TESTING DEBATE BEGINS
Members of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday opened debate on how much testing is too much as they began considering a long-overdue renewal of the No Child Left Behind education law. The renewal has languished since 2007 amid disagreement over the law’s requirement that states test students in reading and math in grades three to eight every year and again in high school. Many educators and parents have complained that the law led to teaching to the test and too much test preparation, but supporters of the mandate say it’s a critical way to ensure that historically underserved groups of students are learning before it’s too late to help them. “Are there too many tests? Are they the right tests? Are the stakes for failing them too high? What should Washington, D.C. have to do with all this?”asked Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the committee, who is aiming to have legislation before the Senate in February.
— Associated Press
Legislation scheduled for a vote today would criminalize virtually all abortions for pregnancies of 20 weeks or longer. It would offer some exceptions, including for victims of rape that have already been reported to authorities.
Some Republicans, including female members of Congress, objected to that requirement, saying many women feel too distressed to report rapes and should not be penalized. A 2013 Justice Department report calculated that just 35 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to police.
“The issue becomes, we’re questioning the woman’s word,” said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C. “We have to be compassionate to women when they’re in a crisis situation.”
Wednesday evening, however, Ellmers posted on her Facebook page that she would vote for the bill. And while last-minute changes remained possible, they seemed unlikely, said a top House Republican speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.
There were also objections to the bill’s exemption for minors who are victims of incest and have reported the incident.
“So the exception would apply to a 16-year-old but not a 19-year-old?” said Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pa. “I mean, incest is incest.”
The divisiveness over the measure comes as Republicans, looking ahead to the 2016 presidential and congressional elections, hope to increase their support from women. In control of the entire Congress for the first time in eight years, Republicans also want to demonstrate that they can focus on issues that matter to voters and not get bogged down in gridlock.
“My own view on this stuff is I prefer we as a Republican conference avoid these very contentious social issues,” Dent said.
Today’s debate is timed to coincide with the annual march on Washington by abortion foes marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 legalizing abortion.
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a chief sponsor of the bill, called it “a sincere effort” to protect women and “their unborn, pain-capable child from the atrocity of late-term abortion.” He also said GOP leaders “want to try to create as much unity as we can.”
The White House has threatened to veto the legislation, calling it “an assault on a woman’s right to choose.”
About the Author