[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5992-H6000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECT CHILDREN'S INNOCENCE ACT
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, Pursuant to House Resolution
953, I call up the bill (H.R. 3492) to amend section 116 of title 18,
United States Code, with respect to genital and bodily mutilation and
chemical castration of minors, and ask for its immediate consideration
in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Bice). Pursuant to House Resolution
953, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the
Committee on the Judiciary, printed in the bill, is adopted and the
bill, as amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
H.R. 3492
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Children's Innocence
Act''.
SEC. 2. GENITAL AND BODILY MUTILATION OF A MINOR; CHEMICAL
CASTRATION OF A MINOR.
(a) In General.--Section 116 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 116. Genital and bodily mutilation of a minor;
chemical castration of a minor
``(a) Genital or Bodily Mutilation.--Except as provided in
subsection (g), whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly performs, or attempts to perform,
genital or bodily mutilation on another person who is a
minor, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more
than 10 years, or both.
``(b) Chemical Castration of a Minor.--Except as provided
in subsection (g), whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly chemically castrates a minor shall
be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years,
or both.
``(c) Certain Offense Related to Female Genital
Mutilation.--Except as provided in subsection (g), whoever,
in any circumstance described in subsection (d), knowingly--
``(1) facilitates or consents to female genital mutilation
of a minor; or
``(2) transports a minor for the purpose of the performance
of female genital mutilation on such minor,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10
years, or both.
``(d) Circumstances Described.--For the purposes of
subsections (a) and (b), the circumstances described in this
subsection are that--
[[Page H5993]]
``(1) the defendant or victim traveled in interstate or
foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel,
facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign
commerce, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct
described in subsection (a) or (b);
``(2) the defendant used a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in
subsection (a) or (b);
``(3) any payment of any kind was made, directly or
indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the
conduct described in subsection (a) or (b) using any means,
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign
commerce;
``(4) the defendant transmitted in interstate or foreign
commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of
the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b) using any
means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign
commerce by any means or in manner, including by computer,
mail, wire, or electromagnetic transmission;
``(5) any instrument, item, substance, or other object that
has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to
perform the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b);
``(6) the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b)
occurred within the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or
possession of the United States; or
``(7) the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b)
otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or foreign
commerce.
``(e) Prohibition on Certain Defense.--It shall not be a
defense to a prosecution under subsection (a) that female
genital mutilation is required as a matter of religion,
custom, tradition, ritual, or standard practice.
``(f) Prohibition on Prosecution of Victim.--No person who
is chemically castrated or on whom genital or bodily
mutilation is performed may be arrested or prosecuted for an
offense under this section.
``(g) Exceptions.--
``(1) Procedures.--
``(A) In general.--Genital or bodily mutilation or chemical
castration is not a violation of this section if such genital
or bodily mutilation or chemical castration is--
``(i) necessary to the health of the minor on whom it is
conducted, and is conducted by a person licensed in the place
of such conduct as a medical practitioner; or
``(ii) in the case of female genital mutilation, performed
on a minor in labor or who has just given birth and is
performed for medical purposes connected with that labor or
birth by a person licensed in the place it is performed as a
medical practitioner, midwife, or person in training to
become such a practitioner or midwife.
``(B) Health of a minor.--For the purposes of subparagraph
(A), the health of a minor does not include--
``(i) mental, behavioral, or emotional distress; or
``(ii) a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder.
``(2) Exemption.--Genital or bodily mutilation or chemical
castration is not a violation of this section if such genital
or bodily mutilation or chemical castration is conducted with
respect to any of the following individuals:
``(A) An individual with both ovarian and testicular
tissue.
``(B) An individual with respect to whom a physician has
determined through genetic or biochemical testing that the
individual does not have normal sex chromosome structure, sex
steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action.
``(C) An individual experiencing infection, disease,
injury, or disorder caused or exacerbated by a previous
genital or bodily mutilation procedure or chemical
castration.
``(D) An individual suffering from a physical disorder,
physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified
by a physician, place the individual in imminent danger of
impairment of a major bodily function unless the procedure is
performed.
``(E) An individual diagnosed with precocious puberty, to
the extent such genital or bodily mutilation or chemical
castration is for the purpose of normalizing puberty.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Genital or bodily mutilation.--The term `genital or
bodily mutilation' means, with respect to an individual, any
of the following:
``(A) Female genital mutilation.
``(B) Any surgery performed for the purpose of changing the
body of such individual to correspond to a sex that differs
from their biological sex, including--
``(i) castration;
``(ii) orchiectomy;
``(iii) scrotoplasty;
``(iv) vasectomy;
``(v) hysterectomy;
``(vi) oophorectomy;
``(vii) ovariectomy;
``(viii) metoidioplasty;
``(ix) penectomy;
``(x) phalloplasty;
``(xi) vaginoplasty;
``(xii) vaginectomy;
``(xiii) vulvoplasty;
``(xiv) reduction thyrochondroplasty;
``(xv) chondrolaryngoplasty; and
``(xvi) mastectomy.
``(C) Any plastic surgery that feminizes or masculinizes
the facial or other physiological features for the purposes
described in subparagraph (B).
``(D) Any placement of chest implants to create feminine
breasts for the purposes described in subparagraph (B).
``(E) Any placement of fat or artificial implants in the
gluteal region for the purposes described in subparagraph
(B).
