[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     REQUEST TO CONSIDER H.R. 18, NO TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR ABORTION

  (Mr. McCARTHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McCARTHY. Madam Speaker, the Declaration of Independence says 
that our God-given freedoms are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness. As Members of Congress, we made a commitment to uphold those 
freedoms equally for everyone, but Democrats and their radical allies 
are chipping them away.
  Let's be clear. The Hyde amendment is not discriminatory. Instead, it 
is an essential safeguard that not only protects Americans' right of 
conscience, but also has saved more than two million lives from 
abortion since its first enactment in 1976.
  Until recently, it was also overwhelmingly bipartisan. In fact, one 
of the most vocal supporters in Congress was then-Senator Joe Biden. He 
told one of his constituents in 1994, ``The government should not tell 
those with strong convictions against abortion, such as you and I, that 
we must pay for them.''
  Well said, Mr. President.
  Since then, the purpose of Hyde hasn't changed. The strong 
convictions of American people against abortion hasn't changed. In poll 
after poll, they tell us they strongly support a wall of separation 
between abortions and taxpayers.
  And the science hasn't changed. If anything, it has proven beyond a 
shadow of doubt that human life begins at conception.
  One thing, however, has changed: The Democrats. By putting Hyde on 
the chopping block, the message they are sending is clear and chilling; 
that the radical demands of the socialist left drown out common sense, 
science, and the views of most Americans; that the party of ``safe, 
legal, and rare'' is now the party of abortion on demand, until or even 
after the point of birth, and funded by taxpayers; and that the 
government will compel taxpayers to violate their strongest 
convictions.
  Madam Speaker, the question before us today is a simple and 
straightforward moral issue. To represent the values of all Americans, 
Congress must respect their rights of conscience and not disregard 
them.
  Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy and 
Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 18, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion, and ask 
for its immediate consideration in the House.

                              {time}  1930

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under guidelines consistently issued by 
successive Speakers, as recorded in section 956 of the House Rules and 
Manual, the Chair is constrained not to entertain the request unless it 
has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships.
  Mr. McCARTHY. Madam Speaker, on the Republican side, it is cleared, 
so there is only one party denying it.

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