[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 109 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1058-E1059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2017

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                               speech of

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 6, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5485) making 
     appropriations for financial services and general government 
     for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of Congressman 
Grayson's amendment number 12 to the FY 2017 Financial Services and 
General Government Appropriations legislation. This pro-woman amendment 
would strike a long-standing and unfair policy rider from the 
underlying legislation that restricts abortion coverage for those 
ensured under the Federal Employees Health Benefits

[[Page E1059]]

Program (FEHBP). Restricting access to this constitutionally protected 
right sets women working for the federal government apart as a separate 
class.
  FEHBP provides health insurance to federal employees and their 
dependents. Like employees in the private sector, federal employees 
contribute to the cost of their health insurance through co-pays and 
deductibles. Unlike other employees in the private sector, however, 
federal employees are unable to access health plans that cover 
abortion.
  Since 1983, Congress has adopted language through the Financial 
Services Appropriations bill to eliminate abortion coverage from FEHPB 
except in narrow circumstances when the pregnancy would endanger the 
woman's life or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. I rise in 
support of this amendment because it is time to end this prohibition.
  Every woman in the United States is entitled to access the 
constitutionally-protected full range of pregnancy-related care, 
including abortion. No employer--including the federal government--
should be allowed to dictate how an employee uses health care coverage 
or interfere in the benefits an employee chooses to access. Congress 
should respect the health care decisions of each federal employee and 
treat women with the dignity and compassion they rightly deserve.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment to protect 
the rights of federal employees and their right to access 
constitutionally-protected medical services. For too long, this body 
has interfered with the difficult decisions women should make with 
their families, their doctors and whomever they choose. It's time that 
Congress lifts this ban and all bans on abortion coverage not just in 
FEHBP.

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