Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/715968
ByDavidCrary TheAssociatedPress NEW YORK The law that bans federal funding for Medicaid coverage of most abortionsisnowinthespot- light some 40 years after it was passed by Congress, emerging as an election is- sue in the national debate over the procedure. First approved in 1976, and renewed annually ever sinceaspartofthecongres- sional appropriations pro- cess, the Hyde Amendment makes exceptions in cases of rape or incest, or when a pregnancy endangers a women's life. For most of its exis- tence, the amendment had broad bipartisan support in Congress, but that's now changed. At their recent national convention, Dem- ocrats for the first time in- cluded in their platform a call for the Hyde Amend- ment to be repealed. Their presidential nominee, Hill- ary Clinton, is embracing that stance, even as it risks creating friction within the party. It'scomplicated The amendment's sup- porters depict it as essential in ensuring that taxpayers whoopposeabortiondonot have to subsidize it. Critics assail the policy as discrim- inatory, making it difficult for low-income women to obtain a legal medical pro- cedurethat'sreadilyaccessi- bleformoreaffluentwomen. "Access to abortion shouldn't depend on your zipcode,anditshouldn'tde- pend on your pocketbook," said Nancy Northup, pres- ident of the Center for Re- productive Rights. For now, repeal of the Hyde Amendment is a long-term goal, not an im- minent likelihood. Even if Clinton wins, Democrats would need improbably large gains in Congress to have a chance of ending the policyduringherfirstterm. An extra complication: A handful of Democratic sen- ators support the amend- ment, including Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Man- chin of West Virginia and Clinton's own running mate — Tim Kaine of Vir- ginia.Abortion-rightslead- ers were dismayed when Kaine reiterated his per- sonal opposition to repeal. "We sincerely hope that he will continue to edu- cate himself on what Hyde means to the most vulnera- ble women in this country and join us in fighting this injustice," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro- Choice America. Party politics In the House, Demo- crats have introduced a bill that would nullify the Hyde Amendment and require the federal government to ensure abortion coverage in public health insurance programs,includingMedic- aid. No one from the cham- ber'sRepublicanmajorityis amongthemeasure's119co- sponsors. Despite the political ob- stacles, advocates of repeal are upbeat as they succeed in drawing more attention to the amendment. "I don't think we're as far away as people might think," said Rep. Diana De- Gette, D-Colo., a leading abortion-rights supporter. "We got tired of tacitly ac- ceptingthatabanonMedic- aid money was acceptable." Who's affected The amendment is namedafteritsinitialspon- sor, Republican Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, who made clear from the start that the policy would target low-in- come women. "I certainly would like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abor- tion, a rich woman, a mid- dle-class woman or a poor woman," he told Congress in 1977. "Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the (Medicaid) bill." According to the Guttm- acher Institute, a research group that supports abor- tionrights,abouthalfofU.S. women getting abortions have family income below thefederalpovertyline.The typical $500 cost for a first- trimester abortion is bur- densome to many of them. MEDICAID COVERAGE Democrats seek reversal of ban on federal abortion funding By Lisa Lerer and Julie Bykowicz The Associated Press WASHINGTON Scranton isn't a standard stop on the Democratic fundraising cir- cuit. Yet Hillary Clinton put the Western Pennsylvania city on her itinerary — sev- eral times. The Democratic presi- dential nominee and her family have made four vis- its to Scranton donors since launching her campaign last August, raising mil- lions of dollars in a former industrial city more known for needing economic aid than giving it out. "Last July, we were all pinching ourselves and saying it's a once in a life- time experience, but then she came back," said Grace McGregor, whose parents hosted an event Monday at their home. Clinton is leaving no fun- draiser behind as she criss- crosses the country scoop- ing up cash. She's already been to 10 fundraisers in the first half of the month, and some of the biggest events are yet to come. In fact, she is on track to top the $90 million she raised for her campaign and Dem- ocratic allies in July. August has always been one of the best months to raise money because voters tend to be more focused on their summer vacations than politics, giving candi- dates more time to woo do- nors. Clinton definitely got that memo. Donors can rock out to Cher at a Cape Cod "sum- mer celebration" on Sunday and close out the month by dancing with Jimmy Buf- fett in the Hamptons. In between, during a Clin- ton California swing, they can talk politics with ac- tor Leonardo DiCaprio, re- tired basketball star Magic Johnson or Apple CEO Tim Cook. Why so many fundrais- ers? "People in Montauk don't go to Fire Island," said Alan Patricof, a longtime Clinton donor who is co-hosting one of many summertime fun- draisers in the Hamptons. "So there are events to at- tract anybody who's inter- ested in being a supporter for Hillary." Clinton has some heavy- weight assistants on the cash trail, including two former presidents, her hus- band Bill Clinton and Pres- ident Barack Obama. "If we are not running scared until the day after the election, we are going to be making a grave mistake," Obama warned donors