[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H287-H290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE 47TH ANNUAL MARCH FOR LIFE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, some of my friends up 
here should have more interesting things to say, so I yield to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is my good friend.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Wisconsin controls the 
time.

[[Page H288]]

  

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Wilson).
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Chris 
Smith for his dedication and leadership, and I thank Congressman 
Grothman from Wisconsin for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court struck down State 
and Federal right-to-life laws in their decision on Roe v. Wade. Since 
then over 61 million unborn children have been stripped of their right 
to life, and our country has denied itself future teachers, doctors, 
farmers, neighbors, friends, and loved ones.
  I am grateful to stand with my colleagues in Congress to defend the 
right to life for the unborn. In the House we have worked to pass 
commonsense pro-life legislation such as H.R. 962, the Born-Alive 
Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This bill would give a child the 
right to live if he or she is born alive following an abortion or 
attempted abortion. With over 191 cosponsors, this bill has been 
shamefully dropped by House Democrats for a vote 80 different times.

  Last weekend I attended the Right to Life Dinner featuring Governor 
Henry McMaster and First Lady Peggy McMaster and appreciated 
participating with thousands of citizens across the State for a program 
emceed by Attorney General Alan Wilson at the Statehouse in Columbia.
  South Carolina Citizens for Life work tirelessly to protect innocent 
human lives, and I appreciate the leadership of Lisa Van Riper, Holly 
Gatling, Alexia Newman, Karen Iacovelli Forster, Brenda Hucks, and 
Sally Zaleski for their hard work and dedication.
  I look forward to welcoming next weekend the participants for the 
March for Life in Washington. Each year tens of thousands of students 
from across America will show their appreciation of life.
  This year is special in that my oldest grandson and namesake, Addison 
Wilson III, will attend with a delegation from Holy Trinity Classical 
Christian School of Beaufort, South Carolina.

