Think Progress

RADICAL RIGHT -- VITTER INTRODUCES BILL TO SLASH FUNDS FOR FAMILY PLANNING:  Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), infamous for his role in the D.C. Madam prostitution scandal, has recently introduced a number of socially conservative bills in an effort to "shore up his bona fides with conservative voters." Earlier this year, Vitter, who may face a difficult primary challenge from the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, co-sponsored of the Marriage Protection Amendment, which would amend the Constitution to declare that marriage "shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman." Vitter has also introduced an amendment gutting funding for Planned Parenthood from the omnibus spending bill. The amendment states that "none of the funds appropriated under this Act shall be made available to Planned Parenthood for any purpose under title X of the Public Health Service Act." As Jodi Jacobson of RH Reality Check noted, "the Title X Family Planning program, enacted in 1970, is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services." Planned Parenthood is one of the largest providers of Title X services and removing funding for the organization would cut "prenatal and maternal health care services" while limiting "contraceptive methods needed to prevent unintended pregnancy in the first place." "It's unconscionable to try to strip our funding at time when so many people are relying on us -- but that's exactly what Sen. Vitter and his allies are trying to do," said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards in an e-mail to supporters.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS -- U.S. MAY RECONSIDER JOINING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: Yesterday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashi on charges of genocide in the Darfur war "in which up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have fled their homes." Now, according to a senior White House official, the Obama administration "has launched a 'high-level, urgent review' of U.S. policy toward Sudan that will consider whether the U.S. should re-examine" joining the court. President Obama's "determination to end the atrocities in Darfur has not wavered," the official said, adding, "Our intent is not to address this in piecemeal fashion but to make sure the U.S. and its allies bring about a lasting end to the horrors in Darfur and the rest of Sudan." Indeed, U.S. membership to the ICC has been a controversial topic. President Clinton signed the "Rome Statute" setting up the court in 2000 but President Bush then "unsigned" the document in May 2002, thereby withdrawing U.S. support for the court. While "Republicans say the court is an abrogation of sovereignty and would expose U.S. servicemen and officials to criminal prosecution," the White House official said, "[a]s the review looks at the ICC, we do have to look at how it protects U.S. forces." 

CIVIL RIGHTS -- MARRIED SAME-SEX COUPLES DENIED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN FEDERAL BENEFITS: When Congress first passed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, the law did not tangibly affect anyone, because no state issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Today, however, there are more than 10,000 married same-sex couples in Massachusetts alone, with many more in Connecticut and New York. Another 18,000 couples were married in California, and their marriages are under review in a state Supreme Court case on Prop. 8 that begins today. A new study by the Center for American Progress finds that a same-sex couple with average characteristics will be denied more than $8,000 in Social Security spousal survivor benefits because the federal government doesn't acknowledge their marriage. After paying a lifetime of payroll taxes into a system that is supposed to provide retirement benefits for married couples, same-sex couples who marry are denied thousands of dollars in Social Security retirement benefits, survivor benefits, and lump-sum death benefits. "The Social Security benefits we analyzed are only one of hundreds of federal privileges and benefits extended to opposite-sex married couples but denied to legally married same-sex couples," the study notes. A 2004 report by the Government Accountability Office found "1,138 federal statutory provisions classified to the United States Code in which marital status is a factor in determining or receiving benefits, rights, and privileges." Read the CAP study here.

In "an unusual public criticism of Israel," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that the country's "plan to destroy dozens of Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem was 'unhelpful' and contrary to Israel's obligations under a U.S.-backed peace plan." She added she would raise the issue, along with "concern over the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with Israeli officials."

President Obama is hosting a health care summit today that will "bring together historical adversaries" in an effort to move forward on health reform. The major stakeholders in health care will discuss "health care costs, access and quality." "They are coming to the White House and coming to the table because they want to get this done," says Melody Barnes, Obama's top domestic policy adviser.

Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection has formed a partnership with the environmentalists heading Dot Eco Ltd, who are formally applying to register the domain ".eco." "This is a truly exciting opportunity for the environmental movement and for the internet as a whole,"says Gore.

President Obama nominated W. Craig Fugate yesterday to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fugate, who has been director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management since 2001, "is credited with steering the state through some of the most devastating hurricane seasons in recent history." In a statement, Obama said that Fugate "has what it takes to help us improve our preparedness."

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that "state juries may award damages for harm from unsafe drugs even though their manufacturers had satisfied federal regulators." The 6-to-3 ruling "upheld a jury verdict of $6.7 million in favor of a musician from Vermont whose arm had to be amputated after she was injected with an antinausea drug" and was a "a major setback for business groups that had hoped to build a barrier against injury lawsuits."

The administration's plan to stem the tide of foreclosures is "the most ambitious effort since the 1930s to help troubled homeowners." The plan would let bankruptcy judges restructure mortgages and would protect loan-servicing companies from lawsuits by investors.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner "appeared to suggest" yesterday that the White House would "consider dropping or modifying" their proposal to cap "itemized deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations to help pay for his health-care overhaul." The proposal had met strong resistance from senior Democrats in congress.

And finally: In a hate-filled screed, far right activist David Gibbs rallied North Carolinians to oppose gay marriage, claiming that it would "open the door to unusual marriage." "Why not polygamy, or three or four spouses?" Gibbs asked. "Maybe people will want to marry their pets or robots." The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen comments, "The times they are a changin'. Rick Santorum warned us about 'man-on-dog' relations; now we have David Gibbs raising the specter on man-on-robot action."