The wife of Saeed Abedini, the American pastor imprisoned in Iran for being a Christian, told Congress that Jesus has not abandoned her family despite her husband’s continued illegal captivity.
Naghmeh Abedini spoke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday during a hearing about Americans wrongfully imprisoned in Iran.
“Most mornings like today, I wake up in a new hotel in a new city or country and am reminded of my new reality — a reality that includes lonely airports and empty hotel rooms,” Abedini explained in her testimony. “This pain of this journey without my husband has only increased as I have had to frequently leave my children to advocate for my husband’s release. The reality is, we are a family torn apart.”
“Over the last three years, I have had to watch my two children, Rebekka (who is 8 years old) and Jacob (who is 7 years old), suffer daily as they have grown up without a father or a mother,” Abedini continued. “I am here today as single mother who is trying to be strong for her children, and as a wife who humbly admits, I need your help. I cannot bear to look at my children’s longing eyes one more time and explain to them why their daddy is still not home.”
Abedini told the Congressmen that time is running out for the U.S. to have leverage to demand the release of her husband and others held captive.
“I can’t make foreign policy but I know that this is a crucial time and we have to bring Americans home while we can,” she told CP. “This is the time we have leverage. I know that we have a few weeks. I think after a deal is made or not made, it will be much more difficult to get Saeed out.”
The Committee passed a resolution at the end of the hearing calling for the immediate release of the captive Americans.
House Speaker John Boehner is threatening to have the House of Representatives stop the President from receiving military authorization to continue the air campaign against the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.
“The president’s request for an authorization of the use of military force calls for less authority than he has today. I just think, given the fight that we’re in, it’s irresponsible. This is why the president, frankly, should withdraw the authorization of use of military force and start over,” Boehner told reporters.
The announcement by Boehner comes after the Islamic terrorist group overran the Iraqi city of Ramadi, leading to major criticism of the administration’s plan to not use any ground troops to stop the terrorist advance.
Other members of Congress, however, are not ready to withdraw the authorization to continue the fight against the terrorists.
“I think we’re at risk of losing our institutional power to authorize and conduct war, so the stakes here constitutionally are much greater than the issue itself,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told CBS. “I’m not critical of the speaker and I would like a different kind of resolution, but I think the best way to get there is to simply start acting.”
The White House was critical in their response to the news Congress may not reauthorize their efforts against ISIS.
“At some point, it has to be the responsibility of the speaker of the House to do his job and for members of Congress to do their job. And we have not seen members of Congress, and we certainly have not seen the speaker of the House do his job when it comes to this specific matter,” Earnest said, according to Voice of America.
The House of Representatives has passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that would ban most abortions after the 20th week of gestation.
The bill, H.R. 36, passed 242-184. The bill’s vote came on the second anniversary of the conviction of Philadelphia late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell.
The bill bans abortions after 5 months of pregnancy with exceptions for rape and incest if the woman seeks counseling 48 hours prior to having the abortion. The counseling portion of the bill was added after Republican women in the House objected to the bill’s previous requirement the woman report rape or incest to police.
The bill initially was going to be voted on January 22nd, the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Many pro-life groups were upset that the House postponed the vote because of issues with some Republican women.
Several representatives cited Gosnell’s clinic in their statements supporting the bill.
“It seems that some members of this body want to regulate things like light bulbs and rainwater and farm dust, but leave women helpless before the doctor Gosnells of the world,” said Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa.
“Late term abortionists are driven by profit undeterred by the painful death of countless innocent lives. We must protect these women and children by passing the bill.”
Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Ill., said that a November 2014 poll found that 60 percent of Americans support banning abortion after 20 weeks.
President Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to Washington to address a joint session of Congress.
The White House stated that it is due to the close proximity of the Israeli elections.
“As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country,” National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan stated.
House Speaker John Boehner exercised his right at Speaker of the House to invite a foreign leader to address Congress. In this case, Boehner wants Netanyahu to speak to the Congress about problems with Iran and the need for stronger sanctions against that nation.
President Obama is working to ease sanctions against Iran.
Netanyahu will speak to Congress on March 3rd and being asked to appear in January. The Israeli leader had previously planned to be in the U.S. for a conference in Washington on the March date so the speech was rescheduled to fit that trip.
Boehner said that he wants to move forward quickly on sanctions against Iran and that the speech from Netanyahu will allow members of Congress to understand what’s at stake in the region.
“Let’s send a clear message to the White House — and the world — about our commitment to Israel and our allies,” he said.
With the tax season about to begin and many people concerned about the way they have to handle Affordable Care Act changes, the IRS is making it more difficult for taxpayers to obtain help.
A report from the IRS blames Congress for budget cuts.
The official who represents taxpayers within the IRS, Nina Olson, warns that customer service will be at an all time low with less help on the phone, less help with tax preparation, and more obstacles when disputing an IRS mistake.