                              {time}  1915

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman), my colleague, and also Chris Smith for his tireless 
leadership on this.
  In the 47 years since Roe v. Wade, more than 60 million unborn 
children's lives have ended too soon. Life is the most fundamental 
human right, and I believe that life begins at conception.
  Science continues to build a case for this, and as technology 
develops, women are getting a clearer view of the lives of their babies 
when they go to the doctor's office. At just 6 weeks, an ultrasound can 
detect a child's heartbeat. At 20 weeks, a baby, we know, can feel pain 
in the womb. Unfortunately, many States still allow abortions after 
this stage.
  There is no fooling anyone anymore on this. These are true lives 
inside the womb, not just clumps of cells. Science and medicine make 
clear that life exists in the womb. If this is true, as I believe it 
is, those 60 million unborn babies deserved to have the most basic 
right, the right to live.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank all those pro-life freedom fighters who will be 
here this month at the March for Life and those who are doing it at 
home in their communities, at those clinics, at those pro-life centers. 
They have to endure a lot of harsh rhetoric from people on the other 
side of this. They, indeed, are doing the Lord's work. May God bless 
them, and I thank them for being part of this.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Biggs), my friend.
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for yielding and 
appreciate him sharing his time with us, and Representative Smith for 
his tireless work on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I am immensely grateful to live in Arizona, a State that 
prioritizes the protection of the unborn. During my tenure in the 
Arizona State Legislature, we passed dozens of pro-life bills. In fact, 
Arizona was recently named one of the top three pro-life States in the 
Union by Americans United for Life.
  I appreciate the efforts of pro-life advocates across my district who 
have worked tirelessly to help countless women choose life for their 
unborn babies. The Arizona March for Life is taking place this weekend 
in Phoenix, and I wish them great success.
  You see, pro-abortion advocates are the Luddites of our time. They 
deny the reality of what science has repeatedly demonstrated about the 
unborn. There is nothing that we do in Congress that will have efficacy 
if we choose to and fail to protect the most innocent among us.
  This Congress, I introduced H.R. 2742, the Abortion Is Not Health 
Care Act, to prevent abortions from being considered a tax-deductible 
medical expense. I have also cosponsored nearly two dozen bills seeking 
to protect the unborn, including the Pain-Capable Unborn Child 
Protection Act, Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the 
Defund Planned Parenthood Act, and the Heartbeat Protection Act.
  As we are here tonight, I can't help but think of when my wife was 
pregnant and we expected each of our children. Even without today's 
technology, we knew that each of those children was special, a unique 
individual, alive and helpless, dependent upon us, and that we had a 
responsibility for their safety and well-being.
  How can this Nation, founded under the principles and understanding 
of God's direction and hand in the formation of this country, how can 
we expect the affirming and continued blessings of the Deity, whom we 
all revere, if we continue to sacrifice on the altar of selfishness 
these unborn children?
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to end this practice.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Gohmert).
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) 
for their work in this area.
  Mr. Speaker, there was a time not long ago when   Steve King at the 
Conservative Opportunity Society had a young lady named Ramona Trevino 
who came and spoke to us. An extraordinary woman, she was top in her 
class, as I recall, and became pregnant at 16. She was encouraged by 
some to abort the child, but she didn't. She didn't go on to college, 
and eventually, there was an opening for director at a Planned 
Parenthood facility in Sherman, Texas, for which she would apply.
  She was thrilled when she had the chance to be director. But she had 
that daughter who meant and means so much to her, and she was surprised 
at the monthly meetings that the thing that was pushed most was not to 
get the number of abortions up, but if they would push taking birth 
control pills to the younger girls, then that would ensure that they 
would have revenue up from abortions, that the key was getting birth 
control pills to the youngest girls. They were more likely to miss days 
and get pregnant, and they would come back in for an abortion.
  That was the way they were trained. They were trained to encourage 
the young girls that came in: We will keep this between us. Your mom 
can't be trusted, but we can. We will keep your secrets, and you can 
have a very open lifestyle and enjoy yourself. If there are problems, 
you come back to me. You don't have to tell your parents.
  That is so destructive to the family. It is destructive to the 
mother-child relationship. It has led to the millions of abortions that 
have been performed, as sanctioned by Planned Parenthood.
  One other thing I have to mention that struck me so harshly, in the 
Committee on the Judiciary, we had a doctor that did late-term 
abortion. He said he did over a thousand of them and never thought 
about it. The mom's cervix was not dilated so for a late-term 
abortion--and he was very graphic about the manner in which you went 
in.
  You would find something that seemed linear, and it was either an arm 
or a leg. You had to pull it off. Once you had done that four times, 
you had to feel for something bulbous, he said, and then that had to be 
crushed. Then, you could remove the child.
  After his daughter was tragically killed in an accident, he couldn't 
do it anymore. The thought of pulling a little child apart was more 
than he could bear.

[[Page H289]]