``(F) Any surgery to reconstruct the fixed part of the
urethra, whether or not such surgery includes a
metoidioplasty or a phalloplasty, for the purposes described
in subparagraph (B).
``(2) Chemical castration.-- The term `chemical castration'
means administering, supplying, prescribing, dispensing,
distributing, or otherwise conveying to an individual
medications for the purposes described in paragraph (1)(B),
including--
``(A) gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues or
other puberty-blocking drugs to stop or delay normal puberty;
``(B) testosterone or other androgens to biological females
at doses that are supraphysiologic to the female sex; and
``(C) estrogen to biological males at doses that are
supraphysiologic to the male sex.
``(3) Biological sex.--The term `biological sex' means,
with respect to a person, the classification of the person as
male or female at birth.
``(4) Female genital mutilation.--The term `female genital
mutilation' means any procedure performed for non-medical
reasons that involves partial or total removal of, or other
injury to, the external female genitalia, and includes--
``(A) a clitoridectomy or the partial or total removal of
the clitoris or the prepuce or clitoral hood;
``(B) excision or the partial or total removal (with or
without excision of the clitoris) of the labia minora or the
labia majora, or both;
``(C) infibulation or the narrowing of the vaginal opening
(with or without excision of the clitoris); or
``(D) other procedures that are harmful to the external
female genitalia, including pricking, incising, scraping, or
cauterizing the genital area.
``(5) Minor.--The term `minor' means any person under the
age of eighteen years.
``(6) Male.--The term `male' means a person who naturally
has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital
anomaly, historical accident, or intentional or unintentional
disruption, the reproductive system that at some point
produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
``(7) Female.--The term `female' means a person who
naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a
congenital anomaly, historical accident, or intentional or
unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at
some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for
fertilization.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the
item related to section 116 and inserting the following:
``116. Genital and bodily mutilation of a minor; chemical castration of
a minor.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees.
After 1 hour of debate, it shall be in order to consider the further
amendment printed in House Report 119-411, if offered by the Member
designated in the report, which shall be considered read, shall be
separately debatable for the time specified in the report equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not
be subject to a demand for a division of the question.
The gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore) and the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama.
{time} 1500
General Leave
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3492.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Alabama?
There was no objection.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, we as a Nation are facing one of the greatest crises
of our time: Child abuse disguised as medical intervention. Children
are being coerced by adults in positions of authority into life-
altering and medically questionable gender transition procedures
without a full understanding of the meaning or that impact.
Democrats have embraced an extreme position on this so-called gender-
affirming care. They are more interested in promoting the radical left
policies than protecting our children from harm. Despite the American
public's widespread rejection of the practice in 2024, the radical left
continues to distort the debate surrounding so-called gender affirming
care.
Instead of accurately describing the procedures as harmful and life-
altering, the left deceptively frames the
[[Page H5994]]
procedures as being necessary to improve the health and the well-being
of our children.
Through gender-affirming care, Democrats are indoctrinating children
and causing them to make life-altering decisions about their body
involving hormones and surgery and jeopardizing their health. So-called
gender-affirming care is the genital mutilation and chemical castration
of children. It is not lifesaving care. It is child abuse.
All evidence points to the fact that gender transition procedures,
including the puberty blockers, the hormones, and the surgeries, are a
form of genital mutilation. More and more de-transitioners, such as our
brave Chloe Cole, are coming forward to share their horrific
experiences of being used as experiments of the medical establishment.
The majority of these brave transitioners are girls and women.
The first rule of medicine is do no harm. Yet, those in the medical
community performing these grotesque procedures on children are
committing some serious harm. In fact, these procedures are so
grotesque that during the markup of this legislation, our colleagues on
the other side of the aisle had a hard time hearing these specific
procedures described. This begs the question: If they cannot bear to
hear this, why are they forcing it on our children?
Doctors across the U.S. and other countries are beginning to take a
stand against those in the medical community who insist on these being
lifesaving procedures. They should be questioned. Even our neighbors to
the North have acted responsibly.
In Canada, all genital surgeries are only available to children who
are 18 years of age or older. This policy aligns with the World
Professional Association for Transgender Health standards. According to
these standards, a person must be the age of majority to undergo
reassignment surgery.
Likewise, in Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Finland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and
Sweden, the minimum age requirement to undergo any sex reassignment
surgery is 18. We should not fall behind these countries when it comes
to protecting our children.
The Protect Children's Innocence Act will hold those accountable who
perform or attempt to perform genital mutilation and chemical
castration on our children. This bill expands the covered offenses to
include body mutilation and chemical castration of minors. Victims are
protected by ensuring that they cannot be arrested or prosecuted if one
of these, or other prohibited procedures, are performed on them.
This legislation continues President Trump's important priority to
protect children. Earlier this year, President Trump issued an
executive order titled: ``Protecting Children From Chemical and
Surgical Mutilation.'' This order defunds the chemical and surgical
mutilation of children and halts the use of Federal funds supporting
gender-affirming medical care for youth under the age of 19.
H.R. 3492 works to codify President Trump's executive order and
amends section 116 of the United States Code to explicitly include
bodily mutilation and chemical castration.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have lamented: Leave our
children alone. Madam Speaker, that is exactly what this bill does.
