[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3915-H3916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RETAIN THE HYDE AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
retaining the Hyde amendment, and the bipartisan spirit that has 
allowed this commonsense provision to remain in law every year since 
1976.
  This past January 22 marked the 48th anniversary of the Supreme 
Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which struck down any laws protecting 
unborn children from abortion in every State in the Union. The Roe v. 
Wade decision has now resulted in the tragic deaths of over 62.5 
million unborn children, and currently it is estimated that as many as 
2,500 unborn American lives are ended every day through abortion.
  When this body first enacted the Hyde amendment in 1976 through 
funding for what was then the Health, Education, and Welfare agency, 
the vote was an overwhelming bipartisan 312-93. And even prior to that 
final enactment, nearly half of Democrats in the House voted for the 
amendment when it was first considered.
  This began a 40-year agreement on both sides of the aisle that 
Americans opposed to abortion should not be forced to violate their 
conscience and religious liberty, by subsidizing abortions through 
their tax dollars.
  The principle that no citizen should be forced to pay for these 
services that contravene their strongly held beliefs has stood the test 
of time, and it is one that this body should protect and highly regard.
  But most importantly, this simple budget rider has saved more human 
lives from abortion than any other policy at the Federal level. Today, 
it is estimated that over 2.5 million lives have been saved by the Hyde 
amendment since it was first enacted.
  To this day, this prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion enjoys 
strong support with the American people. A Marist poll earlier this 
year found that almost 60 percent of the Americans opposed the use of 
taxpayer-funded abortions.

[[Page H3916]]

  The Hyde amendment has historically been supported by mainstream 
Democrats as well. In 1994, President Biden wrote in a letter to a 
constituent, ``The government should not tell those with strong 
convictions against abortion, such as you and I, that we must pay for 
them.'' Again, in 2005, he remarked that abortion was ``always a 
tragedy,'' and said, ``I think we should be focusing on how to limit 
the number of abortions.'' And as recently as last year, he 
acknowledged the fact that the majority of the American people agree 
with the Hyde amendment.
  I can assure you that nothing has changed in the time since President 
Biden made those statements, other than perhaps a desire to appease the 
belligerent, liberal left that dominates Democrat policy today.
  Back in Kansas, the Kansas Supreme Court wrongly ruled in Hodes & 
Nauser v. Schmidt. They ruled that it paves the way for unrestricted, 
unlimited, and even State taxpayer-funded abortion. I am grateful for 
the work of Kansans for Life, the Kansas Catholic Conference, the 
Kansas Family Policy Alliance, and all of the Republican legislators in 
the statehouse who have placed the Value Them Both Amendment on the 
ballot next year.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  July 27, 2021, on page H3916, the following appeared: I am 
grateful for the work of Kansans for Live, the Kansas Catholic 
Conference, the Kansas Policy Institute, and all of the Republican 
legislators in
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: I am grateful for 
the work of Kansans for Life, the Kansas Catholic Conference, the 
Kansas Family Policy Alliance, and all of the Republican 
legislators in


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  The Value Them Both Amendment will allow for commonsense regulations 
of the abortion industry that protect both the baby and the mother, and 
ensures no State taxpayer funds will be used to fund abortion.
  I am confident that when Kansas voters speak on this issue next year, 
Kansans will choose life. And I think Kansans' respect for the sanctity 
of life can be a model for Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I, again, respectfully encourage my colleagues across 
the aisle to reconsider voting to remove the Hyde amendments from law. 
And I pray that President Biden will return to supporting the 
commonsense Hyde amendment as he had for his first 46 years of public 
service.
  Congress must reaffirm our commitment to defending the most 
vulnerable lives among us, the unborn. We must reaffirm and retain the 
Hyde amendment, legislation that is supported by both Republicans and 
Democrats in Congress and in the White House, for over a generation. We 
must reject the abortion politics of the far left, and continue to find 
a way to work together whenever possible to protect human life at its 
most vulnerable stage.

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