[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 55 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H2798-H2802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORRECTING THE ENROLLMENT OF H.R. 1473
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 218, I call
up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 36) directing the Clerk of
the House of Representatives to make a correction in the enrollment of
H.R. 1473, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 36
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That, in the enrollment of the bill (H.R. 1473)
making appropriations for the Department of Defense and the
other departments and agencies of the Government for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other
purposes, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall
make the following correction: At the end of title VIII of
division B, insert the following new section:
``Sec. 1864. None of the funds made available by this Act
may be made available for any purpose to Planned Parenthood
Federation of America, Inc. or any affiliate of Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 218, the
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Nunnelee) and the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) each will control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.
General Leave
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on House Concurrent Resolution 36.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Mississippi?
There was no objection.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
This resolution would deny funding to Planned Parenthood. It's
morally wrong to have taxpayer dollars from my constituents in
Mississippi, or from any other State, go towards organizations that
provide abortions. Since 1977 Planned Parenthood has assisted in
aborting the lives of over 5 million children.
This resolution before the House is simple and straightforward.
Now, there will be those who frame the resolution as a debate over
denying health care benefits for women. This isn't the case. In fact,
in this resolution not one dime of women's health or family health
planning funding is reduced. It simply says those dollars cannot go to
Planned Parenthood.
This is an organization that has protected those who prey on our
children and has protected those who rape our granddaughters. Planned
Parenthood holds itself to be above the law by ignoring mandatory
reporting requirements, by skirting parental consent, by aiding and
abetting child trafficking. They put quick and secret abortions ahead
of the welfare of victimized young girls. And it has to stop.
Those who oppose this resolution are enabling them.
I refuse to reach into the pockets of our taxpayers to fund this sort
of activity. I have always viewed these young women as much victims as
the unborn child, and I want to go after those corrupt and immoral
businesses that exploit them.
We did a pretty good job of running them out of the State of
Mississippi. In fact, in November Mississippi will have on its ballot
an initiative that defines personhood, and over 106,000 Mississippians
put their signatures on the initiative to get this on the ballot. And
Planned Parenthood is a political organization and is funding the
opposition to this ballot.
Bottom line: We need to deny funding to those agencies that support
abortions, and this resolution will do that.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield myself 2 minutes.
I rise in opposition to this concurrent resolution. It has nothing to
do with the budget and everything to do with ideology.
This is an attempt to turn back the clock on women's health and basic
rights. The majority wants to impose their traditional view of a
woman's role and take us back to a day when family planning was not
available. With this resolution, the majority aims to exclude one
specific health care provider, Planned Parenthood, from all Federal
resources. This will needlessly put lives in danger.
Planned Parenthood carries out millions of lifesaving preventative
and primary care services every year. They deliver immunizations,
routine gynecological exams, nearly 1 million screenings for cervical
cancer, 830,000 breast exams, and nearly 4 million tests and treatments
for sexually transmitted infections like HIV every single year. If this
resolution passes, all of these services would be lost.
Seventy-five percent of their more than 3 million patients live at or
below 150 percent of the poverty level, make less than $33,000 for a
family of four. One of every five women in America has gone to Planned
Parenthood for access to health care. Sixty percent of these women
consider Planned Parenthood their main source of care. And, in fact,
even the number of men Planned Parenthood serves has doubled over the
past decade. All of these women and men would lose access to these
services if this should pass.
This resolution guts a primary source of care for millions of
American families. We all know this has nothing to do with Federal
funding of abortion. Federal funds are already banned from going
towards abortion services under the Hyde amendment.
We should not be playing political games with women's lives. I urge
my colleagues to oppose this dangerous resolution and to stand for
women's health and, above all, to trust women to make the right
decisions.
Mr. DICKS. Will the gentlelady yield?
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.
Mr. DICKS. I rise in very strong support of the gentlelady's position
on Planned Parenthood and urge a ``no'' vote on this current
resolution.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from
Tennessee, the principal sponsor of the bill, Mrs. Black.
Mrs. BLACK. Mr. Speaker, as a nurse for over 40 years, I have spent
my entire career protecting life. And those who need the greatest
protection are those who have the least voice, that is, children born
and unborn.