This issue is simple. Do not force children into making decisions that
they will not be able to reverse. Do not make these children lifelong
patients and dependent on the medical system. Most importantly, do not
abuse our Nation's children.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the bill would subject doctors, nurses, other medical
providers, and even parents to up to 10 years' incarceration in Federal
prison and up to $250,000 in criminal fines for providing gender-
affirming healthcare like hormone therapy to minors.
They want to criminalize more than a dozen different evidence-based
medical treatments and procedures that are presently being recommended
and used for gender dysphoria including the prescription of puberty
blockers, which are commonly used by families for young people who are
not trans but who face all the medical and social problems associated
with early-onset puberty.
The gentlewoman's bill would engineer a massive invasion of the
privacy rights of families engaged in medical decisionmaking in
America. I thought a belief that families should be able to make their
own decisions for their own children was something that united Liberals
and Conservatives.
These are hard and often agonizing decisions that loving American
families in our country face. Our colleagues now want to invite the
Federal Government to come barging into the family dining room and in
the doctor's exam room like a raging bull in a china shop.
Does anyone believe the Freedom Caucus and President Trump love
America's children more than their own parents do or that they can make
better decisions for tens of thousands of American children than their
own parents? I can't understand the logic of it.
At a time of skyrocketing healthcare costs--which our colleagues will
do nothing about except perhaps a handful of them who have crossed over
to join us today in a discharge petition--at a time of skyrocketing
healthcare costs, grocery prices, and housing, not to mention the
recent news of escalating unemployment higher than the last 4 years,
does anybody think that what the American people need right now and are
looking for is a Federal law authorizing FBI agents and government
prosecutors to investigate doctors, nurses, hospitals, and parents for
providing AMA-recommended medical care to children?
The politicians that have brought America to a point of crisis in
healthcare coverage for millions of Americans--and can't seem to do
anything about it--cannot be trusted to make the most intimate and
fundamental decisions for the physical, mental, and emotional well-
being of America's children. Let us leave it to people's parents. Let
us leave it to the families.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I would like to mention that
Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law recently not to notify parents.
Administrators and schoolteachers don't notify parents that their kids
are considering a transition. We do trust parents in many cases, but in
a lot of cases in some of these blue States parents are not notified.
Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms.
Greene).
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, one of the most serious
responsibilities we have as adults, and particularly those of us who
are elected and hold power when it comes to legislating and making law,
is to protect children.
Today, the House is delivering on what the American people voted for.
This is the opportunity to vote to end the gender mutilation of
children via transgender treatments for children. I introduced this
important bill years ago, and it is finally set for a vote in the House
today.
It will criminalize gender-affirming care on minors, not adults, on
minors who have not yet grown up to make adult decisions. It will end
gender mutilation and chemical castration of children and imprison
offenders for up to 10 years.
This is a direct legislative reflection of President Trump's
executive order and every single Republican's campaign promise in 2024.
It was also one of the top issues across the country.
Most Americans agree that kids just need to grow up before they do
anything radical like a mastectomy on a 15-year-old girl, castrating
themselves through surgery, or even taking dangerous drugs that have
lifelong effects.
{time} 1510
American children are being systematically indoctrinated with
perverse gender ideology by teachers, doctors, mental health
counselors, and on social media platforms. Autistic children are
particularly vulnerable and are three to four times more likely to have
gender dysphoria.
Joe Biden's former Assistant Secretary of Health, Richard Levine, who
identifies himself as Rachel Levine, called for the Federal Government
to
[[Page H5995]]
empower kids to go on puberty blockers and obtain sex-reassignment
surgeries.
We truly don't know the lifelong effects of puberty blockers, but we
do see the lifelong effects of sex-reassignment surgeries.
For far too long, children have been sexually exploited under the
malicious falsehood of so-called gender-affirming care. Mutilating
children's bodies and giving them sterilizing drugs is anything but
affirming and anything but care.
These types of surgeries and hormone treatments are destroying
children's lives all across the country, while this perverted
multibillion-dollar industry rakes in profits. Pharmaceutical company
Pfizer led the way in hormone production drugs, with revenues up to $74
million from those products in 2022 alone. Total revenues for
transgender drugs and surgeries in 2023 were estimated to surpass $4.4
billion, and by 2030, the market is expected to grow to nearly $8
billion.
There are for-profit pediatric gender clinics as well as hospitals
that receive Federal funding that are engaged in this type of child
abuse. One of the Nation's top children's hospitals in the country,
Boston Children's Hospital, even released videos that explained its
surgeries, promoting sterilization, castration, and mutilation of
children to kids and their parents. The hospital had been discovered to
have performed gender-affirming chest surgeries on 15-year-old girls--
girls that are not even old enough to get a tattoo, buy nicotine, buy
alcohol, and even vote.
Jamie Reid, who worked at a gender clinic and directly assisted
transitioning 1,500 patients, she says, age 3 to 25 years old over 5
years, publicly came out to discuss the atrocities happening to
children at these gender clinics.
``When a female takes testosterone, the profound and permanent
effects of the hormone can be seen in a matter of months. Voices drop,
beards sprout, body fat is redistributed. Sexual interest explodes,
aggression increases, and mood can be unpredictable.''
One of the side effects includes sterility.
Can you imagine this happening to a young woman before she is ever
even of legal age to be considered an adult?
Jamie Reid has full blown come out as a whistleblower on how
fraudulent the entire industry is. The clinicians didn't care about the
symptoms of the child. If the child believed they were trans, the
clinicians took their word for it.
If a child believes that they are a unicorn, do adults take their
word for it, as well?
We have laws that prevent children from being sexually exploited
already on the books. As a matter of fact, in 2020, this body passed a
law to stop the female genital mutilation of young women all across
America. My bill has the exact same Commerce Clause that is in the law
preventing FGM.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute
to the gentlewoman from Georgia.
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, we already have Federal laws
that stop the sexual exploitation of children related to porn and sex
crimes against children, and these Federal laws are so important
because they protect children all across America.
There is historical data that shows that 60 to 90 percent of
prepuberty children with gender dysphoria stop identifying as trans
once they grow up. In 2022, there is a statistic that says that only 12
percent of boys with gender dysphoria continue it into adulthood.
This is a matter of common sense. This is a vote of good versus evil.
It is our duty as a governing body, filled with responsible adults, to
protect children from making the worst mistake of their lives before
they are ever grown up and have the ability to enter into adulthood.
Madam Speaker, I urge the House to vote ``yes'' on the Protect
Children's Innocence Act and do the right thing for America's children.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the chair of the Congressional
Equality Caucus.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill.
There are not words strong enough to express my disgust.
I will respond to the gentlewoman from Georgia. Gender-affirming
surgery is never performed on young children. It is extremely rare for
older transgender adolescents. This bill would have little impact on
surgeries for transgender young people because surgery is already
extremely rare for transgender adolescents.
Republicans keep bringing up surgeries to shift attention away from
how extreme this bill is. This bill hypocritically bans safe and
effective medications for an entire group of people just because of who
they are, while still allowing them for everyone else.
This bill will not lower the cost of your healthcare. It will not
protect children. It will not ease the strain on doctors and other
healthcare providers.
What it will do is interfere with parental choice and open private
medical data up to Federal investigation. It threatens to jail doctors
who follow evidence-based practice supported by every medical
association in the United States. It deprives children of proven
lifesaving medical care.
My Republican colleagues should be ashamed. I am ashamed of what they
are doing. I am ashamed that trans children out there may see this
debate in the people's House and watch elected officials lie about
them. I am ashamed that the world sees this democracy spending its time
wielding the law as a weapon to attack a few rather than use the law as
a shield to protect the vulnerable.
I am furious that, while millions of families struggle to afford
groceries, healthcare, rent, and basic necessities, this is the
vindictive, petty garbage that Republicans are using the people's House
to put to a vote.
Banning healthcare for trans people cannot be justified by science.
Using the Federal Government to strip parents of their right to make
decisions for their children is a massive violation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from California.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, jailing doctors and, in some cases,
parents for following best medical practices is backward, ignorant, and
dangerous.
My colleagues who support this bill are not vested with the power to
say that someone does not deserve medically necessary care. This body
has a duty to protect the vulnerable. This bill is a radical perversion
of that duty and a disgusting abuse of power.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, this is not rare; 5,700 children
had these surgeries, mainly between 2019 and 2023, in mainly blue
States.
Here on PBMs, it says that puberty blockers have not been approved by
the FDA for the indication of gender dysphoria, and they are off-label
uses. So these are not safe uses in many cases of these transitions.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from South
Carolina (Ms. Mace).
Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Protect
Children's Innocence Act.
When we are talking about ``shameful,'' shameful is castrating a kid.
Shameful is chopping off the breasts of an underage girl, and that is
what the Democrats are doing today. It is obscene. It is disgusting.
You are seeing in real time Democrats wanting and defending grooming of
children, and it is abhorrent.
There is a lie at the heart of the debate that we are having today
that I have to correct. No child is born in their wrong body. There are
only two sexes. They are male, and they are female. There are no
others.
Every child is created in the Lord's image, and we cannot remain
silent while demonic forces are here today on the floor, the left, here
to groom children and defend it.
Children are innocent. For too long, Democrats have tried to
mainstream satanic, irreversible procedures which destroy the bodies of
young children and often lead to kids being sterilized for life. It
leads to disease, leads to cancer, and leads to suicide.
Democrats say to protect trans kids. I came here today to the floor
of the House of Representatives to say: There is no such thing as a
trans kid. Transgenderism is a mind virus perpetuated by the far left
to groom kids.
[[Page H5996]]
{time} 1520
This is not gender-affirming care. It is genital-destroying child
abuse.
This chemical and surgical mutilation of children has devastating
consequences on their physical and mental health, and many live to
regret it. Many live to detransition if they make it out at all.
This is sick. This is disgusting. We cannot allow the left to prey on
underage kids any longer.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, at a time when our colleagues are perfectly content to
see millions of Americans lose their health insurance, when they do
nothing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that millions of
Americans are depending on, at a time when they are happy to throw
millions of people off of Medicaid coverage, they decide to change the
subject in order to vilify and demonize a small minority.
That is a time-honored tactic in the authoritarian playbook, to pick
a small minority of citizens--here, we are talking about around 2
million people who are transgender in America--and scapegoat them,
dehumanize them, demonize them, satanize them, take away their basic
freedoms, and even deny their very existence.
It is happening to gay people right now in Putin's Russia and in
Orban's Hungary. It is happening to Uyghurs and Tibetans in China. It
is happening to Christians and free-thinkers in Pakistan. It is
happening to Muslims in India. Now, it is happening to trans people in
America when they are happy to attack them, vilify them, and try to
destroy their community. If they purport to be acting in the name of
the trans community, why is it that the trans community opposes their
legislation so strongly?
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Krishnamoorthi).
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to
H.R. 3492.
This measure would allow politicians, not doctors, not families, to
decide medically necessary care for family members. It criminalizes
medically necessary, evidence-based lifesaving care, and it threatens
parents and physicians with prison time for providing care for their
kids.
As millions of Americans face losing their health insurance,
Republicans are not working to protect coverage or lower costs.
Instead, they are focused on throwing the parents and doctors of trans
youth into jail.
We should be strengthening care, not dismantling it. We should trust
doctors and families, not replace medicine with ideology. No parent
should have to fear prosecution for trying to get their child the care
they need, and that is exactly what this measure would do.
Madam Speaker, I urge a strong ``no'' vote.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).
Ms. BONAMICI. Madam Speaker, I join many of our colleagues in
opposing this hateful and harmful legislation. This is a devastating
moment for transgender youth, their parents, and their healthcare
providers across the country.
The so-called Protect Children's Innocence Act is a blatant attack on
the rights of parents. It allows the government to interfere with very
personal healthcare decisions.
My Republican colleagues have spent years touting parental rights,
yet now they want to put moms and dads and doctors in prison for
deciding how to best support their own children. It is dangerous, and
it is wrong. These decisions belong to parents, their children, and
their healthcare providers, not politicians.
Every parent wants what is best for their children. As a parent, I
cannot imagine how I would feel if a doctor told me that Republicans in
Congress banned lifesaving, evidence-based care that would help my
child.
Medical care for transgender youth is safe, effective, and supported
by major medical associations. Access to transgender-related healthcare
is critical, medically necessary, and often lifesaving.
The President and my Republican colleagues have spent the year
scapegoating a very small group of very vulnerable children because
they have no solution to strengthen the economy, reduce healthcare
costs, or make our communities safer. This legislation is just the
latest attack.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Ms. BONAMICI. As I close, Madam Speaker, I find it disturbing that
my-- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has again
expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 20 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Oregon.
Ms. BONAMICI. I find it disturbing and disappointing that my
colleagues seem to be more obsessed with what genitals are in people's
pants than whether they can afford their healthcare or housing bills.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, we know that the proponents of this legislation are
certainly not speaking for the families that have to deal with this
problem because all of them are lobbying against this. They are saying
that the last thing we want at this point is to send the FBI and
Federal prosecutors in to deal with the problem. Let them deal with it.
Well, perhaps they are speaking from medical authority? No, not at all.
Look at the letter that was just sent to Members of Congress. ``We,
the undersigned medical professional organizations, write in strong
opposition to H.R. 3492 and H.R. 498. These bills would criminalize and
dismantle healthcare for transgender young people and as such represent
a direct threat to patient welfare. We urge you to reject these extreme
proposals.''
Look who signed this: American Academy of Pediatrics, American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of
Physicians, American Psychiatric Association, and so on.
The leading medical authorities in the country are saying: Hey, we
can work this out at the State level.
The gentleman referred to California. There are States that are
regulating in the field as they regulate lots of different kinds of
medical treatments and procedures. Suddenly, we are going to turn the
United States Congress into a super-medical licensing board for the
entire country?
This is why our colleague from the other side of the aisle, Mr. Roy,
raised the question of whether this is even constitutional. Where is
the Federal jurisdictional nexus for us to be overriding State medical
boards in order to bulldoze into people's living rooms and their
kitchen tables to usurp the family decisionmaking process of Americans
across the country?
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms.
Salinas).
Ms. SALINAS. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this disgusting
bill that does nothing to protect children's innocence.
It endangers parents, healthcare providers, and children. It allows
healthcare providers and parents to be fined and possibly jailed if
they help a minor access lifesaving care. It permits Federal law
enforcement to act as the national gender police, allowing them to
invade children's private medical records.
This bill puts even more children in harm's way and exacerbates the
mental health crises that our young people are facing because it stops
them from actually receiving the care that they need right now.
Madam Speaker, why is our focus on this when what I am hearing from
constituents is that Republicans are falling short in addressing the
cost of groceries, healthcare, and housing?
To my Republican colleagues, why not focus on the issues that will
impact millions of families who are just one paycheck away from
homelessness or losing their healthcare instead of waging a war on
children's genitals? What is this unhealthy obsession? Let's end it
today by voting ``no'' on H.R. 3492.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, in February 2024, the American College of
Pediatricians released a position statement detailing
[[Page H5997]]
how social transition, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones have no
demonstrable long-term benefits on the psychological well-being of
adolescents in gender dysphoria.
I am reminded of a quote that a Vanderbilt University doctor said in
2022. He said: ``These affirming procedures are huge moneymakers.''
We are here to protect the children.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia
(Mr. Moore).
Mr. MOORE of West Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support
of this legislation.
I thank Congresswoman Greene for bringing this bill up for debate
here on the floor. I am a proud original cosponsor of this legislation.
We have heard a couple of people say that we are made in the image
and likeness in God. For all of our clever scientific methods and self-
rationalization out there, that is an absolute truth.
What this legislation is trying to do, and what it is going to do,
God willing that it is signed into law, is prevent child abuse. That is
what is going on in this country by allowing this. It is going to make
it a felony for anybody to continue this abusive genital mutilation in
this country on minors, on children. It is abhorrent what is being
allowed right now in this country.
