[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19295-19296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



MAKING IN ORDER AT ANY TIME CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3061, DEPARTMENTS OF 
 LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in 
order at any time for the Speaker, as though pursuant to clause 2(b) of 
rule XVIII, to declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 3061) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health 
and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, and that 
consideration of the bill proceed according to the following order:
  The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with.
  All points of order against the bill and against its consideration 
are waived.
  General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 1 
hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations.
  After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under 
the 5-minute rule.
  During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman of the 
Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition on the basis 
of whether the Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed 
in the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose 
in clause 8 of rule XVIII, and amendments so printed shall be 
considered as read.
  During consideration of the bill, points of order against amendments 
for failure to comply with clause 2(e) of rule XXI are waived.
  At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment, the 
Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such 
amendments as may have been adopted.
  The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and 
amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except 
one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  Ms. HART. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, an amendment 
had been prepared to be offered to be the Labor HHS appropriations 
bill, an amendment that is very important, in fact, an amendment that 
had been planned for quite a few months. This same amendment was going 
to be offered to the education bill, but was withdrawn in the interest 
of making sure that that education bill was passed this past spring.

[[Page 19296]]

  An agreement was made that that amendment would be offered in the 
Labor HHS appropriation. The rule had originally included the 
protection of that amendment. However, as a sponsor of that amendment, 
I have agreed to withdraw it. I am not withdrawing it because it is not 
an important issue. I am not withdrawing it because of pressure by 
anyone in particular. The amendment is actually being withdrawn in the 
interest of the larger body and the passage of a bipartisan Labor HHS 
appropriation bill.
  The amendment is extremely important, and I need to make clear that 
we will see the issue again. The issue is regarding something that 
surprises and shocks a lot of people once they hear that it actually 
happens in this country, and that is, that we know of at least 180 
schools in the United States that hand out the morning-after pill to 
minors. These same schools will not even give a child an aspirin for a 
headache. Yet our law permits them to hand out the morning-after pill 
to little girls.
  Mr. Speaker, as I said, it was a difficult decision to withdraw this 
amendment. Now my colleagues understand why. It is important for us as 
Members of Congress to protect our children. Protecting our children, 
in fact, is a large part of the things that are included in the Labor 
HHS appropriation bill.
  We are not certain of the safety of the morning-after pill, 
especially its impact on very young women, those who would now receive 
it in at least 180 of our schools. In fact, in Great Britain a 15-year-
old girl suffered a stroke after she had taken the pill at the age of 
14.
  The question, I think, that faces this body, and that will face this 
body again, is are we willing to go to the extent that we need to to 
protect our children? If a school cannot give a child an aspirin, why 
does this Congress permit a school to give a little girl a morning-
after pill? That means, basically, that we are condoning, first of all, 
that that little girl has admitted to having been sexually active, 
likely at a very young age. Again, these are minors that are being 
handed out the morning-after pill.
  Concern has been raised with me ever since I became the sponsor of 
this amendment in the spring by parents, by teachers, by church 
leaders, by people I run into in the mall; and support for this 
amendment has been expressed from all sectors. In fact, it has been 
expressed by both pro-life and pro-choice people.
  That is an important point to make, Mr. Speaker, because we should 
not make this an abortion issue. This is an issue of little girls and 
giving parents and schools the ability to take care of them, to protect 
them, and to protect their health. Federal law currently permits the 
use of these Federal funds to distribute the morning-after pill to 
schoolchildren. Numerous courts have ruled that schools using Federal 
funds for family planning services are forbidden to notify parents, 
regardless of State parental consent notification laws.
  Therefore, the amendment would prevent that by doing the following: 
the amendment would have said that any school that distributes the 
morning-after pill to these children would, therefore, not be able to 
receive any Federal funding.
  That is the only way, Mr. Speaker, that we will prevent these schools 
from being social activists and encouraging, in a way, these young 
ladies to be sexually active without any protection, and, in fact, 
placing these children in danger of transmitting sexually transmitted 
diseases and contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
  Mr. Speaker, it is only sensible for us to consider this issue at 
another time. I have had meetings this morning with leadership and have 
been assured that I will be able to move this issue forward at another 
time as a freestanding bill through the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce. Hopefully, we will get the support of the members of that 
committee. But until we do, Mr. Speaker, I want everyone to understand 
that this Congress is continuing to allow the distribution of what is 
and can be a very dangerous drug to these young ladies when that same 
school cannot even give the girl an aspirin for a headache.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.

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