[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S339-S340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Abortion

  Madam President, my Democratic colleagues frequently say 
conservatives are radical in order to score political points. Even 
President Biden has used his office to attack conservatives with 
language I won't give more air time by repeating here at this time.
  Liberals do this to scare Americans into ignoring the failures of 
their own policies and to distract voters from how extreme they have 
become.
  This was on full display in last week's State of the Union Address, 
as President Biden misled the country about Republican ideas and 
straight up twisted the facts of his own agenda.
  President Biden sold the state of the Nation as perfectly fine, 
ignoring many of the issues Americans care most about. The reality is, 
President Biden and my colleagues on the far left are sometimes way, 
way out of touch with what the American people believe in.
  Democrats frequently reject commonsense proposals but support extreme 
policies put forth by the far, far leftwing of their party. Liberal 
representatives have to do this because they are aligned with a woke 
mob that will cancel them if they disagree. Although that far-left mob 
is very vocal, they don't represent the vast majority of Americans. 
Sadly, President Biden's position on the border, the economy,

[[Page S340]]

crime, and energy have all fallen victim to this trap set by the 
progressive ideas of the left, and his administration is set on taking 
this country apart from the inside out. We are dying from the inside 
out, using far-left, even socialist ideas that have not and will not--
will not--ever work in the United States of America.
  Democrats are misusing the Federal Government to get their way 
regardless of what the law, the Constitution, or the American people 
have to say. No issue shows the radical drift of this administration 
better than abortion--a very tough and a very important topic.
  The far left attacks pro-life Americans, and they distract from the 
fact that their views go well beyond the beliefs of most Americans and 
most civilized people around the world. The Biden administration courts 
an extreme, heartless, and inhumane abortion agenda. Democrats today 
believe in abortion at any time for any reason with no restrictions or 
regard for human life.
  I am proud to be pro-life for many reasons, including my faith--
another thing I will not set aside for political correctness. However, 
even without considering religion, a society that allows abortion up to 
and past the moment of birth--after the baby has been born--isn't 
progressive; it is barbaric, and it is murder.
  When the Supreme Court ruled that abortions should be left up to the 
people, this administration went into overdrive to force their agenda 
onto every American. Now, to be clear, the Supreme Court ruling did not 
make abortion illegal. They said: We are going to send it back to the 
States where it can be more closely decided by the voters. Let the 
voters decide. That is how we do it in the United States of America, 
because it is an issue that should not be left up to the Federal 
Government or to a court. The people should decide. That is what we 
should do here. That is what we have always done.
  The Biden administration is attempting to use, at this time now, our 
military, our veterans affairs facilities, your taxpayer dollars, maybe 
even a ridiculous new public health emergency in the very near future 
to go at this agenda--all to make sure there is unrestricted access to 
ending the life of an unborn child. That is extreme.
  Let's look at how this administration is trying to skirt the law and 
ignore the Supreme Court and how it will impose the law. Last summer, 
the Department of Defense claimed that the decision to overturn Roe 
would have serious impacts on our military readiness--extreme impacts. 
Of course, they provided no real evidence to back up this claim. But, 
as usual, they laid out a radical plan to use our military resources to 
fly folks around the country to get abortions on taxpayer money. 
American taxpayers are expected to pay for time off, support, and 
travel costs for servicemembers and their dependents.
  For years, the military has funded abortions in three different 
cases: rape, incest, and a threat to the life of the mother. The new 
policy that the Department of Defense wants to put forward throws all 
those restrictions out the door, and opens military facilitated 
abortion services to millions and millions more people.
  It is ridiculous; it is against the law. And they know it. That is 
why they refused to answer questions asked by Members of Congress when 
we doubted these plans. The Department of Defense stonewalled--
stonewalled--all of our requests for a briefing for months this past 
fall, only giving us answers after I held up their nominations to force 
their hands. They were forced to do it.
  Those answers were shocking once we had the briefing. The Department 
of Defense leaders claimed overturning Roe would severely impact 
military readiness. But the Department has averaged less than 20 
abortions per year for many, many years--averaged only 20.
  So does this potentially restricting less than 20 procedures a year 
sound like a threat to our military readiness? It does not. This isn't 
about readiness. It is about politics.
  The new policy would put the American people on the hook to pay for 
thousands and thousands of abortion trips every year with no clear 
restrictions. Of course, they have no idea how much it is going to cost 
the American taxpayer.
  The Department of Defense isn't the only department seeking to expand 
abortion access. Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs 
announced a similar policy. Like the Department of Defense, the VA is 
attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court decision. The VA began 
performing abortions at taxpayer-funded medical facilities across the 
country due to the so-called ``crisis'' created by commonsense 
restrictions. This includes States like my home State of Alabama, 
where, by the way, abortion is illegal.
  Never mind that the Federal law prohibits the use of VA facilities 
for abortions. Never mind that. Never mind that the Supreme Court ruled 
that States can pass their own laws to regulate the issue. That is what 
the Supreme Court says. Never mind that the VA provided no protections 
for staff who may have religious objections to performing these 
procedures. And never mind the cost to taxpayers, the impact on 
veterans, and the will of the American people. Never mind all that.
  The VA providing abortions is against the law--absolutely against the 
law. It is an unconstitutional abuse of the government, and it should 
not be tolerated. Last week, more than half of the Republican 
conference in the Senate and dozens of lawmakers in the House joined me 
in introducing a resolution disapproving of the VA rule allowing 
abortion on demand. Our resolution defends the law, the unborn, and our 
veterans who depend on the VA for their healthcare. Soon we will force 
a vote on this resolution, because the American people deserve to know 
where each Senator in this room stands on the law and protecting life 
or with abortion at any time. The people need to know that and where 
everybody stands.
  This extreme abortion madness does not appear to be stopping with the 
military and the VA. The Biden Department of Health and Human Services 
is reportedly considering declaring a public health emergency on 
abortion. It is an emergency. The idea would be laughable if it wasn't 
so seriously wrong for our country. Of course, this is just another 
power grab. The public health emergency frees up extra money and gives 
the Federal Government more control. Why else would they do it?
  It is just like the sham of the COVID declaration we are still living 
under somehow. We still have the declaration of emergency. There is no 
emergency because Roe v. Wade was overturned. Democrats just think that 
giving Americans the power to self-govern is some kind of crisis.

  President Biden seems set on forcing taxpayers to fund an abortion 
agenda that is completely out of step with the American people. Only 19 
percent of Americans support late-term abortion, and a majority support 
a 15-week ban. But you probably haven't heard that, because pro-life 
Americans are often silenced.
  No more. We will not be silent. We believe every American, including 
the unborn has a right to life. We believe in the authority of the 
Supreme Court who made the issue very clear last year: Let the States 
decide what each voter wants.
  We believe our military and VA should be focused on national defense 
and veterans, not politics. And we believe in a government that works 
within the law. Using our military and fake emergencies to make sure 
there are no limits on abortion is absolutely, positively shameful. I 
will never bow to the mob saying otherwise. It is embarrassing to our 
country, and I encourage all Americans who believe in the value of 
human life to stand up and join me.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Minnesota.

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