A felony, I think, is what is going to be able to stop this, and it
should have been a felony a long time ago. I thank God that we have
legislation that is going to make this criminal because it is a
criminal act that is being done on the most vulnerable people in our
society.
I point to a longitudinal study that was done by a Dr. Zucker years
and years ago in Canada. They took minors who were looking at
transitioning and actually gave them mental health counseling. By the
end of that, at the age of 18, they had the option to transition or
not. Ninety percent or more did not transition.
We have a mental health crisis in this country. Instead of addressing
it, we are cutting people's body parts off. I rise in strong support of
this legislation.
{time} 1530
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Oregon (Ms. Dexter), who is both a mom and a doctor.
Ms. DEXTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to say as clearly as I
possibly can: Politicians have no role in the medical exam rooms.
As a physician who spent 20 years caring for patients, I know
responsible care requires building trust and understanding between a
patient, their parent, and their physician. I never consulted a
politician, and no doctor ever should.
At a time when our country is facing a critical physician shortage,
Republicans are threatening them with going to prison simply for
providing evidence-based care.
This legislation fundamentally breaks a critical trust between
patients, their parents, and their physicians, pulling them into a
dangerous political crusade that targets our vulnerable transgender
youth.
I offered two amendments: One to ensure no doctor can be imprisoned
for providing evidence-based care and one to provide parents with
protection when supporting their children's health. Republicans refused
a vote on both.
We should be empowering doctors to take care of their patients, not
locking them up. I will be relentless to keep politicians out of the
exam room.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Frost).
Mr. FROST. Madam Speaker, Republicans' whole healthcare plan is to
restrict our ability to access healthcare. They are raising premiums,
kicking millions off of Medicaid, and now forcing children to go
without lifesaving care.
Under this bill, doctors and parents will spend 10 years in prison
for saving kids' lives. If trans kids need care, they should have the
freedom to get it, and their parents and doctors should not be jailed
for it.
It amazes me that Republican politicians can't think of any better
use for the power of the Federal Government than to bully transgender
kids in bathrooms and schools. Now they want to be inside of their
doctors' offices.
What amazes me even more is that they dare to call this bill the
Protect Children's Innocence Act. Do you know what actually robs a
child of their innocence? When they have to hide in a closet, in a
bathroom, or in a locker as someone shoots and murders their classmates
right in front of them.
If you want to protect the innocence of a child, why don't you ban
assault weapons instead of banning healthcare. After all, the leading
cause of death for a child in this country is bullets.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez).
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Madam Speaker, the Republican Party is quickly becoming
the party of child suffering. Under their leadership and because of
their policies, children are sick from cuts to Medicaid and the end of
the ACA subsidies. They are hungry from cuts to SNAP. They are orphaned
by violently abducting their parents. They are criminalized and strip-
searched at the border, and now they are denied lifesaving gender-
affirming care.
Since my Republican colleagues seem confused about what love, care,
and protection looks like, let me be very clear. The Protect Children's
Innocence Act is not it. No one who causes or tolerates the suffering
of children can claim to be their protector.
Love for our children would ensure each of them have every single
thing they need to thrive assured to them.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues here in the House of
Representatives to vote ``no.'' Let's build a future where our
children, including our transgender little ones, are seen, are loved,
and are valued.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Every major medical and mental health association in the United
States of America, representing 1.3 million doctors--the American
Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the
American Psychiatric Association--all reject this legislation that is
being advanced here. They all support gender-affirming care according
to the most up-to-date science and medicine.
So if they are not speaking for the transgender community, which
certainly they are not; if they are not speaking for all of the
families and parents who are involved, which certainly they are not; if
they are not speaking for the medical community and the scientific
community, who indeed are they speaking for?
They describe the position that these medical associations have as
satanic. I mean, are they looking for an exorcism to deal with the
reality of lives for millions of people in the country?
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms.
Hoyle).
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Madam Speaker, today, we are not voting to
reduce the cost of healthcare or make groceries or housing more
affordable or to take back the power of Congress from the executive
branch in determining tariffs or deciding whether or not we should
invade a sovereign nation.
We are voting today on inserting government into private medical
decisions. To listen to my Republican colleagues, you would think there
is an epidemic of children being forced into unnecessary gender-
affirming care. There is not.
The epidemics killing our children are drug addiction, overdoses, gun
violence, and preventable diseases like measles. Let's work on that.
Banning doctors from providing healthcare to transgender young people
has serious unintended consequences. Politicians are getting in the way
of doctors, who have years of training and experience and are
practicing according to professional standards of care. They know what
is best for their patients. This is their area of expertise, not ours.
Providing care and advice is a doctor's job. Taking care of your
children
[[Page H5998]]
is a parent's duty. Let's keep it that way.
I am proudly voting ``no.'' I ask my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene).
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, this poster displayed here is
the result of females having their skin and flesh stripped from their
arms and their legs in order for a surgeon to create a fake penis and
have it sewn on their body. These are the horrific scars and damage
that these women are left with for the rest of their lives after
undergoing these barbaric surgeries.
This is not something any child, any minor under the age of 18 years
old, should ever undergo. This is not healthcare. This is not a
parent's choice for a child. This right here is child abuse. This is
child abuse. No one under the age of 18 should ever make that decision,
and no doctor should ever perform a surgery like this on a child simply
because they are suffering from gender dysphoria and are confused about
their feelings of how they identify and how they see themselves.