  Mr. Speaker, it ought to be more than Americans could bear, coming 
between a mother and daughter, the mother who wants the best for her 
child. It should be unthinkable for a loving, caring, nonabusive 
mother. That ought to be unthinkable, but that is what is going on. 
That is what Roe v. Wade has led to.
  You may say: Well, you are just a guy. What do you know?
  I have defended what some people said were indefensible people, and 
it is an honor to stand up and defend a child that can't speak.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Davidson).
  Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding. I thank my colleagues who have taken the time tonight to 
speak in defense of life.
  Next week, a beautiful, peaceful protest will take place here in 
Washington, D.C., the March for Life, in which not tens but hundreds of 
thousands of Americans will gather, including many from the Eighth 
District of Ohio.
  When I have looked across that vast crowd in the past on the National 
Mall, I have been filled with hope for our future because the faces in 
that crowd are overwhelmingly young people. The younger generations are 
increasingly pro-life. They feel the effects of more than 60 million 
elective abortions carried out in America since 1973.
  These 60 million lives had so much potential. They could have been 
someone's spouse, brother, sister. They would have been mothers and 
fathers in their own right, but their lives were snuffed out by 
abortion.
  We should, of course, have compassion for the women whose babies' 
lives have ended through abortion. Too often, they lacked support, been 
pressured or deceived into a fateful choice to end their baby's life.
  Mr. Speaker, I especially want to honor and encourage women like Mya, 
the mother of Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins, who chose life 
courageously.
  Next week is different. We celebrate a different vision, a hopeful, 
optimistic vision. The youth will rise up, and by the grace of God, I 
will be there with them to say: It is time to end the abortion culture 
in America and defend the right to life.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, in a Florida abortion clinic, 
Sycloria Williams delivered a live baby girl at 23 weeks. The clinic 
owner took the baby, who was gasping for air, cut her umbilical cord, 
threw her into a biohazard bag, and put the bag in the trash. 
Heartbroken, Sycloria later had a funeral for her baby girl, who she 
named Shanice.
  In Sycloria's home State of Florida, in just 1 year, in 2017, 11 
babies were born alive during abortions. Shockingly, only 6 States--
Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas--currently 
require reporting of children born alive who survive abortion.
  Why the coverup? Dr. Willard Cates, the former head of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention's Abortion Surveillance Unit, said 
live births ``are little known because organized medicine, from fear of 
public clamor and legal action, treats them more as an embarrassment to 
be hushed up than a problem to be solved. It is like turning yourself 
in to the IRS,'' he goes on, ``for an audit. What is there to gain? The 
tendency is not to report because there are only negative incentives.''
  Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleagues that Philadelphia 
abortionist Kermit Gosnell, one of the few who got caught, was 
convicted for murder, for killing children who were born alive after 
attempting abortions.
  The grand jury described it this way: ``Gosnell had a simple solution 
for unwanted babies he delivered: He killed them. He didn't call it 
that. He called it `ensuring fetal demise.' The way he ensured fetal 
demise was by sticking scissors into the back of the baby's neck and 
cutting the spinal cord. He called that `snipping.' ''
  Mr. Speaker, we have tried the whole year to bring the Born-Alive 
Abortion Survivors Protection Act introduced by Ann Wagner and 191 of 
us to a vote here in this House. I, again, with my colleagues, appeal 
to the leadership: These children need protection. The unborn children 
need protection.
  Congressmen   Andy Biggs and Doug LaMalfa said it so well a few 
moments ago, that we have such a clearer picture of the unborn as well. 
Andy said, even without today's technology, he and his wife knew there 
was a baby. Ultrasound shatters the myth that an unborn child is 
anything but human, alive, and extremely vulnerable.
  Mr. Speaker, let's protect the children.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I will address a few topics tonight, but 
before I start on these other topics, I, as well, will address the 
March for Life.
  As has been mentioned, we are dealing with the 47th anniversary of 
Roe v. Wade. Hopefully, over 200,000 people will be here in Washington 
next week, and I feel bad it is a week where we are doing our work back 
in the district so I won't be able to be here for it.
  It is still kind of amazing that, in 1973, I think it was seven out 
of nine judges, which is kind of a bad testimony to the law schools of 
this Nation, felt that when our forefathers put together the 
Constitution, they felt that it, of necessity, made abortion legal in 
this country. I am sure they were not talking about it at all at the 
time, and throughout much of our history, abortion has been legal in 
the vast majority of States.
  At the time that Roe v. Wade came down, I believe abortion was 
illegal in 48 of the 50 States. If not, it was almost 48 States, and it 
was just an outlandish decision.
  Since the decision has come down, we have had over 45 million lives 
cut short because of abortion in this country. When you think about 45 
million, think how large that is. If they were alive today, it would be 
something on the order of about one-seventh of the current population 
of this country. But our people have voluntarily snuffed out that many 
lives.
  I remember when ultrasounds came out and became common. I had assumed 
that when people began to look at ultrasounds, they would see what they 
were dealing with here and abortion would have quickly become illegal.

