By Marie Tasy
Last Monday, June 6, I testified against two Planned Parenthood funding bills (A3492/S2277 and A1963/S1017) that were before the Senate Health Committee.
Also testifying against the bill were John Tomicki from the League of American Families, Len Deo from NJ Family First, Rev. Clenard Childress from LEARN and Greg Quinlan from NJ Garden State families.
These are the same two bills that certain lawmakers have been pushing to get funded ever since Governor Christie eliminated funds in the budget for Planned Parenthood back in 2010. Thankfully, Governor Christie has stood strong and vetoed these measures every time.
The Voting records of the Senators on the committee are listed below:
A3492/S2277, Makes FY 2016 supplemental appropriation to DOH for $7,453,000 for family planning services
Joseph Vitale (D) – Yes
Diane Allen ( R ) – abstained
Ronald Rice ( D) – yes
Fred Madden (D) – Yes
Richard Codey ( D ) – Yes
Robert Singer ( R ) – yes
Dawn Marie Addiego (R) – No
Robert Gordon ( D ) – Yes
Jim Whelan ( D) – Yes
A1963/S1017, Provides Medicaid coverage for family planning services to individuals with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Joseph Vitale (D) – Yes
Diane Allen ( R ) – yes
Ronald Rice ( D) – yes
Fred Madden (D) – Yes
Richard Codey ( D ) – Yes
Robert Singer ( R ) – yes
Dawn Marie Addiego (R) – Abstained
Robert Gordon ( D ) – Yes
Jim Whelan ( D) – Yes
It is not clear whether the Democratic legislative leaders will come up with their own budget and insert these bills into it, or vote on these as separate pieces of legislation. In either event, it is imperative that you both call and email your State Senator and two Assembly members ASAP and urge them to Vote No on A3492/S2277 and A1963/S1017.
The budget has to be voted on by June 30th midnight so this is an extremely time sensitive issue that requires your immediate action. Please do the following:
1. Tell your legislators you do not want your tax dollars used to fund Planned Parenthood. You can take action by sending a prewritten email message to them from our website. Many of the points included in the prewritten email message were made by me during my testimony on June 6th. You can take send an email by clicking on the hyperlink here that says: Take Action
2. Please also call all three legislators after you have sent them an email. You can find your three state legislators by adding your zip code on this page HERE. Once the page opens, use the scroll bar on the right hand side of the page to scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find your State Senator and two Assembly members and their contact information.
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