{time} 1540
Now as a Member of Congress, I will continue to fight for the rights
of the unborn through this legislation we have here today. And today, I
am here as a sponsor of this resolution to ensure that no Federal funds
are used for either the promotion or the performance of abortions.
There are people around who would lead you to believe that this bill
is
[[Page H2799]]
about Republicans wanting to deny women access to preventative care,
but they are using scare tactics and their lies are distracting you
from the real facts. As a matter of fact, Title X funds which fund
these types of preventative care for women will continue to fund those
organizations and agencies that provide preventative care but do not
promote or provide abortion services. What my colleagues and I are here
doing today is standing up and saying we do not support Federal funding
of any organization--any organization--that promotes or performs
abortions.
There is an urgent need to stop taxpayer dollars from funding
abortions. And the Republican majority in the House has already made
clear our commitment to ending the funding for Planned Parenthood,
which is, by the way, America's largest abortion provider. The Senate
has ducked this legislation and this important discussion for this
legislation for too long. It's time that the Senators debate this in
the open, as we have here in the House in H.R. 1, and take a vote to
end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the Democratic leader,
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).
Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her forceful
leadership in promoting women's health.
Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, when I was in high school--a long time
ago--I participated in an extemporaneous debate contest. One of the
contestants there, a friend of mine, drew from the bowl a slip that
said, ``Do women think?'' ``Do women think?'' Now, this was a long time
ago, but even then we thought that was a startling question, ``Do women
think?'' The young lady who drew it--she was really a girl in high
school--spoke with great grace and strength about women and won the
debate, which we hope to do today.
I hadn't thought of that debate for a long time, but it came rushing
down on me as I heard our Republican colleagues put forth their cuts on
women's health, especially eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood.
The arguments which the Republicans have put forth sound like the same
question of a decade ago, do women think? It's an assault on the
judgment of women. It bespeaks a lack of respect for women to determine
the size and the timing of their families.
It's clear that Republicans do not support family planning--it's hard
to understand, but it's clear that they don't--and have used debate on
this bill to spread misinformation about the critical work that Planned
Parenthood does on behalf of America's women every day. So let us be
clear, Planned Parenthood health centers currently provide preventive
services to millions of women in need of health care, including the
provision of contraception, cancer screening, breast exams, and HIV
testing.
Further, this debate is not about abortion. That is because Federal
funding for abortion is already prohibited. That is the law of the
land. This debate is about women's health.
Every year, Planned Parenthood health centers provide the following
for women's health: Contraception to nearly 2.5 million patients;
nearly 1 million pap tests identifying about 93,000 women at risk for
developing cervical cancer; 830,000 breast exams, helping alert
patients to possible cancers. That is why cutting off Federal funding
for Planned Parenthood would have a devastating impact on women's
health across the country.
Indeed, more than 90 percent of the health care provided by Planned
Parenthood is preventive care. For a majority of the women who use
Planned Parenthood health centers, the centers are the primary source
of receiving health care services. Elimination of funding means that
these women do not have health care of any kind.
Today's legislation--which has no chance of passing the Senate and
becoming law, thank God--is just part of the Republican agenda that is
the most comprehensive and radical assault on women's health and
reproductive freedom in our lifetime. And that's saying something.
Further, I point out that today on the floor of this House, this is
the 100th day of the Republicans having the majority, here we are again
debating legislation that has nothing to do with the number one
priority of the American people: creating jobs. Indeed, after 100 days,
the Republicans have not created one job and have not offered a jobs
agenda and are instead on the march against women's health and to end
Medicare in order to give tax breaks to Big Oil and millionaires.
Some Republicans say that we're here because we did not pass a bill
last year. It was shocking to hear even some members of the
Appropriations Committee--who should know better--on the Republican
side say that. But indeed we did. It was held up by Republicans in the
Senate. We passed it in the House without one Republican vote, the
omnibus bill, but it was held up by the Republicans in the Senate. And
in that bill we cut $41 billion from the President's budget.
So today when I hear our colleagues say we are cutting $78 billion--
$37.5 today. The other $41 billion, which is the largest amount, was
cut by the Democrats without one Republican vote at the end of last
year.
