Two pro-life things that happened in Congress yesterday

Yesterday was a good day in Congress.

First, H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act passed in the House 227-188. Please pray for more Democrats for Life.

Second, the President gave his annual State of the Union address.  While government determinations of mental health are areas of caution, he ended on a particularly pro-life note.

My fellow Americans, no other country in the world does what we do. On every issue, the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might--but because of the ideals we stand for and the burdens we bear to advance them.

No one knows this better than those who serve in uniform. As this time of war draws to a close, a new generation of heroes returns to civilian life. We will keep slashing that backlog so our veterans receive the benefits they have earned and our wounded warriors receive the health care--including the mental health care--that they need. We will keep working to help all of our veterans translate their skills and leadership into jobs here at home, and we will all continue to join forces to honor and support our remarkable military families.

Let me tell you about one of those families I have come to know.

I first met Cory Remsburg, a proud Army Ranger, at Omaha Beach on the 65th anniversary of D-day. Along with some of his fellow Rangers, he walked me through the program. He was a strong, impressive young man with an easy manner. He was sharp as a tack. We joked around and took pictures, and I told him to stay in touch.

A few months later, on his 10th deployment, Cory was nearly killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan. His comrades found him in a canal, face down, under water, shrapnel in his brain.

South Korea: We Built That

Tonight the Congress of the United States meets in joint session to hear an address from the President on the state of the union.

The last time Congress met in joint session was on May 8, 2013, to hear an address from the President of the Republic of Korea, Her Excellency Park Geun-hye.

Upon her arrival in Washington, she visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial and read the words, “Our nation honors her sons and daughters, who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”

After expressing “profound gratitude” to America's veterans, including four Members with them in the House chamber, she continued:

When the guns fell silent in the summer of 1953, Koreans were surviving on $67 a year. Six decades later, Korea is one of the top five car producers and the eighth-largest trading nation.

Some call this the “Miracle on the Han River.”

But for those of us in Korea, it was anything but a miracle. And it wasn't just built from within. Koreans worked tirelessly in the mines of Germany, in the jungles of Vietnam, and in the deserts of the Middle East.

These are the people—the proud Korean people—I am so honored to serve as President.

They are the ones that made Korea what it is today.

Together, we will write a sequel to that story: “A Second Miracle on the Han River.”

United States Debt Ceiling (1940-2013)

The United States debt ceiling has been effectively neutered as part of the October 2013 spending law.

The U.S. Senate invoked cloture on S. 1569, the Default Prevention Act, on October 12, 2013, by a vote of 53-45.

• As National Journal put it, if it became law, it would "Fundamentally change the way the debt ceiling works."  
• Breitbart said it "would take away the Congress’ power to increase the debt ceiling."

That policy switched legislative vehicles and in the October spending bill, H.R. 2775, became Section 1002 which "may be cited as the 'Default Prevention Act of 2013,'" becoming Public Law 113-46.

On final passage of the deal, Politico reported, "The legislation also includes a McConnell-written proposal that would allow Congress to disapprove of the debt-ceiling increase. Lawmakers will formally vote on rejecting the bump of the borrowing limit - if it passed, it could be vetoed by Obama."

The Hill's Floor Action blog reported simply, "The deal also gives the Treasury Department the ability to borrow beyond the debt ceiling."

Abortion is not God's idea

The anniversary of Roe v. Wade comes three weeks after New Year's Day.

The Scriptures have a lot to say about the taking of innocent human life. It is appropriate to draw parallels between Israel who would "cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire" and America who has literally put millions of children through the knives of abortionists.

God has a very specific reaction to this: