for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, seek recognition? mr. pitts: madam speaker, pursuant to house resolution 444, i call up h.r. 3495 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3495, a bill to amend title 19 of the social security act to allow for greater state flexibility with respect to excluding providers who are involved in abortions. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 444, the amendment printed in house report 114-269 is adopted, and the bill, as mended, is considered as read. can we get some more order in the house, please? order.

order in the noise, please. the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. -- order in the house, please. the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, and the gentlewoman from colorado, ms. degette, is recognized. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts. mr. pitts: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to evise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 3495. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pitts: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chairman is recognized. mr. pitts: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 3495, the women's public health and safety act. this bill, at its core, is about choice as well as protecting the lives of millions of unborn babies across america. .r. 34695 would empower states

with flexibility to include or -- h.r. 3495 would empower states with flex ict to include or not include providers who assist in elected abortions. the hyde amendment already makes sure that federal medicaid dollars do not pay for elective abortions. this bill would amend current law so that states would have the flexibility and discretion to work with qualified providers of their choice. this bill also means states would be able to remove the largest abortion chain from being the recipient of millions of dollars of state and federal funds, which are allocated within their states. planned parenthood has received through billion medicaid over a three-year period, and states who wish to

eliminate planned parenthood from this funding stream are being blocked from doing so. all medicaid providers ought to be held responsible for their actions. however, the current administration is interpreting current law to protect the interest of political elites over the health care of those truly in need. states should be able to work with providers who prioritize and respect life and exclude organizations whose business model is built around the destruction of life. planned parenthood is the nation's largest abortion chain -- 327,653 300 abortions in the last reported year. that comes out to an average of 898 abortions per day every

day. 37 abortions every hour. three abortions every five minutes. more than one abortion every two minutes. so i urge my colleagues to support this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from colorado, ms. degette. ms. degette: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. degette: thank you. madam speaker, the new fiscal year starts in less than 36 hours and congress has still not passed the annual appropriations bills. if we don't do it, the government will shut down. during the last shutdown, we lost $24 billion and 120,000 private sector jobs. i'm sure we could expect just the same now. the debt ceiling will need to be raised within the next couple of months, madam speaker, and many republicans are already threatening to refuse to perform even that basic task.

this will throw the international economy into chaos. it would cause the loss of tens of thousands more jobs in the united states. and of course, the ex-im bank expired in june, and our business communities are clamoring for re-authorization. why? last year the ex-im bank financed deals that supported 164,000 american jobs. i would suggest, madam speaker, that the u.s. house should spend this week figuring out how to avoid a political and financial catastrophe rather than once again passing a blatantly political bill, stripping women of their basic health care rights. this latest attack targets both the women who need to see a doctor or health care provider as well as the providers themselves. the bill on the floor today, i wonder if the people on the other side of the aisle actually read this bill because it is so broadly written that it would target any medical

provider -- doctor, hospital, clinic, you name it -- that has the even most ten with us connection to the full range of women health care services. the majority claims that this bill targets plained, a health care provider that -- planned parenthood, a health care provider that 2.7 million americans rely on every year. well, first of all, over 90% of the services provided by that agency are routine wellness exams like breast exams, cervical cancer screening and birth control and family planning services, and as we all know, because we discussed it ad nauseam last week, planned parenthood has received no federal funding for abortions. in fact, no agency receives federal funding for abortions with a very few exceptions. this bill would therefore not stop any government funding of abortions. it would instead allow federal

and state funding to be cut off for any entity, not just planned parenthood, which performs abortions with private dollars. that means that poor women would be blocked from the full range of health care services that they need, not just at planned parenthood, but at their local hospital or their local clinic or the offices of another women's health group. let's call this bill what it is. it's an attempt to eliminate health care services for women across the board using planned parenthood -- the planned parenthood witch-hunt as an excuse. and let's be very clear. the investigation of the last few months has demonstrated that the videotapes the majority so heavily relies on are heavily edited, manipulated and at times downright misleading. we are the u.s. congress, madam speaker, and we are better than that. the american public will not stand for this diversion and neither should we. let's defeat this ill-conceived

bill, let's direct all of our collective attention to bipartisan solutions resolving the looming fiscal disaster that we are all facing. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, in response briefly, money is fungible. everybody knows it, in one pocket, out the other, one pair of pants. $1.3 billion the last three years in medicaid. the videos, nobody's putting words in their mouths. their words, their pictures. i yield three minutes to the vice chair of the energy and commerce committee, the gentlelady from tennessee, marsha blackburn, distinguished leader on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam speaker. and i thank the gentleman from pennsylvania for his diligence and his skints through the year

-- consistency through the years on the energy and commerce committee, and i do rise in strong support today of the women's public health and safety act. there will be a lot said about this bill during the course of the day, but let's be certain in what the bill actually says. you've got two pages, and what this does is grant to the states flexibility. now, madam chairman, what they have asked us for is flexibility. why are they asking us for this flexibility? because we have four states currently in litigation over wanting to be able to determine who is and is not a medicaid provider in their state. so there is a premise and a basis and a reason for bringing this forward and allowing the states to have the final say in who participates in that medicaid delivery.

