[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  DON'T CUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD FUNDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow this body is set to vote on a 
budget resolution that would dramatically cut Federal funding for 
Planned Parenthood. But today there is still time to reconsider that 
proposal and listen to the thousands, if not millions, of men, women, 
and children who are urging us not to because they understand the 
impact in our communities better than almost any of us here today.
  Now, this isn't just about blocking a woman's constitutional right to 
her own healthcare options, although that would be bad enough. This is 
about gutting Medicaid reimbursements for preventive care and family 
planning, revoking every single dollar for 360,000 lifesaving breast 
exams and 4 million tests for sexually transmitted diseases. This is 
Congress choosing political gamesmanship at the expense of Americans' 
health, particularly those who cannot afford care otherwise. This is a 
tactical strike on low-income women and families.
  In my home State of Massachusetts, it would immediately deny access 
to care to nearly 10,000 patients covered by MassHealth. For these men, 
women, and children, it is not as simple as walking to the nearest 
community health center, because over 50 percent of Planned Parenthood 
centers across our country are found in medically underserved 
communities.
  For the elderly woman in need of cancer screening, there would be 
nowhere else to turn. For the young expectant mother in need of 
prenatal care, there would no longer be a community doctor that she can 
trust. For the dad whose son is in need of strep throat treatment, the 
only option left may be an unaffordable trip to the emergency room.
  Mr. Speaker, if this is intended to be a warning shot on a 
constitutionally guaranteed right to have an abortion, my Republican 
colleagues are missing their target and, instead, they are aimed right 
at poor Americans.
  I urge every Member of this House to talk to their constituents who 
have received care at Planned Parenthood centers before voting on this 
bill. I ask them to listen and understand the life-altering impact that 
it will have on the families who can least afford it.

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