[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1597-S1598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                ABORTION

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to print the 
following article in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                         Not Enough Abortions?

          (By Marjorie Dannenfelser, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith)

       When Americans think about supporting U.S. troops, they 
     usually think about servicemembers with difficult deployments 
     far from their families. Or wounded veterans in need of 
     health care, jobs, or homes. You know what doesn't top the 
     list? Abortion. ``Not enough abortions'' probably never 
     crosses their minds as a problem that needs solving, much 
     less at taxpayer expense.
       AT this very moment, unbeknownst to many Americans, the 
     Biden administration is using our tax dollars to pay travel 
     expenses for elective abortions--and not only for 
     servicemembers, but for their kids, spouses, and other 
     dependents. This isn't just a brazen moral affront to 
     hardworking Americans, it is also illegal. At this pace, it 
     is estimated to lead to an increase of more than 4,000 unborn 
     children killed in abortions each year.
       Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is doing all Americans 
     who value life a great service by exposing this scheme and 
     vowing to put a hold on promotions at the Pentagon until it 
     stops. Senator Tuberville is not alone. A majority Americans 
     and many colleagues in the Senate and House support his 
     effort to hold the Biden administration accountable to the 
     law and the people.
       Americans have made it clear repeatedly that they abhor 
     their tax dollars going to fund abortions. The latest annual 
     Marist poll shows 60% of Americans--millions of Independents 
     and rank-and-file Democrats included--oppose using tax 
     dollars to fund abortion domestically, and 78% oppose using 
     tax dollars to fund abortion abroad.
       The people's will is expressed in our federal laws and in 
     bills that Congress votes on year after year. The most 
     familiar is the longstanding Hyde Amendment, which saves 
     millions of lives by keeping taxpayer-funded abortion out of 
     programs like Medicaid and has been reapproved annually in 
     larger bills supported by Democrats. In addition, the Defense 
     Department specifically has been prohibited in permanent law 
     from paying for elective abortions for nearly 40 years.
       Pro-abortion Democrats have failed to get rid of these 
     critical protections through legislation, so the Biden 
     administration is resorting to violating federal law to 
     bypass them and impose agenda that would never fly at the 
     ballot box.
       Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the pro-abortion media 
     accuse Senator Tuberville of impairing military readiness. 
     But the truth is that Senate Democrats don't need Senator 
     Tuberville's help to move personnel appointments forward--
     they simply complain that he is not helping fast-track them. 
     The issue he raises is not frivolous, it is one of life or 
     death.
       Democrats also complain that service members don't have 
     enough access to abortion on demand. With a handful of 
     exceptions like North Korea and China, virtually the entire 
     world--including most of Europe--has stronger national 
     protections for unborn children than the United States. 
     Clearly, this has never ground our military to a halt.
       Only when the U.S. Supreme Court returned the right to 
     protect unborn children and their mothers to the people and 
     their elected representatives, and more than a dozen states 
     moved swiftly to let the people's consensus become law, did 
     this become a political maneuver for Democrats to appease its 
     radical, angry base.
       We are grateful for all those who are already making their 
     voices heard, and we hope others o have not yet joined in 
     will soon add theirs. The GOP's long tradition of standing 
     for life is a great strength and there

[[Page S1598]]

     is growing support in Congress to block this administration's 
     lawless abortion policies for our military, including Iowa 
     Senator Joni Ernst's bill to do just that. Sadly, Senate 
     Democrats have insisted on promoting abortion on demand until 
     birth, paid for by the taxpayers, and stonewalled Senator 
     Ernst's legislation, rather than allow any debate.
       What is more important: that Majority Leader Schumer and 
     Senate Democrats spend less 1e on the Senate floor approving 
     military promotions and nominations, or that the most 
     vulnerable and defenseless of American lives are protected 
     from President Biden's lawlessness?
       The time is now to hold the Biden administration 
     accountable for its illegal policies that have conscripted 
     our military into facilitating the violence of abortion. We 
     are proud to stand with Senator Tuberville, Senator Ernst, 
     and others in fighting back. Together we will not back down.

                          ____________________