Today, in this latest partisan maneuver, Republicans are perpetrating
an attack on the health of women across the country, and I rise in
strong opposition to their efforts. We must all stand strong against
that agenda against women's health. We must all continue to work to
create a healthier America. And that is why I urge a ``yes'' to women's
judgment, a ``yes'' to respect their decision on the size and timing of
their families, and a ``no'' for this vote, which is an attack on
women's health.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the other principal
sponsor of this bill, the gentlelady from Alabama (Mrs. Roby).
(Mrs. ROBY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Mrs. ROBY. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor today to stand on the House
floor as one of the sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution 36.
Since coming to Congress, I have come to the floor several times to
talk about my stance on abortion and the need to defund Planned
Parenthood, and I am pleased to be a part of the lead on this important
issue today.
Mr. Speaker, I am unapologetically pro-life and will continue to do
what is necessary to protect the lives of the unborn. Every 2 minutes,
a life is lost because of an abortion. That adds up to 3,300 lives a
day or 1.2 million a year.
I believe I have an obligation to do everything I can to fight for
the unborn and to prevent taxpayer money from funding abortions.
Therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the piece of
legislation in front of us today. It would prevent Federal funds in
H.R. 1473 from going to Planned Parenthood, an organization that
provides more abortions than any other organization in the United
States.
About one of every four U.S. abortions is performed at a Planned
Parenthood location or one of their affiliates. Data shows that since
1970, Planned Parenthood has performed at least 5.3 million abortions,
and that includes over 332,000 abortions in 2009 alone. Planned
Parenthood has made plain the centrality of abortion to its mission,
mandating that every affiliate have at least one clinic performing
abortions within the next 2 years.
My colleagues opposed to this piece of legislation will claim that
the money that Planned Parenthood has been receiving is not used for
abortion. I disagree. Money is fungible. By taking away Federal funds
from Planned Parenthood, they will have to spend more of their private
money on basic services and overhead costs rather than diverting those
funds toward abortions.
From 2000 to 2009, Planned Parenthood saw an 80 percent increase in
taxpayer funding that resulted in a 69 percent increase in the number
of abortions and a 61 percent decrease in the number of adoption
referrals.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on preventing Planned Parenthood
access to Federal funds in fiscal year 2011.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
New York (Mrs. Lowey).
{time} 1550
Mrs. LOWEY. I rise in strong opposition to the resolution. The right
wing's failed radical attempt to block funding for Planned Parenthood
has now devolved to procedural games instead of a renewed focus on
creating jobs. Federal law prohibits Federal dollars for abortion, and
family planning saves taxpayers nearly $4 for every $1 spent.
[[Page H2800]]
If Republicans were serious about deficit reduction, they would
increase these investments instead of demonizing those who provide
affordable access to Pap tests, breast exams, routine gynecological
exams, flu vaccinations, smoking cessation services, cholesterol
screening, contraceptives, and all of the other services that Planned
Parenthood provides.
Vote ``no'' on this assault on women's health.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Pence).
(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I believe ending an innocent unborn human life is morally wrong. I
also believe it's morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of
millions of pro-life Americans and use them to subsidize the largest
abortion provider in America. Today Congress will vote to do something
about that.
Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in America. As
this chart shows, in 2009 Planned Parenthood made 977 adoption
referrals, had 7,021 prenatal care counseling sessions, and performed
332,278 abortions. During that time, Planned Parenthood received $363.2
million in taxpayer money. Planned Parenthood received $1 million a day
and performed about a thousand abortions a day.
H. Con. Res. 36 will only put an end to taxpayer subsidy of Planned
Parenthood. Despite the hyperbolic rhetoric of the left, this
resolution will not cut one penny from Title X women's health services.
It merely denies funds to the largest abortion provider in the land.
I want to thank the leadership of Speaker Boehner. I want to urge my
colleagues to stand with all of us, to stand for life, to stand for
taxpayers. Let's end public funding of the largest abortion provider in
America once and for all.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms.
DeGette).
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I don't know how many times this Republican
leadership is going to make the House take the same vote again and
again to deny women the basic health care they need. But repeating
these votes just exposes the extreme agenda that the American people
didn't ask for and that they don't want.
Continuing to debate defunding women's health care clinics like
Planned Parenthood is not getting less offensive; it's getting more
offensive every day. And the American public won't stand for this
extreme agenda.
Not one Federal dollar goes to fund abortions--not by Planned
Parenthood, not by anybody.
