Introduced by Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), the measure is getting a huge push from the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine — including its director of public affairs, Elizabeth Kucinich, the wife of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). The group has
held several briefings on Capitol Hill about
the bill, with celebs such as actress Marilu Henner and former NBA star John Salley.
An Abstinence-Only Chat
Outgoing Rep. Mark Souder’s “sex tape” with his reported mistress/staffer (OK, so it was a PG-rated discussion of abstinence-only education) wasn’t just about titillation.
The issue of sex, at least when it comes to sex ed, is a serious topic on Capitol Hill. And so a video in which the Indiana Republican and the staffer with whom he reportedly had an affair discussed the merits of abstaining was more than just a funny diversion. For some, it was about hypocrisy.
In the Web video, which Souder’s office apparently took down after HOH and others reported on it, Souder extols the virtues of abstaining while staffer/reported mistress Tracy Jackson nods and agrees with him. Souder tells Jackson, “I wish I’d abstained” from a 2008 hearing critical of abstinence-only programs.
HOH asked Sen. Frank Lautenberg, one of the leading opponents of abstinence-only education, to weigh in.
“Abstinence-only education is not working in our classrooms — nor apparently in some Congressional offices,” the New Jersey Democrat’s spokesman, Caley Gray, tells us.
Lautenberg is a co-sponsor of legislation that would allow federal funding for “comprehensive and medically accurate sexual education” (i.e., they’ll tell you about contraception).
Alas, HOH’s calls to other anti-abstinence-only reps weren’t returned. We wonder what Bristol Palin would say ...
Overheard on the Hill
“I don’t even know how to use one.”
— Sen. Ben Nelson, confessing his inexperience with debit cards to reporters Tuesday. Asked about ATM fees, the Nebraska Democrat says he only pays with cash or credit cards and confessed to being “frugal.”
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Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
