Q&A: Rep. Diane Black on the White House’s contraceptives mandate

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) (Mark Humphrey - Associated Press) The health reform law’s mandated coverage of contraceptives has drawn no shortage of criticism from congressional Republicans, who have derided the provision as an attack on religious freedom. Those attacks reportedly have the White House ready to propose a compromise on the rule as early as today.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) has been vocal in that discussion. She held a news conference Thursday on the issue and plans to continue working on the matter moving forward. We spoke Thursday evening about why she opposes the provision, what her constituents are saying about it and what to expect next from House Republicans on the issue:

Sarah Kliff: You held a press conference earlier today in opposition to this part of the health reform law. Explain to me why you oppose this particular part of the law.

Rep. Diane Black: First of all, we know that President Obama promised if you like your insurance, you can keep it. He said this bill isn’t going to require changes to the way your insurance is set up. Now we know that’s not true: You can lose your insurance if it doesn’t meet all the criteria they’re setting. That’s a change. And this part is an assault on religious freedom. For religious institutions, you’re asking them to violate things at the core of their convictions. This is an assault on the First Amendment.

SK: I spoke earlier this week with one your Democratic colleagues, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and she made the case to me that the current regulation is already a compromise, because it exempts churches. How do you respond to her argument? Why should the exemption apply to larger institutions, like hospitals?

DB: Whenever you have a mandate like this, that is so broad, the religious right to freedom should not be narrowed in the way they’re trying to narrow it.

SK: What do you think about the idea that if a hospital tends to employ workers outside its religion, who don’t object to contraceptives, it should have to provide those services?

DB: I don’t agree. If it’s the organization for whom I’m working, I recognize when I walk in the door its a religious organization.

SK: What are you hearing from your constituents back in Tennessee about this?

DB: My constituents are upset. They see this as one more assault on our freedom and one more assault on our Constitution. The government continues to erode our freedom .... This is not about being Republican or Democrat. This is about our basic freedom. This is not about politics. This is about freedom. What I’ve been hearing from my constituents is we need to stand up.

SK: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has promised to move legislation on this issue. What’s your sense of when and where that happens?

DB: My understanding is there is a bill being worked on and a draft copy being worked on that would make this change a statute. I think [the House] Energy and Commerce [Committee] is taking a lead, and I would say there’s a seriousness about bringing this up before that committee very soon. Within the next week or so, I think you’ll see something.