[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1236-S1238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5,
UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS RELATING TO ``REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES''--MOTION TO
PROCEED--Continued
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Murphy). The Senator from Washington.
S.J. Res 10
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, ever since Republicans succeeded in
overturning Roe v. Wade and ripping abortion rights away from millions
of women, they have been trying to hide how extreme their positions on
abortion are and how devastating the fallout has been for families.
Even as each new day brings another horror driven by Republican
extremists, like the dystopian bill put forward in South Carolina which
proposed the death penalty for women who get an abortion, one of my
colleagues even recently said that as President, he would ``literally
sign the most conservative pro-life legislation.''
Let's not forget the terrifying lawsuit in Texas that is hanging over
the entire country, where Republican extremists want to overrule the
FDA's experts, undermine its authority to review and approve all manner
of drugs, from chemotherapy to insulin, and take the abortion pill
mifepristone away from patients all across the country, even in States
like mine where abortion is still legal and even though we have 20
years of data showing this drug is safe and effective.
Yet, when the district judge issued a dangerous ruling that would rip
this drug off the shelf, 69 congressional Republicans filed a brief
calling for that ruling to go into effect and deny women in every
single State access to this FDA-approved medication. The Supreme Court
has stayed the decision for the time being, but this threat to women's
ability to get this drug is as real as ever, and now 147 congressional
Republicans--many Republicans who are in leadership, Republicans with
oversight authority over the FDA--have filed a brief opposing our
efforts to protect access to mifepristone and protect the FDA's
authority.
And this extreme lawsuit is far from the only dangerous anti-abortion
policy some congressional Republicans are pushing, as is the bill we
are about to vote on today.
It has been incredibly infuriating for women to be told by
Republicans that we are overreacting, fearmongering, even as we are
being told by patients and providers about the nightmares they are now
living in, about the impossible decisions they have had to make, and
about the decisions--the deeply personal decisions--they have not been
allowed to make that Republican politicians are, instead, now making
for them.
It strains belief that Republicans actually think victims of rape or
incest are not being affected by their policies and that women whose
health--whose very lives--are in danger are not facing any barriers or
are being denied the care they need, especially when we see news
stories reported every day showing that that is not the case--stories
that show women are being put in horrific, unthinkable situations,
forced to travel absurd distances for care after they are raped, forced
to wait and bleed and get sicker and sicker before they can get the
care they desperately need.
But even if Republicans are ignoring the devastation State abortion
bans are causing and are ignoring women who are speaking out every
single day, what we are talking about today in this Senate is a bill
congressional Republicans wrote themselves. It really puts an end, once
and for all, to some Republicans' empty claims that they are being
moderate in any way here. Victims of rape or women with medical
complications are not being heard, because this bill, which Republicans
wrote, which Republicans are coming to the floor advocating for, would
cut veterans and their families off from care when their lives are in
danger and would cut them off from care after rape or incest.
Make no mistake, that is what this debate is about today. That is
what they are voting for. In arguing for this bill, they are also
showing they know full well how extreme State bans actually are. After
all, they cannot pretend that, on the one hand, State abortion bans
have meaningful exemptions for women with life-threatening
complications and for people who have been raped, including children,
while also arguing, on the other hand, that this proposal defies State
laws to allow the VA to provide care in those heartbreaking situations.
Those arguments contradict each other. More importantly, those claims
contradict the real, heartbreaking stories we are already hearing from
women and doctors about how these bans are putting lives at risk.
Extreme abortion bans are causing healthcare crises all across the
country, along with so many personal crises for families in facing
incredibly difficult situations, which is why the VA care rule that
President Biden put forward is so important and why the Democrats are
standing so firm to keep it intact. Despite the rhetoric from my
Republican colleagues, this rule that they are trying to overturn is a
meaningful, modest step to protect our veterans. It simply allows the
VA to provide abortion care to make sure that none of our veterans or
their eligible dependents go without medical treatment when their lives
are in danger or are forced to stay pregnant after rape or incest.
