[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 12 (Monday, January 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NO TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR ABORTION AND ABORTION INSURANCE FULL DISCLOSURE 
                              ACT OF 2015

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 22, 2015

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the 
misleadingly titled ``No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.''
  This deceivingly-titled bill does nothing more than dramatically 
restrict the ability of women to purchase affordable health insurance 
without forfeiting their constitutionally protected right to buy health 
coverage that includes reproductive services. Federal policy, including 
explicit language in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), already prohibits 
the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. Existing law in the ACA 
states that any individual who joins a plan that covers abortions will 
pay an additional fee that goes into a separate account; this was 
specifically designed to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not spent on 
abortions. The fee is only paid by people who knowingly joined a health 
plan that covers abortions, and any abortion (except in cases of rape, 
incest, or to save the mother's life) coverage is paid out of those 
accounts--not by taxpayer dollars.
  The ACA also provides that individuals purchasing their health care 
from the recently established exchanges can, depending on their income, 
access tax credits and ensure that their health care plan is 
affordable. This bill would deny women access to the tax credits on 
their health plans even though the tax credit does not cover any of the 
cost of plans that include abortion coverage. In other words, women 
will be denied access to affordable health care if they exercise their 
right to use their own funds for abortion coverage. This is 
unacceptable and violates the careful balance established in the ACA. 
Whether women purchase their insurance through the marketplace 
exchanges or receive it through their employers, millions of American 
women would be denied their choice of affordable health care coverage.
  A woman's right to choose her own health care is a fundamental one, 
and the Congress should not tell women how to manage their private 
health or reproductive care. Sadly, this legislation will do just that.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this assault on women. 
This bill was a mistake the first two times it was proposed, and it 
remains a mistake today. Instead of attacking a woman's access to 
health care, we should be focused on accelerating job growth and 
increasing the paychecks of working Americans.

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