This condition that so many young people are suffering with--and it
has been on the rise in the past 10 years--was something that was a
very small percentage. But young people today have been indoctrinated
on social media. They have been indoctrinated by school counselors,
teachers, and many adults, even their own parents. They are being
indoctrinated to believe and take that confusion they are having just
as a child, whether it is prepuberty or while they are going through
puberty, to believe they want to change their gender.
Here is the real truth. God only creates two sexes and two genders,
male and female, and God does not make mistakes. No child is a mistake.
No feeling they have inside of themselves can change that. No barbaric
surgery, no chemical-castrating drugs that are given to sex predators,
can change that. No amount of hormones can change that.
The reality is that parents and adults across the country can use our
God-given responsibility to protect children while they are growing up.
We have laws that do that. We have laws that say they can't register to
vote until they are 18 because they are not adults yet to make those
kinds of adult decisions.
{time} 1540
We have laws that say they can't get ink tattooed on their skin until
they are of legal age, and in most States it is 17 or 18 years old. We
have laws that say they can't buy nicotine or even see an R-rated movie
until they are 17 years old. This isn't an argument between Democrat
and Republican. This is simply common sense, and most Americans agree.
The best thing that we can do for our children across this country is
to say: You are not ready to make these decisions. Your feelings are
very likely going to change.
It is proven through the statistics. The statistics show one study
from a doctor in Finland who happens to be the leading expert, Dr.
Kaltiala, who says that four out of five gender-questioning kids grow
up--four out of five stop questioning their gender. They stop those
feelings. Twelve percent of boys with gender dysphoria continue it into
adulthood, only 12 percent. These are major changes.
We already have Federal laws, and that is incredibly important to
recognize. The legislation that made it a Federal law against female
genital mutilation, which has the same Commerce Clause in the Protect
Children's Innocence Act, the bill that we are considering that I have
introduced, passed by voice in 2020. That meant that no Member of this
body raised up and said that we needed a recorded vote because they
wanted to vote ``no.'' It simply passed by voice.
We also have so many other laws to protect children from sexual
exploitation. This is something that doesn't affect people's sexual
identity. It is in no way, shape, or form insulting to anyone who
identifies as gay or lesbian or bisexual. This is simply a bill that
tells kids, ``Hold on,'' tells parents, ``Hold on,'' before they have
double mastectomies, before they are castrated, and before they take
drugs that are not FDA approved for the use that they are given, that
are chemical castrating drugs. We have to stop.
Madam Speaker, I urge the House to vote ``yes'' on the Protect
Children's Innocence Act.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, we are invited to believe that the United
States Congress is not only more competent to make medical decisions
for America's children than their own parents, but that the United
States Congress is more competent than all 50 State legislatures to run
medical practices within their States.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington
(Ms. Schrier), who is both a mom and a pediatrician.
Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, as the first and only pediatrician in
Congress, I rise today to condemn the so-called Protect Children's
Innocence Act.
I have served children and their families for over 20 years, and I
find this piece of legislation to be dangerous and an absolute slap in
the face for parents and for doctors who have dedicated their lives to
caring for children and families.
This bill could put doctors behind bars for up to 10 years for
providing medically appropriate care for children, and it doesn't even
stop there. It could put parents behind bars for making, after deep
consideration, and in many cases, anguish, the decision that they deem
best for their own child.
This bill will instill fear in doctors and patients and rob parents
of their freedom to make decisions for and with their own children.
Instead, it puts that power in the hands of D.C. lawmakers.
Healthcare decisions are deeply personal. The confidential
relationship between a patient, their parents, and their physician is
sacred. Physicians follow evidence-based guidelines and use their best
clinical judgment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Washington.
Madam Speaker, it is outrageous for the government to commandeer
those decisions.
Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill, and I encourage my
colleagues to all vote ``no.''
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).
Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Georgia for
introducing this bill. It has so much common sense. It is so scary that
our country has gone so far downhill that we would allow young people,
sometimes as young as 14 or 13 years old, to take powerful drugs,
puberty blockers, or do surgeries on them in the name of this idea that
we, all of a sudden, have this epidemic of transgenderism, which is
something that nobody ever miraculously seemed to know about 50 years
ago.
Instead, in our society, we have all the helping professions, the
guidance counselors, the psychologists, and the psychiatrists, as well
as our pop culture icons from California, out there pushing our poor
young people into the idea that it is cool to be transgender.
In fact, recently, it has come out that the number of kids who are
transgender, and I think it is 18- or 19-year-olds, has been cut in
half, which proves what anybody with commonsense knew all along: It was
a cool thing created so that young people could say: Look at me. I am
transgender.
The life of some of these kids is ruined. It is a testament, by the
way, that this is not genetic. All you have to do, Madam Speaker, is
look at the fact that these kids have to continue to take powerful
drugs even after surgery. If it was a natural thing, then you wouldn't
have to keep taking the drugs.
In any event, I strongly hope we take up this bill.
I should also point out that last year doing doorbells, like
politicians do, I ran into two grandparents who had one granddaughter
and one grandson going down this rabbit hole. I felt so sorry for them
because when somebody makes this decision, it affects not only
themselves, but it affects the whole family.
In any event, I am glad the bill is introduced. I hope they have the
common sense in the Senate--they probably won't--to pass the bill.
[[Page H5999]]
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Vermont (Ms. Balint).