The last speaker was just plain wrong when he said this resolution
would not reduce money for women's health. It would cut millions of
dollars for women's health.
Let me tell you about a young woman from my district in Denver,
Colorado. She hasn't ever had health insurance, but she took
responsibility for her own health care, and she had her first annual
exam and Pap smear at Planned Parenthood when she was 18 years old. Now
she's pregnant and she depends on Planned Parenthood for her prenatal
care so she and her baby can be healthy. Planned Parenthood is the only
health care provider that she's ever had.
Vote ``no'' on this extreme resolution.
Mr. NUNNELEE. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith).
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, in its slick TV ads and PR blitz, the multi-billion-
dollar-a-year abortion giant Planned Parenthood appears to be hiding
something.
Could it be that they're hiding the dismaying fact that just one
organization--Planned Parenthood--performs over 25 percent of all
abortions in America? No other chain of abortion mills even comes
close.
Or is it the fact that 97 percent of all of the so-called services
rendered to a woman with child end in an abortion, or the fact that
since 1977 Planned Parenthood has deliberately caused the brutal death
of well over 5.4 million babies--a staggering loss of child life? And
in 2009 alone, 332,278 babies were killed in Planned Parenthood
clinics.
There is no organization in America, Mr. Speaker, perhaps even on
Earth, that stabs, dismembers, decapitates, or chemically poisons more
unborn children to death than Planned Parenthood. And that's the
reality of what abortion does to a child.
For the innocent and perhaps inconvenient child in the womb, a
Planned Parenthood clinic is a house of horrors, a place where abortion
has brutally destroyed children and deceived and hurt their mothers.
Vote for the resolution.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, this is about prevention. This is
about women's health. And this is about making sure that we reduce the
need for abortion in the United States of America.
And how we got so illogical to think that if we could give poor and
middle class women access to birth control, that somehow is going to
increase the abortion rates in the United States is beyond me.
We see our friends time and time again talk about respecting life,
and I see in many instances on the other side of the aisle, that ends
once the baby is actually born.
Respecting life means early childhood health care. It means
affordable health care for families. Those are life issues. Early
childhood education, Head Start, Pell Grants. Those are about making
sure that citizens in the United States of America can have life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In this bill, if we pass and defund this organization, we will have
more problems on our hands, more breast cancer, more cervical cancer.
And it's going to be more expensive. And all of these folks on the
other side that want to run government like a business and make good
investments, you can't make better investments than preventative health
care like this organization provides.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms.
Lee).
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican
war on women, and that is what this is.
Republicans have already moved to ban the District of Columbia from
using its own money for abortions. Shameful. Now they want to go after
America's most trusted provider of health care services for women.
Shameful.
In many underserved communities, Planned Parenthood is the principal
source of basic primary health services for poor and low-income women.
Last year, millions of women received breast and cervical cancer
screenings, testing, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV
and AIDS, and family planning, and contraception, mind you, through
Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood saves lives.
This is not about abortions. Only 3 percent of the services they
provide involve abortions, and the law already prohibits Federal
funding for abortions, though this law really should be repealed. This
does not reduce the deficit nor create jobs. Family planning programs
actually save taxpayers $4 for every $1 we invest in them.
This is really about pandering to the extreme right wing that wants
to take us back to the days of back-alley abortions. They want to deny
family planning and basic health care services for women.
This is a war on women.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).
Mr. ADERHOLT. I rise today in strong support of the resolution.
While I respect my colleagues who are against this resolution, let me
say that I believe that Federal funds should be cut off from Planned
Parenthood.
As previously stated on the floor by my colleagues, the resolution
does not reduce funding for women's health services. It simply ensures
that funds are directed to other organizations. Not a dime of women's
health or family planning funding is reduced by this resolution. We
simply want to ensure that Federal funds are being used in a way that
protects the will of our constituents, not to help subsidize Planned
Parenthood.
[[Page H2801]]
Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the Nation,
providing over 300,000 abortions in 2009.
{time} 1600
Over the years, Planned Parenthood has increased their abortion
numbers every year, while adoption and prenatal care remains way too
low.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this resolution.
Ms. DeLAURO. If I might inquire, Mr. Speaker, how much time is left
on both sides.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). The gentlewoman from Connecticut
has 3 minutes, and the gentleman from Mississippi has 1 minute
remaining.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Roybal-Allard).