on a balmy Monday evening in Martha's Vineyard. Running mate Tim Kaine has proven to a strong fun- draiser in his own right, already headlining a dozen events from small towns in New Hampshire to the pri- vate dining space of a ce- lebrity chef in New Orleans. Fort Lauderdale attorney Mitchell Berger, who hosted Kaine's first fundraiser af- ter he was picked as Clin- ton's running mate, said some of the 60 donors in the room hadn't met the Vir- ginia senator. "For the peo- ple who were seeing him for the first time for first time, the glowing previews were confirmed," Berger said. Clinton has made ample useofcampaignfinancelim- itsthathaveloosenedconsid- erably in the past six years. Although donors can give a maximum of $2,700 to the candidate's cam- paign, they can give far more to the party through new accounts that Congress opened up. And a Supreme Court ruling in 2014 lifted the overall cap on what do- nors can give in an election year — meaning Clinton and the party have no res- ervations about asking for as much as they can. Atleastfive Augustevents have hit the seven-figure benchmark. Among them, a 60-person dinner where the minimum gift was $33,400 in an "estates only" area of Greenwich, Connecticut. Last week, Clinton's cash express stopped in Miami Beach for two events. The larger one included 100 at- tendees donating at least $2,700. Later that evening, Clinton hosted a more inti- mate group of 30, each of whom gave at least $50,000. Clinton's labors on the fundraisingcircuithavekept heraheadofRepublicanrival Donald Trump. But he unex- pectedly came close to rival- ing her haul in July, raising more than $80 million for his campaign and support- iveRepublican Partygroups. Having spent more than $50 million of his own money during the primary, Trump had no fundraising operation throughout the primary, meaning he was building one from scratch as Clinton's finely tuned machine was cranking out results. PRESIDENTIAL RACE Clinton's fundraising spree: From Scranton to Cher CAROLYNKASTER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Hillary Clinton reacts as she is introduced at a Pennsylvania Democratic Party voter registration event at West Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, on Tuesday. By Michael Biesecker and Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press WASHINGTON Congress has received FBI documents related to the agency's re- cently closed investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server dur- ing her tenure as secretary of state, according to law- makers. A spokeswoman for the Republican-led House over- sight panel said staff is re- viewing documents that are classified as secret. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelli- gence committee, said in a statement that the panel received "FBI witness inter- view reports, including that of Secretary Clinton's inter- view, along with other ma- terials from the FBI's now closed investigative file." The FBI last month closed its yearlong probe into whether Clinton and her aides mishandled sen- sitive information that flowed through a private email server located in the basement of her New York home. Though he described Clinton's actions as "ex- tremely carless," FBI Direc- tor James Comey said his agents found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the Democratic presidential nominee. Furious the FBI didn't press charges against their political rival, House Re- publicans pressed the agency to release notes from its agents' July inter- view with Clinton. They claim the FBI notes, which are typically kept confiden- tial after an investigation is closed, may show Clin- ton provided inconsistent answers to questions about her handling of emails con- taining classified informa- tion during testimony last year before the House Beng- hazi panel. Republicans are also de- manding that the Justice Department open a new investigation into whether Clinton lied to Congress. Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman declined to com- ment Tuesday on either the delivery of the FBI docu- ments or the GOP request for another investigation of Clinton. Though the Republicans failed to find evidence to support their claims that Clinton was negligent in preventing or stopping the deadly 2012 terrorist at- tack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, they are now focusing on questions surrounding the Democratic nominee's hap- hazard handling of emails containing government se- crets. Republican presiden- tial nominee Donald Trump routinely attacks Clinton over her email use. Clinton said last year that she turned over all 55,000 pages of work-re- lated emails from her server, but said she deleted thousands more she and her lawyers deemed as per- sonal. Clinton also says she never sent any information by email that was marked as classified. More than 100 emails exchanged by Clinton were subsequently reviewed and determined to contain in- formation considered clas- sified. As evidence Clin- ton lied, Republicans have pointed to three email chains forwarded to Clin- ton that contained para- graphs marked "(C)," signi- fying they contained classi- fied information. PRIVATE EMAIL SERVER Congress receives FBI notes from Clinton interview RED BLUFF 108 MAIN STREET, SUITE C BY RIVER PARK) (530) 527-1121 CORNING 965 HWY 99W, SUITE 135 (530) 824-8800 LARGEPEPPERONI HOT-N-READY ALL DAY, EVERY DAY ® NeedYourDriver's License Released? Make a $25 Child Support Payment* Call1-866-901-3212 *To qualify you must call or meet in-person with your case manager and your case must be managed by Tehama County Child Support Services Department. 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