“I think that for taxpayers they will not be able to get assistance from the IRS; they will not get their questions answered,” Olson stated.
The IRS has refused to answer questions about what the IRS considers helplines for taxpayers.
A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Ted Franks (R-AZ) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The bill is the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The bill is similar to one that passed the House last year but wasn’t allowed to be voted on in the Democrat controlled Senate.
“More than 18,000 ‘very late term’ abortions are performed every year on perfectly healthy unborn babies in America,” Franks asserted in a statement to Life News. “These are innocent and defenseless children who can not only feel pain, but who can survive outside the womb in most cases, and who are torturously killed without even basic anesthesia.”
“Many of them cry and scream as they die, but because it is amniotic fluid going over their vocal cords instead of air, we don’t hear them,” Franks said. “Later term abortion in America has its defenders, but no true or principled defense. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act seeks to afford basic protection to mothers and their unborn babies entering the sixth month of gestation.”
A survey by the Polling Company says that 64 percent of Americans would support a law banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless the mother’s life was in danger.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) plans to introduce a similar measure in the Senate before the end of the month.
An anti-Christian organization is seeking to convince Congress to dump the Bible as part of their oath ceremony.
“On January 6, Congress will take the ceremonial oath of office, during which each member will solemnly swear, or affirm, that he or she will ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ While members are not required to swear or affirm on a specific text, or any at all, many choose to swear on the Bible,” the Secular Coalition of America said.
“This year, the Secular Coalition will seek to remind Congress that it was elected to support and defend the Constitution, not the Bible or any other religious text. We will be circulating letters on the Hill and lobbying in person to get as many members of Congress as we can to take the oath on the Constitution.”
It’s not the first time that an anti-Christian organization has tried to manipulate the oath of office for a Federal official; the anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation did the same prior to President Obama’s 2012 inauguration.
A recent study showed that 57 percent of Congress identifies themselves as Christian and 31 percent as Catholic.
The man who founded an aggressive anti-Christian group was confronted by a Congressman during a recent hearing about his hate and bigotry toward Christians.
Representative Randy Forbes challenged Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation for statements that were made regarding the purpose of the MRFF and Weinstein’s views.
Weinstein initially tried to avoid questioning from Forbes when the Congressman brought up Weinstein’s quote that his group’s goal was to “lie down a withering field of fire and leave sucking chest wounds.” Weinstein began to spew hate toward Christians before the Congressman cut him off and Weinstein confirmed he said it.
Congressman Forbes also challenged Weinstein on his bigoted statement that followers of Christ were “Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans.”
“I haven’t heard any people of faith calling atheists ‘monsters’ or saying they want to put sucking chest wounds in them,” Forbes said.
Weinstein is also notorious for comparing people of faith to rapists.
On the heels of the United Nations saying it lacked the resources necessary to stop the Ebola outbreak in west Africa, President Obama is asking Congress for billions in aid to fight the killer virus.
The President wants $6.18 billion to fund efforts both within the U.S. and in Africa to combat the virus.
“The funding is needed immediately to strengthen and sustain our whole-of-government response to strengthen preparedness in the U.S. and to help end the Ebola epidemic at its source in West Africa, and to prevent disease outbreaks, detect them early, and swiftly respond before they become epidemics that threaten the American people,” the administration said. “It’s in situations like this one, when activities surpass the current level of funding, that the request is deemed an emergency.”
The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that the death toll is at least 4,818 people out of 13,042 confirmed cases.
The head of the U.N. mission fighting the virus said there are still villages in the impacted countries that have received no aid or help from outside their nation.
“It’s not here yet,” Tony Banbury said about the needed resources. “There are still people, villages, towns [and] areas that [are] not getting any type of help right now and we definitely don’t have the response capability on the ground now from the international community.”
Congressman Trey Gowdy, who is heading the House of Representatives’ select committee for the Benghazi terror attack, told a group of believers at Second Baptist Church Houston that they need to stop waiting for a political messiah and place their hope in the true messiah.
“If you want to change culture, don’t wait on the Supreme Court or anyone else,” said the South Carolina congressman. “The real hope in Christ is expressed through the lives of His followers. Changing the hearts and minds in this country is our job.”
Gowdy said that Christians must to step up and speak the truth in a way that is respectful to other people but unwavering in presenting the Gospel truth.
“You don’t insult people into changing their minds,” said Gowdy.
Gowdy said that it’s important for people to hold their elected officials accountable for more than just the votes they cast or actions they take in their office. He said leaders need to be held accountable for their actions in their private lives because everything we do is a reflection on the Lord and how He is working in our lives.
Gowdy said that Christians need to educate themselves because the answers to all things are in Scripture.
“Are you educated in the teachings of Christ?” Gowdy said. “The answers to all our political questions are in the Bible… But what good does that do unless you know the Bible?”