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this
concurrent resolution.
Planned Parenthood is a safety net that helps Americans stay healthy
by providing primary care services such as breast cancer screenings,
immunizations, and annual exams. Women also receive preventive care
that helps lower cancer deaths, heart attacks, and cases of undiagnosed
and untreated STDs.
As the largest provider of family planning, it helps women and men
become parents when it makes the most sense for them. The attacks on
Planned Parenthood are underhanded tactics using inaccurate statements
and statistics. A perfect example is the recent claim that abortions
make up 90 percent of their services. This gross misstatement has been
refuted by hard numbers which show these services were less than 3
percent of the care provided in 2009. At the expense of critical health
care for millions of Americans, these attacks are another irresponsible
diversion from the fact that Republicans have failed to take one action
to create jobs.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlelady from
Ohio (Mrs. Schmidt).
Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, you know, times are tough, including in
Congress. And we have to find wise ways to spend our taxpayer dollars.
For every 33 pregnant women that walk into a Planned Parenthood clinic,
32 receive an abortion. Planned Parenthood does over 1,000 abortions a
day, and they receive $1 million a day from taxpayers. The time has
come to stop funding Planned Parenthood. We have better ways to spend
our taxpayer dollars. Let's put it back to the Treasury and reduce the
deficit.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California
(Mrs. Capps).
Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this mean-
spirited resolution, yet another attempt by the Republicans to play
politics with women's health care, part of their broader priority to
reopen the culture wars. But the lies that have been tossed around in
this debate are an insult to the 3 million Americans who used Planned
Parenthood services this year.
Nearly two-thirds of those who visit a Planned Parenthood consider it
to be their main source of health care, their mainstay, their lifeline.
In my own district, Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura and
San Luis Obispo Counties serves over 31,000 patients a year. I must ask
the supporters of this mean-spirited resolution, where should these
31,000 people go? They have no answer. Just inaccurate talking points
and a demonizing ``we know best'' attitude.
Instead of taking away women's access to health care, let's turn to
working on what they really need: a stronger economy and meaningful job
opportunities. So please join me in voting ``no'' on this mean-spirited
resolution.
Ms. DeLAURO. I yield myself the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is
recognized for 1 minute.
Ms. DeLAURO. My Republican colleagues were prepared to shut down the
Federal Government over women's health. If you can imagine that. Turn
this country into chaos because of women's health issues. Today they
continue to treat women as second-class citizens. They would treat
women with a lack of respect, denigrate them, and undervalue women in
our society today. That is what this debate is all about.
They would deny women basic health care. And because we in this House
of Representatives have health care, they don't care much about what's
happening to those whose primary care is at this facility, for cancer
screenings. I am a survivor of ovarian cancer. I know what it means to
be screened, to be diagnosed, and to be told I have a serious illness,
and that I have the opportunity to get well. Trust the women of this
Nation. Trust them. Vote against this misguided resolution.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, the House has before it today an important
question, but it's not a new question. It's a question of old. This day
I put before you the choice of life or death. Today we choose life.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, budget resolutions are about
funding the needs of our country. We should be talking fund initiatives
to create jobs.
Instead, we're wasting time on divisive social issues.
Some want to make this a fight about abortion. But this is a fight
for women's health. For ourselves, for our daughters, and for our
granddaughters.
This resolution won't save taxpayer dollars or create jobs.
What it will do is undermine women's health.
More than 90 percent of the care those health centers provide is
primary and preventive.
And one in five American women has been to a Planned Parenthood
health center for services like breast cancer screening, cervical
cancer screening, and well-women exams.
Mr. Speaker, I will not let San Diego families lose these valuable
health services.
I listen to my constituents about how important Planned Parenthood's
services have been in their lives.
Just last week, I held a telephone town hall, and a woman waited on
the line for over an hour to ask me about my support for Planned
Parenthood.
Anna started going to Planned Parenthood when she first moved to San
Diego because as a young woman she was unemployed and had nowhere else
to go for health care.
Decades later, she is in her 60s and still uses them for breast and
cervical cancer screenings.
I also want to tell you about Jamie, a single working woman who was
laid off 2 years ago during the recession and started using Planned
Parenthood for her health care.
Even now that she has a job, she can't afford health insurance and
continues to use their services.
