[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E33]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   RESTORING AMERICANS' HEALTHCARE FREEDOM RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. TOM COLE

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 2016

  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my strong support for 
the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans' Healthcare 
Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. Mr. Speaker, this legislation caps 
a long march by House Republicans to repeal President Obama's job-
killing health care legislation, the so-called Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act (PPACA). But you don't have to just take my word 
for it. Since its enactment, PPACA has never been popular with a 
majority of the America people. The Kaiser Family Foundation has 
maintained a monthly tracking poll of the law's popularity and only 
once in the last five years was its favorability as high as 50%. House 
Republicans recognized this and voted over 60 times to repeal or modify 
provisions of PPACA. Because of this, eighteen different provisions of 
PPACA have been considered and passed by both the House and the Senate 
and have been signed into law by the President.
  The Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762 does three important things: it 
repeals the individual mandate, eliminates the employer mandates, 
eliminates the taxes on prescription drugs and medical devices, and it 
places a moratorium on taxpayer funding to abortion providers. These 
provisions are estimated to repeal more than $1.2 trillion in tax hikes 
on hardworking families, and reduces spending by nearly $1.5 trillion, 
over the next 10 years. As a member of the Budget Committee, I am proud 
to have played a role in shaping this reconciliation bill to repeal a 
law that a majority of Americans have never wanted, a law that has 
taken away coverage that people liked and replaced it with inferior 
coverage which costs even more.
  In addition to this, Mr. Speaker, the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762 
includes a moratorium on taxpayer funding to abortion providers, like 
Planned Parenthood, and redirects those funds to community health 
centers. Like you, Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to abortion and have been 
a consistent proponent of laws and policies that respect life and 
protect the unborn. I am pleased this legislation provides for a 
moratorium of funding to Planned Parenthood.
  Broadly, I do not believe that taxpayers should fund Planned 
Parenthood. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 217, the Title X Abortion Provider 
Prohibition Act, which would prohibit family planning assistance to an 
entity unless it certifies that it will not provide funds to another 
entity that performs abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or 
the life of the mother, I have also cosponsored H.R. 3134, the Defund 
Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, which would prevent any funds from 
going to Planned Parenthood until it is certified that they do not 
perform abortions and supported this legislation when it passed the 
House, by a vote of 241-187, on September 18, 2015. In addition, I 
voted in favor of H.R. 3495, the Women's Public Health and Safety Act, 
which gives states the flexibility to exclude abortion providers, like 
Planned Parenthood, from their Medicaid programs. I do not believe it 
is appropriate to use public funds to pay for abortions and am pleased 
to see this further limitation as a part of the Senate Amendment to 
H.R. 3762.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to take a few moments to respond to some 
of my colleagues' remarks that seemed to imply that funding for Planned 
Parenthood was included in the omnibus. Approximately 90 percent of 
Planned Parenthood's federal funding comes from Medicaid 
reimbursements, which is mandatory or entitlement spending, and not 
included in the omnibus at all. The other 10 percent of Planned 
Parenthood's federal money comes primarily from the Title X Family 
Planning Program in the form of competitive grants. This amounts to 
around $60 million in any given year that Planned Parenthood must 
compete for. Obviously, with this Administration, it seems likely that 
Planned Parenthood will receive funds; however, electing a pro-life 
President who will also select like-minded appointees and cabinet 
members is the long-term solution. Ultimately, even with a government 
shutdown, Planned Parenthood would still receive the vast amount of the 
funding it currently receives.
  As the Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for 
funding the Department of Health and Human Services, I removed all 
funding for Title X programs that fund organizations conducting 
abortions, such as Planned Parenthood as part of the House version of 
this legislation. Unfortunately, we were not able to maintain that 
funding prohibition or the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act in the final 
version of the bill. For some to suggest, as they have, that more could 
have been done to stop this horrifying practice in the omnibus, is 
simply untrue.
  I am opposed to abortion and have been a consistent proponent of laws 
and policies that respect life and protect the unborn. Since becoming a 
Member of Congress, I have made protection of life one of my highest 
priorities. As stewards of the laws of this country, protecting the 
most vulnerable, including the unborn, should be one of Congress' 
highest priorities. I have a 100 percent pro-life voting record and 
intend to continue building on that record.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, this legislation demonstrates what the 
American people have known for a long time: that Obamacare is deeply 
unpopular in both Washington and back at home. Forcing the President to 
veto this legislation demonstrates that the support is here in 
Washington for a full repeal. If a Republican President would be 
elected in 2016, I am sure this albatross around the neck of the 
American people would be no more.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to listen to the voices of the 
American people and vote yes on repeal of Obamacare and a temporary 
moratorium on federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

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