That is it. That is what Republicans are so upset about. They are
upset that this administration has taken action to make sure women who
have served our country in uniform can get the basic reproductive care
they need when
[[Page S1237]]
their health is at risk or in cases of rape or incest. Those veterans
fought to protect our rights, and now Republicans want to roll back
theirs. These veterans put their lives on the line for us, and now
Republicans who support this resolution want to tell them that when
their lives are in danger, tough luck. Politics comes first. No one--no
one--deserves that.
So I urge all of my colleagues to stand with our veterans, to stand
with their families, and vote against this unthinkably cruel bill that
seeks to force women veterans to stay pregnant even when their lives
are at risk, even after rape or incest.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Tuberville and
Schumer be permitted to complete their remarks prior to the rollcall
vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I am proud to have come from a
military family. Our veterans are some of the best people in this
country. Because of that, I am grateful to serve on the Veterans'
Affairs Committee. Giving back to our veterans has been a passion my
whole life. Our men and women in uniform deserve the best medical care
available. I am grateful for every healthcare provider that works for
and with our veterans.
The mission of the VA is taken from Abraham Lincoln's second
inaugural address. Lincoln pledged our country to ``care for him who
shall have borne the battle.'' That is what the VA is supposed to be
about. But today, under the Biden administration, we see the VA
increasingly--increasingly--getting distracted from that very important
mission. The Biden administration increasingly has the VA involved in
politics.
Last year, the VA announced they would begin providing taxpayer-
funded abortions--last year. This is something the VA has never, ever
done. Let me repeat that. The VA has never done abortions. In fact, the
VA has been prohibited by this body from performing abortions at its
facilities for more than 30 years.
The 102nd Congress--1991 to 1992--made taxpayer-funded abortions at
VA facilities illegal. Let me repeat that. Thirty years ago, this body
made taxpayer-funded abortions illegal. It is a law. They did this with
the bipartisan Veterans Healthcare Act of 1992. The last I heard, that
is a Federal law, passed by this body, which, for some reason, we don't
want to do anymore. We want the executive branch to be able to do it on
their own, and that is wrong. We need to do our job.
This, today, is not about abortions. It is about taxpayers paying for
abortions that they don't have to pay for because of a law that was
presented and passed in this Chamber in 1992. The bill was introduced
in the House and the Senate by whom? None other than the Democrats. The
Senate passed it unanimously. This includes a Senator by the name of
Joe Biden.
Now President Biden is breaking the law that he voted for. How do you
do that? This is a direct violation of Federal law. The Biden
administration even wants taxpayers on the hook for abortions for
veterans' dependents. That has never happened. So we are changing the
law at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and not in here, where we are supposed
to do our job. It has got nothing to do with the VA's mission.
The VA won't even tell Congress if they are placing restrictions on
abortions. When are they doing it--at 5 months? 3 months? 2 months?
after the baby is born? We can't get any information out of them. They
just write the laws themselves. The VA has refused to cooperate with
Congress throughout this whole process. And that is what this is all
about. For all we know, a taxpayer-funded abortion can be at any time,
at their choosing.
This new policy also includes very limited moral protections for VA
medical staff. This, too, is unheard of in our laws and our traditions.
We have had moral protections on the books for decades. It was James
Madison who said that a man has a right to his property, and
``Conscience is the most sacred property of all.'' This was the
attitude of our Founders. Frankly, the Founders would be shocked by
what is happening in this Chamber today.
Frankly, the Biden administration is violating the consciences of the
taxpayers as we speak by putting pressure on the taxpayers to have to
defend and go after this. Taxpayers shouldn't be forced to pay for
abortions, especially not when this was done without anybody's taking a
vote in this building, especially when Congress voted to make it
illegal 30 years ago. It is illegal and it is wrong.
In just a few moments, the Senate has a chance to do something about
it. We are going to vote on a bipartisan basis to overturn this rule.
If Democrats want taxpayer-funded abortions within the VA healthcare
system, let's vote on it. That is what we are elected to do, not lean
on a President and the White House to say this is what we are going to
do. That ain't the way we do it in this building. If we are going to do
it that way, let's lock the door and go home and save the taxpayers a
lot of money.
Again, this is not about abortion; this is about doing it the wrong
way. Let's pass the bill. Let's change the law. Let's don't break the
law in here.
I would like to thank the dozens of Senators supporting my
resolution. I would also like to thank Senator Manchin and Senator
Marshall for standing with me earlier today at a press conference to
explain the facts to the taxpayers and the citizens of this country.