Without Planned Parenthood, she would not have had a pap smear and
would not know she has a high-risk type of HPV, which could lead to
cervical cancer.
In her words, ``Planned Parenthood has not only potentially saved my
life but millions of others as well.''
These are only two of the nearly 800,000 patients seen by California
Planned Parenthoods every year.
I am not willing to deny them access to lifesaving care.
I'm shocked and outraged that the majority is willing to do so,
especially when 65 percent of Americans favor continued support for
Planned Parenthood.
I will be voting against this resolution, and I hope you will all
join me.
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this
resolution.
Millions of Americans across the country rely on Planned Parenthood
as their only source of medical care. More than 90 percent of the care
that Planned Parenthood provides in our communities is primary and
preventive services. Such care keeps our communities healthier, and
keeps health care costs down.
However, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are attempting
to misrepresent federal funding for Planned Parenthood as federal
subsidization of abortions. Federal law already prohibits federal
dollars from funding abortions. And today's resolution would take funds
from cancer screenings, birth control, HIV testing, and other life
saving care.
It would effectively cripple the largest provider of reproductive
health services in our country and it would take funding away from
health care that primarily serves low-income Americans. It would take
away health care services from women in my hometown. Women like Kari.
Kari shared with me that she did not have health insurance when she
went to Planned Parenthood to receive a free cancer screening. The
screening showed that Kari had cervical cancer. But Planned
Parenthood--in addition to offering the free screening--continued to
provide Kari free care through subsequent visits. Today, Kari is a
cancer survivor.
Without Planned Parenthood's services Kari's story could have had a
very different
[[Page H2802]]
ending. And while this Congress should be working to improve access to
health care services to help millions of men and women just like Kari,
this resolution does just the opposite. Today's resolution is an attack
on women, on low-income Americans, on community health centers, and on
primary care.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this harmful bill.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans have made their
extreme agenda abundantly clear--undermine women's access to
reproductive health care and attack the local women's health providers
they rely on to provide cancer screenings, routine gynecological
examinations, contraceptive services, immunizations, and testing and
treatment for sexually-transmitted infections.
One in five American women has received care from a Planned
Parenthood health center at some point in her life, making it one of
the largest women's health care providers in the country. Planned
Parenthood clinics serve over 3 million Americans every year and plays
a critical role in our Nation's health care system. The Republican
budget would deny them any funding.
Bonnie S. from Evanston, IL, wrote:
``I found myself without health care in my early twenties even though
I was still working. I was in a committed, long-term relationship and
needed birth control and a yearly pap smear. Planned Parenthood was my
main healthcare provider for nearly ten years.''
``I have only had one sexual partner in my life. I have never had an
abortion. Without Planned Parenthood, I would not have been able to
afford birth control and a yearly pap smear, things that no woman
should have to go without. I'm sure there are many women out there with
a story like mine. Stopping funding for Planned Parenthood would be a
horrible thing.''
Lesley W. from Evanston, IL, wrote:
``I was shocked and horrified to learn that Congress has voted to
defund Planned Parenthood. As an 18 year old college freshman, Planned
Parenthood was the difference for me between getting reliable, high
quality birth control and gynecological care, and leaving my
reproductive health to chance. Now at age 49, married and a mother, I
credit Planned Parenthood with giving me the tools for a healthy and
responsible sex life. I never had an unplanned pregnancy. I never got
an STD. When AIDS came around, I knew how to protect myself and my
partners. Planned Parenthood may well have saved my life, as it has
saved the lives of thousands of women (and men) over the years. To not
fund it is not only cruel and unethical, it is remarkably short
sighted. How many more unplanned pregnancies, abortions, and STDs will
we now see? How many young women will avoid prenatal care because they
are afraid of a gynecologist's office? How many will avoid screenings
for cervical cancer?''
``Planned Parenthood was there when I needed it, and I want it to be
there for my daughter and the next generation of young women. It plays
a crucial role in our national healthcare, and must be funded.''
Poll after poll has shown that Americans support the work of Planned
Parenthood centers because investing in commonsense, proven, effective
prevention and primary health care is smart health policy.
Republicans need to stop attacking Planned Parenthood and they need
to end their war on women's health.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 218, the concurrent resolution is
considered read and the previous question is ordered.
The question is on the concurrent resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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