House Republicans said Monday they were “disappointed” with the Obama administration’s plan to waive mandatory work requirements for welfare and questioned the legal grounds being used to make such changes.

“We are disappointed to see that the administration through this action and others seems intent not on helping to get Americans back to work,” said the letter signed by 76 House Republicans.

The one-page letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also states the administration is instead intent upon increasing Americans’ reliance on welfare and other government programs.

The work requirements in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families legislation were signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996...

The Republican presidential candidates went after pro-abortion President Barack Obama during Wednesday night’s debate and bashed him for his pro-abortion position and the HHS mandate he put in place that has upset pro-life groups.

CNN host John King asked a question about the mandate that drew boos from the audience because of previous questions in prior debates about contraception that appeared biased.

“Since birth control is the latest hot topic, which candidate believes in birth control, and if not, why? As you can see — it’s a — it’s a very popular question in the audience, as we can see. Look, we’re not going to spend a ton of time on this but it is — please,” he said.

Newt Gingrich stepped in and responded, “The first is there is a legitimate question about the power of the government to impose on religion activities which any religion opposes. That’s legitimate.”

Gingrich immediately went on the offensive against Obama on abortion...

Americans are almost evenly divided on the Obama administration’s decision to require private employers to provide free birth control with health insurance plans, and a majority wants the “Obamacare” law to be repealed, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Quinnipiac University nationwide survey found that 48 percent oppose the administration’s rule on contraceptives, while 47 percent favor it. The poll showed that 72 percent of Republicans oppose the mandate, and 69 percent of Democrats support it.

The administration created a firestorm Jan. 20 when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that religious-affiliated institutions including universities and hospitals would not be exempt under the new federal health care law to provide coverage of contraception.

Catholic bishops and leaders in other faiths protested the decision, leading Mr. Obama on Feb.

The White House has indicated Obama administration officials will meet with religious employers over the controversial mandate that requires them to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions for their employees.

Like many leftists, President Obama has deep contempt for Christianity and democracy. This is why his administration has declared war on the Catholic Church and religious liberty.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently went ahead and approved last year’s decision to mandate that many religious organizations provide health insurance plans to their employees that include contraception, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization coverage - and this must be done without charging a co-pay. In other words, Mr. Obama has done something that is ominous and unprecedented: compelling religious groups to embrace and subsidize free birth control. Catholic universities, hospitals and charities must either betray their fundamental social teachings or drop insurance coverage for their employees, thereby triggering massive financial penalties under Obamacare.

A Christian college is suing the Obama administration over requiring businesses to pay for insurance plans that cover Plan B and ella — two types of birth-control pills the college and other prolife advocates view as abortifacient.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius handed down the mandate last summer in a list of preventative services insurers must cover without copayments (i.e., for free upon purchase) under President Obama's health-care law.

Colorado Christian College filed a lawsuit against the mandate on Wednesday, charging that it violates the constitutional rights of free speech and religion.

"The government’s mandate unconstitutionally coerces Colorado Christian to violate its deeply-held religious beliefs under threat of heavy fines and penalties," the lawsuit said.

"The mandate also forces Colorado Christian to fund government-dictated speech that is directly at odds with its own speech and religious teachings.

Sixty pro-life leaders and heads of faith-based organizations have signed off on a letter to President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius protesting the very narrow exemption to the health insurance contraceptives mandate.

The mandate has upset pro-life groups that don’t want to be forced to provide health insurance coverage that pays for contraception, birth control drugs, or drugs like the morning after pill, Plan B and ella that can cause abortions in some circumstances.

Acting with bipartisan support, a House committee Wednesday voted to repeal the CLASS Act, part of President Obama’s health care law that the administration has said is unsustainable, but also said it didn’t want to see ended entirely.

Three conservative-leaning Democrats - Reps. Mike Ross of Arkansas, Jim Matheson of Utah and John Barrow of Georgia - broke with their party to support the repeal, which passed the committee 33-17.

While some Democrats have argued for restructuring the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS) and the White House opposes repealing the program, Republicans insist on scrapping it in its entirety, saying the law would be a long-term drag on the federal budget.

“I believe we have to start over on long-term care reform - an issue that will affect millions of Americans as they or a loved one need care,” said Rep. Fred Upton, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

A leading pro-life organization is calling on HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to quit because of a scandal involving the destruction of Planned Parenthood record during her administration as governor of Kansas.

The Obama official has come under heavy fire from pro-life groups who are pointing out how a state attorney general she appointed in Kansas destroyed documents related 107 criminal charges former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline filed against the abortion business.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has asked the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office to launch an investigation into the scandal surrounding the destruction of abortion records during the administration for former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

The destruction of the records led to a decision by a state judge yesterday to dismiss all 23 felony charges and 26 related misdemeanor charges against Planned Parenthood because the Kansas Health department (KDHE) destroyed the crucial records used as evidence in the case in 2005.

Although 58 of the misdemeanor charges for illegal late-term abortions remain to be prosecuted at a February hearing, Schmidt said late Wednesday that he has asked the Shawnee County sheriff to investigate and asked the county’s district attorney to handle any resulting case.

“’(Schmidt) wants a complete, separate investigation from an outside law enforcement agency,’ Sheriff Dick Barta said, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.