on the Senate floor, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada asked faith communities to \u201cspeak out against obstructions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"onenation_post\"<\/a>The procedural frustrations of the Democrats were obvious. Florida Senator Bill Nelson compared the US unfavorably to the African nation of Rwanda, where he said \u201cforgiveness and reconciliation\u201d overcame political differences and genocide. \u201cWhere do you observe reconciliation in American politics today?\u201d Nelson asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t usually talk about moral issues, but you do,\u201d Senator Barbara Boxer of California told reporters. \u201cIf ever the religious community should speak with one voice,\u201d she suggested, it is now, as \u201cgreat moral questions\u201d dominate the legislative agenda. Boxer chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which holds hearings next week (October 27-29) on energy legislation introduced last month by Boxer and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Religious leaders will be among those who testify, said Boxer.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey<\/a>, a pro-life Catholic, said \u201cwe\u2019re working on it\u201d when asked about abortion coverage in the Senate health reform bill and whether he would vote against reform if the final bill doesn\u2019t explicitly prevent federal funds from being used for abortion. \u201cThe bill needs more work done,\u201d he said. But Senator Stabenow told reporters Casey was \u201cnot going to have to make that choice\u201d because \u201cwe don\u2019t have public funding for abortion,\u201d and the Democrats \u201chave gone to great lengths to make it [the bill]\u00a0abortion neutral.\u201d Some abortion opponents, however, believe otherwise<\/a>.\u00a0 The US Catholic bishops, longtime advocates of universal health coverage, said last week they do not yet support the Senate bill because of their concerns about affordability, coverage for immigrants, and financing for abortion. As for Democratic outreach to the bishops, \u201cwe are communicating with them as we have been,\u201d said Stabenow.<\/p>\n

Stabenow\u00a0asked faith groups to help legislators get \u201cpast the noise\u201d and \u201cbeyond the rancor\u201d and \u201ccall us to a higher moral authority.\u201d If they don\u2019t take up the cause of health care reform, said Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, religious communities will be called on to do more than they already do to meet the needs of the elderly, the poor, and the disabled. \u201cI talk about this as a moral issue all the time,\u201d said Cardin. \u201cThat is very much what this debate is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facing fierce opposition from Republicans, Democrats are pleading for bipartisanship and teamwork. Senate Democrats invited religion reporters to the Capitol to talk about “the moral imperatives of health care and climate change” and to ask religious communities to “speak out against obstructions.” More →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":16763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1049,6613,1030,1032,5464,6615,984,26,6612],"class_list":["post-4691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abortion","tag-democratic-steering-and-outreach-committee","tag-democrats","tag-faith","tag-health-care-reform","tag-moral-issues","tag-politics","tag-religion","tag-u-s-senate","topics-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nSenate Democrats: Discussing Moral Issues | October 21, 2009 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Senate Democrats invited religion 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