Thursday, July 31, 2008

The National Down Syndrome Society about the Kennedy Brownback Bill

They're not giving up hope, so niether will I, and I will pray for this important legislation to pass.
Please join me in prayer for this.
The Battle Continues
By a vote of 52-40, the Senate voted on Monday, July 28 against proceeding to debate on S. 3297, the Advancing America's Priorities Act, which bundled together the Prenatal and Postnatal Diagnosis Conditions Awareness Act (known as the Kennedy-Brownback bill) and many other bills into one piece of legislation. Unfortunately, we fell eight votes short of the 60 that were required for the Senate to begin consideration of S. 3297.
This does not mean that the bill is dead. We need you to remain vigilant and hopeful.
This session of Congress is not over.

We still have an opportunity to pass S. 3297 this year so it's absolutely critical that yesterday's disappointment not deter us from our goal. Our work will continue when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. Yesterday's vote was not a reflection of lack of support for the Kennedy-Brownback legislation. Indeed, the bill was reported out favorably in a bipartisan vote by the Senate Health Education Labor Pensions (HELP) Committee. Unfortunately, S. 3297 and the Kennedy-Brownback legislation became caught up in broader disagreements between political parties about matters not related to Kennedy-Brownback. Election year politics are having an impact on every issue debated by the Senate. Just as I said in my post.
Our efforts will continue. We all agree about the importance of this legislation and will let you know when your advocacy efforts will be the most timely and effective.

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