It is very simple: Any Senator who votes against this resolution is
voting for taxpayer-funded abortion with no guardrails or protection
for any medical staff or nurses.
Voting no on this resolution means voting to give away even more
power from Congress to the executive branch, and that is really all we
need around here.
Right now, the VA is spending money we have never voted to spend.
Anyone who believes in the appropriations process, let's oppose this
rule and support this resolution.
Voting no would mean letting the administration spend money without
the consent of the people in this room, and that is what we are elected
to do. Voting no means a big stamp of approval for a blatantly illegal
regulation. Voting against the resolution also means turning the VA
into a taxpayer-funded abortion clinic.
The VA should be focused on their mission. Lord knows, we have got 20
veterans a day dying of suicide. Why don't we focus on helping the
veterans who have been fighting in wars, these last 20-year wars that
we have been funding. Let's keep politics out of the VA. These people
have had enough politics in their lives. Let's stay focused on their
mission to ``care for him who shall have borne the battle,'' as spoken
by President Abraham Lincoln.
I yield the floor.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr President, I rise in opposition to S.J. Res. 10 to
roll back protections for veterans and their family members who are
seeking to access basic reproductive healthcare. I would like to thank
Senator Murray, Senator Baldwin, and Senator Duckworth for their
leadership in standing against this resolution.
Almost 10 months ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling overruling
nearly five decades of precedent protecting a woman's right to make her
own healthcare decisions. Now, women are at the mercy of a patchwork of
State laws governing their ability to access reproductive care, leaving
them with fewer rights than their moms and grandmas.
S.J. Res. 10 is yet another attempt to roll back women's access to
care. It would overturn a decision by the Department of Veterans
Affairs to allow veterans and their family members to access basic
healthcare. Currently, the rule allows Veterans Affairs doctors to
provide counseling and care to women veterans and beneficiaries covered
by Veterans Affairs insurance, as well as abortion care in the case of
rape, incest, or when the life or health of the women is at risk. The
rule is limited, and the Department has said that Veterans Affairs
doctors, nurses, or healthcare professionals can opt out of providing
abortion care.
Women across the country are already facing so much uncertainty
because of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's
Health Organization. This resolution threatens the lives and health of
women veterans who risked their lives for our country. Today, we are
standing up for
[[Page S1238]]
them by making it clear that we will not settle for a reality where
they cannot access basic care.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, when the health and safety of our country
is at risk, it is up to veterans to step up to protect us. They risk
their lives for us. They are always there for us. But today Senator
Tuberville from Alabama is pushing legislation that would take away
reproductive care for hundreds of thousands of veterans and their
families. That is right. The hard right is telling our veterans they
should be treated as second-class citizens, our women veterans.
It is the kind of extreme proposal millions of Americans strongly
oppose and one which, if it is passed, would gravely harm women's
health. There are over 150,000 women veterans. They risk their lives
for us. Now we must protect them.
The more Americans reject MAGA extremism, the more MAGA Republicans
seem to double down, and this bill is a perfect example. That is the
MAGA right in a nutshell: Eliminate women's choice at all costs, even
at the cost of our national defense. Again, the MAGA right says:
Eliminate women's choice at all costs, even at the cost of national
defense.
Here is the bottom line: Our veterans dedicated their lives to our
freedom so we should protect their freedom of choice, plain and simple.
Order of Procedure
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote in relation to
the Scott of Florida amendment No. 81 occur following the vote on the
motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 10; further, I ask that the Senate vote
at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow in relation to amendment Nos. 85 and 83; and the
Senate vote on passage of S. 870, as amended, if amended, at 1:45 p.m.,
with all provisions under the previous order remaining in effect.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor, and I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on
this CRA, this awful CRA.
Vote on Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
proceed to S.J. Res. 10.
Mr. COTTON. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs.
Feinstein) is necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 51, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 90 Leg.]
YEAS--48
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Braun
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Manchin
Marshall
McConnell
Moran
Mullin
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Vance
Wicker
Young
NAYS--51
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
Feinstein
The motion was rejected.
(Mr. SCHATZ assumed the Chair.)
____________________