                              {time}  1930

  It says something about the callousness of our country and the 
ineffectiveness of our clergy that, despite the gift of ultrasound--so, 
unlike 60 years ago, we all know exactly what is going on--our country 
continues to allow this slaughter to continue.
  Even worse, America, which I do believe should be a shining light on 
the hill, is one of only seven countries which allow late-term 
abortions: ourselves, Singapore, Canada, Holland, Red China, Vietnam, 
and North Korea--largely, a pretty embarrassing set of countries to be 
with.
  I hope all Americans stop and ponder how America still winds up on 
such a ridiculous list, particularly such a wealthy country and a 
country in which so many people have access to see exactly what is 
going on.
  As a matter of fact, recently, things have even gotten worse. I am 
sure my colleagues have talked about the bill recently signed into law 
in New York, which, in essence, a goal appears to be to allow you to 
snuff out the life of a newborn baby right before it is born. There is 
danger that a similar law is soon going to pass in Virginia.
  I challenge the clergy in this country. And I know some of them don't 
like to say uncomfortable truths, apparently, but I challenge them to 
do something here.
  Somebody just mentioned the movie ``Gosnell,'' and there is another 
movie, ``Unplanned.'' I think these are movies that would be wise for 
the clergy in this country to make sure people were aware of so they 
saw exactly what was going on.
  Obviously, what we have here is kind of a silent ending of millions 
of lives. Most people do not know it is going on. It doesn't affect 
them on a daily basis. But it is time for the clergy and churches of 
this country to step up to the plate.
  I wish well for all the people who are going to come from all over 
the country and attend the March for Life.


                          Knights of Columbus

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, there are other things I am going to 
address right now, one a little bit related. I

[[Page H290]]

would like to talk a little bit about the Knights of Columbus.
  We live in a society that claims to value diversity and tolerance; 
however, sometimes things bubble up in this town. It is apparent that 
some people are hated and the intolerance applies to them.
  I am speaking, of course, of the fact that, about 2 years ago, a 
little over 2 years ago now, a U.S. Senator from California, in part of 
a confirmation hearing on a Federal judge, decided to weigh in and felt 
that, if you were a member of the Knights of Columbus, perhaps you 
shouldn't become a Federal judge.
  Recently, rereading the statements made there and the lack of outrage 
at what, apparently, was a religious test, or close to a religious 
test, to become a Federal judge, I thought I would like to talk a 
little bit about the Knights of Columbus, which is very active in my 
district.
  The Knights were founded as a Catholic group in 1882, in Connecticut, 
and, currently, there are about 2 million Knights, almost exclusive to 
the United States, but there are also some in Canada, New Zealand, 
England--or Britain--and a few other countries.
  They have been active during that time, and they do a lot to help 
people. They seem almost ubiquitous in my district with all the 
fundraisers they have.
  A few weeks ago, I attended a meat raffle for the Princeton Knights 
of Columbus in which they were helping out a Vietnam veteran who had 
cancer.
  I want to point out that the Knights will help out not just Catholic 
people, but people who aren't Catholic as well.
  The Princeton Knights were also doing a chili fundraiser to help a 
gentleman with prostate cancer.
  Other groups I see around, can be seen: the Cedarburg Knights selling 
Tootsie Rolls for Special Olympics or pregnancy health centers; the 
Fond du Lac Knights having fish fries for youth hockey and handicapped 
children.
  You see the Neenah Knights running concession stands at the Packers 
games, the Mayville Knights doing a calendar fundraiser for the local 
food pantry, the Oshkosh Knights doing a bowling fundraiser for coats 
for kids, or Men for Christ. I mean, you see the good works that the 
Knights are doing everywhere.
  I wish I had time to go through all the other organizations and list 
exactly the fundraisers they have. The Two Rivers, Manitowoc, 
Sheboygan, Fredonia, Horicon, wherever I go, I see the Knights are 
active helping people out.
  I always kind of consider the Knights of Columbus kind of like mom 
and apple pie. You know, you could stand here in Congress, and 
Congressmen would go out of their way to praise groups like the Knights 
of Columbus and be seen with the Knights of Columbus.
  But, apparently, they are not so much like mom and apple pie anymore. 
We have had Members of this body, and not from small, insignificant 
States, Members of this body apparently now feeling that that is 
something to be attacked for. And, of course, it is not.
  They are helping out at the Special Olympics or helping out at youth 
hockey that has caused them to be hated or feel that they shouldn't be 
part of the public square. It is, of course, that they are active in 
the Catholic church, a church that is pro-life, that apparently some 
Members around here feel that the Knights of Columbus, therefore, 
should step aside and can't be trusted to make decisions as far as 
where we are going in the United States of America.
  Recently, Joe Biden came out, actually, and even said that the 
Senator from California would make a great Vice President. I mean, can 
you imagine that?
  Can you imagine, 40 years ago, in this country, somebody saying that 
the Knights of Columbus, that a member of the Knights maybe shouldn't 
be a Federal judge?
  That is a great thing she says. Let's make her a Vice President. I 
think that is a great thing.
  In any event, speaking on behalf of myself, I would like to thank the 
Knights for all they do around the Sixth Congressional District. I hope 
they continue to speak out on Christian issues, on Catholic issues.