Ms. BALINT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in fierce opposition to
Representative Greene's bill that would throw doctors and parents in
jail for providing lifesaving medical care. Even for Republicans, this
bill is extreme.
Are we really attempting to lock up parents and doctors?
Your kids' medical care is none of their damn business.
We should call their obsession with being in your kids'
pediatrician's office and what treatment they are getting in a
pediatrician's office what it is. It is creepy. It is a creepy
obsession we have had to deal with for years.
The science is clear: Evidence-based, medically necessary care for
transgender youth is safe, effective, and supported by every major
medical association in the United States, including the American
Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
My Republican colleagues know this, because this intentionally
discriminatory bill includes a bunch of exemptions to allow other kids
to receive the exact same medical care.
I call on my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this truly reprehensible
piece of legislation. Congress should not be making medical decisions
for your kids.
For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to
recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I
would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.
My amendment would ensure that this bill does not compromise the
private medical records of a minor or result in parents and doctors
being thrown in jail.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to
recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Vermont?
There was no objection.
Ms. BALINT. Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in
voting for the motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their
comments to the Chair.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
Madam Speaker, we obviously disagree vehemently on this bill, but
this may be the last time that I get to share the floor with the
distinguished gentlewoman from Georgia. I thank her for her hard work
and her thoughtful comments in CNN news recently which moved me when
she said: ``I would like to say, humbly, I am sorry for taking part in
the toxic politics. It is very bad for our country. It has been
something I thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was
assassinated.''
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman and wish her and her family
all the best in her future.
Having said that, on the gentlewoman's bill, Madam Speaker, there are
lots of people in the country who are not getting their kids vaccinated
for different reasons and for different kinds of illnesses. A lot of
people in the country reject that and oppose that, and perhaps the vast
majority do.
Does that mean we should come forward with a bill to the United
States Congress to say that we are going to put in jail any parents who
don't vaccinate their children because we think they are making the
wrong decision for their children?
In other words, we know better than the parents do, and we know
better than the doctors do. We know better than the medical
associations do, and we know better than all of the States do.
{time} 1550
Madam Speaker, I think that would be an absurd abuse of our power
and, as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) has been saying, a very
questionable deployment of Federal power, given the fact that the
United States Congress has limited powers that are supposed to deal
with actual national and Federal issues, which is why medical care has
always been left to the States to deal with.
This is like a bulldozer going into everybody's house if you happen
to be dealing with this particular kind of medical crisis. You don't
have to agree with any particular decision that any particular family
or set of parents have made. All you have to do is respect their right
to make decisions with and for their own children. That is all that we
are talking about.
Do you know who is on this side and opposed to this legislation?
Medical associations, like the American Medical Association, the
American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics,
and the American Psychological Association, representing more than a
million doctors in the country, are saying: No, don't let the
politicians start finger painting all over the protocols for dealing
with an actual medical problem that millions of people have had to deal
with in our country.
We will stand with the families. We will stand with the doctors. We
will stand with the medical associations. We will stand with the
States. We have got enough real work on our hands.
Let's just try to get medical care and medical attention to the
people of America. Millions of people are losing their access to health
insurance and to Medicaid. Why don't we try to deal with that before we
barge into the doctors' offices, and the living rooms and kitchen
tables of America to try to take over what is a fundamentally private
and personal decision that we should be trusting families to make for
themselves?
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time to close.
Madam Speaker, how about we just don't mutilate our children? I think
that is a good call. This is allowing people above the age of 18 to
make those decisions.
Most of us here were young people at one time or another. I can
remember being in the second or third grade. There was a thing called
cooties. I don't know if you all remember that, but if you hung around
the girls, they would say: Oh, don't do that, you are going to get the
``cooties.'' I don't know if you ever heard that term. It is a south
Alabama thing, Madam Speaker.
By the time we were in the sixth grade, we were on the gym floor,
trying to decide whether or not to ask--we didn't have the courage to
ask the girls to dance.
By the time we were in the 10th or 11th grade, we were hoping they
would notice us in the hall. By the time we were seniors, maybe we had
the courage to ask them on a date, and maybe they said yes.
The decisions they are wanting to make, these are kids that are in
the second and third grade. These are not kids that are either old
enough to understand that we might be interested, we might want to go
in that direction. Like Marjorie said, only 12 percent of the males who
go through this actually stick with it.
It is important to us to understand that these are children, and in
many cases they are being bullied by the physicians. One of the
physicians at Vanderbilt said: We make a boatload of money on these
procedures.
Often, I think that it is more about the children and protecting the
children than driving this ideological leftwing whatever it is and the
mutilation of our children.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate on the bill has expired.
The Chair understands that amendment No. 1 printed in House Report
119-411 will not be offered.
Pursuant to House Resolution 953, the previous question is ordered on
the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
Motion to Recommit
Ms. BALINT. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Ms. Balint of Vermont moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3492
to the Committee on the Judiciary.
[[Page H6000]]
The material previously referred to by Ms. Balint is as follows:
Ms. Balint moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3492 to the
Committee on the Judiciary with instructions to report the
same back to the House forthwith, with the following
amendment:
At the end of the text, add the following:
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take
effect on the date on which the Comptroller General of the
United States determines that this Act will not compromise
the private medical records of a minor or result in the
arrest or prosecution of a parent or health care provider for
providing necessary health care.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the
previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Ms. BALINT. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question are postponed.
____________________