In the first abortion related votes of the 105th Congress, the House will vote on whether or not to speed up overseas family planning funding and whether or not to outlaw overseas funding to organizations which perform abortions, even if the abortions are paid with private funds. If the House votes to speed up the overseas family planning funding, the money would be released in March instead of July. The vote would also increase the amount of money which would be released, from $92 million to $215 million. President Clinton lifted a ban on funding for agencies which performed abortions overseas in an executive order in 1993. Rep. Christopher Smith’s (R-NJ) resolution would override his order, but it is expected to fail in the Senate. If passed by both houses, Clinton would certainly veto it. The House Rules Committee planned to meet on February 6th to discuss the rules which will govern the votes on both resolutions.
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