  I hope the other clergy, clergy who may not be Catholic themselves, 
realize that they could be next to be targeted by these Members of 
Congress. But, again, I thank the Knights of Columbus for all they do.
  Mr. Speaker, I guess I have a few minutes more here. I have, what, 5 
more minutes?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Wisconsin has 5 minutes 
remaining.


                      Impeachment and Immigration

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, we spent a lot of time up here, too much 
time on this impeachment thing. I think the reason people want to talk 
about impeachment is they don't like to talk about all the things that 
ought to be getting done that Congress isn't doing when they are 
talking about impeachment.
  I want to, one more time, talk about what I think is the number one 
issue that is going to destroy America, and that is the immigration 
situation. We continue to have people come across the border.
  President Trump, on his own, has dropped the number of people coming 
in this country from over 50,000 allowed in this country and placed in 
this country last May to under 1,000 by the Border Patrol in December.
  Nevertheless, laws should be changed quickly to make sure that this 
does not continue, or should be changed quickly before some of these 
Federal judges decide to stop President Trump from trying to do what he 
is doing.
  The Congress should be brought in to change the credible fear 
standard to make sure everybody under the Sun can't say that they 
should be a refugee.
  We want to change the laws with regard to the Traffic Victim 
Protection Reparations Act. Right now, so people understand, if we get 
somebody under age 18 from Canada or Mexico--from Canada or Mexico--we 
can send them back; from other countries, we are forced to keep 
families apart.
  I know President Trump would desperately like to return a minor from 
Honduras or Venezuela or Cuba back to their parents, but right now he 
is forbidden from doing that because Congress refuses to act.
  We should be cracking down on welfare for illegal immigrants right 
now, which serves as an inducement for the most irresponsible of people 
to come to the United States, but Congress doesn't act.
  We have built, or we are soon going to build, 100 miles toward the 
wall, but we still need more money. We hope we have enough money to get 
to 450 miles by the end of the year. But that is not going to be 
enough, particularly when you consider that, right now, the DEA thinks 
that 95 percent of the fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, or meth in this 
country is coming across our borders.
  I will guarantee you there are people who are going back to their 
districts next week and, at their townhalls, are claiming that they 
care about the over 60,000 people who died last year from these drugs, 
but they aren't doing anything to enforce that border where 95 percent 
of these drugs--fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and meth--are coming are 
cross.
  It is time we act there, as well. We need more money for what we call 
nonintrusive technology so we can determine when these drugs are coming 
across in cars or otherwise, as well as it would be a good thing to get 
more dogs.
  I have been down at the border myself and seen how effective they are 
at preventing these drugs from coming across that are killing so many 
people.
  In any event, I hope the rest of the public and our mainstream media, 
as well as our conservative media, don't fall apart and don't fall into 
the trap of being all impeachment all the time over the next 3 or 4 
months.
  Remember all the people who are dying because of the drugs coming 
across the border. Remember the huge burden on the United States as 
more people come across the border for things such as welfare-type 
benefits, and imagine what type of future America has if we don't begin 
to enforce our laws.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________