that's what you call good government. and sending the power and the money back to the state and local level. this bill is necessary because the obama administration has blocked attempts of states to remove certain providers from the program. now, we have four states that have, as i said, had to go into court because they have tried c.m.s. providers and has blocked that action, so therefore, they are not able to move these providers out of the program and the states know best the needs of their residents and they know best which providers are providing affordable access to quality medical care and which ones are trying to skirt the law. there are no mandates in this bill. the final decision is up to the state. the left, in their endless

efforts to protect planned parenthood and to prevent them from being held accountable, have once again resorted to scare tactics. i also want to touch on the issue of the community health centers. 9,000 here in our country, and they meet the needs of over 24 million americans. you take a district like mine in tennessee, there are zero planned parenthood affiliates in my district. zero. there are 16 community health centers. contrast that with the ninth congressional district of illinois, ms. schakowsky's district, she has one planned parenthood affiliate and there are 44 community health centers. ms. degette has eight -- no, three planned parenthood sites and 46 of the community health centers. so what we are doing is encouraging the states to take

the responsibility, make the determination of where this ought to be. you know, madam speaker, it's amazing to me. people always say, let's make certain we are being good stewards of the money. planned parenthood is now outsourcing their women's health issues. they cut them in half over the past seven years, and it is important for us to redirect the funds and give the states the opportunity to determine who provides the service and the access. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. mr. pitts: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: i'm now pleased to yield to the ranking member of the energy and commerce committee, mr. pallone, 1.5 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 3495, the yet another radical g.o.p. assault on women's health care. unfortunately, my republican

colleagues are at it again, attempting to use any excuse to pursue their extreme agenda. they're attacking planned parenthood in order to limit women's constitutionally protected right to choose what is best for them and their families. the legislation is particularly offensive and egregious, and let me tell you what this legislation is. in the words of more than 120,000 family physicians nationwide, it represents an unprecedented level of legislative interference in the patient-physician relationship. it's not only ill-advised, it's dangerous. this legislation would in the words of the national women's law center, the national law program, wreak havoc on nation's health safety net programs. and represents a direct attack by members of congress on women's ability to control their own reproductive health. this legislation undermines patient choice of providers and provides states unchecked authority to terminate providers from medicaid without a direct cause. this is the attack on

low-income women to choose their own trusted medical provider. i stand with all planned parenthood. i stand with all health professionals who provide life-saving preventative health services to men and women every single day and i stand with the hundreds of millions of americans that will say i will not stand by silent and allow those who are committed to ending abortion access in this country use fraud and deception to cut millions of people off from their health care. we cannot allow republicans to win the war on women. i urge my colleagues to oppose the extreme republican agenda and vote no on h.r. 3495. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. and the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, unfortunately, the obama administration puts its own abortion-centered ideological ahead of women's health care. i'd like to recognize -- yield two minutes to the gentlelady

-- another the gentlelady from tennessee, diane black, who's been an outstanding leader on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. black: madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 3495, the women's public health and safety act, legislation empowering states to terminate medicaid contracts with providers that disrespect innocent human life by performing abortions. . as we debate this bill today, the big abortion industry is in a crisis mode. they have seen the same videos i have implicating planned parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, in the trafficking of fetal tissue and organs. and they have seen the same nonpartisan government report i have indicating that planned parenthood received $1.2 billion in medicaid funding over a three-year period. so, knowing that they are losing the public opinion battle, they are taking their fight to the courts.

suing states that dare to protect taxpayer dollars by exercising their right to terminate contracts with this abortion giant. tennessee saw this tactic before when planned parenthood took our state to court over an abortion law back in 2000. and we defeated them, but it took 14 years to do it. madam speaker, let's not let that happen again. if president obama and the congressional democrats are so intent on blocking this legislation to combat taxpayer funding of abortion providers at the federal level, then they should at least let states use their 10th amendment rights to take action within their own borders without the threat of costly politically motivated lawsuits. the women's public health and safety act will do just that. i urge a yes vote on this compassionate, pro-life, pro-woman legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: i'm pleased to yield 1.5 minutes to the gentlelady from california, mrs. capps. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. miss caps: i thank my colleague -- mrs. capps: i thank my colleague for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to this bill and political gamesmanship that continues to put our nation at risk. today we witness yet another attack by some of our colleagues who are obsessed with ending access to planned parenthood. a trusted health care provider in my community. but today's bill takes a slightly different approach, one that cynically tells a woman that the government knows better than she does when it comes to telling who she should trust with her health and well-being. as a woman, as a mother, as a nurse this is insulting. these attacks have to stop. republicans are willfully putting their heads in the sand. they think it's no big deal to shut down hundreds of clinics

offering essential services not available anywhere else. they think that the rest of the safety net can easily pick up the slack, ignoring the fact that those providers themselves have said they cannot. and they think it's worth shutting down the government to achieve this goal. moreover, i would just like to emphasize that these women have chosen to go to planned parenthood for their care. suggesting that they can just get their care from some other providers is both callous and -- callus and condesending. with all due respect to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, which provider a man chooses to go to for her reproductive health care is not your decision to make. it shouldn't be. i urge my colleagues to trust women to make their own decisions. vote no on this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, i'm

very pleased at this time to yield three minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, the prime sponsor of this legislation, mr. duffy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman virginia tech. mr. duffy: thank you -- the gentleman is recognized. mr. duffy: thank you. i have been watching my democratic friends across the aisle doing somersaults trying self and sh their rename their dinners. there is a big conversation about the confederate flag and what it means. i would agree with my friends across the aisle. what they don't want to talk about is the roots of where planned parenthood started. it started with margaret sanger. a known racist. a speaker in front of the kkk. she believed in eugenics. she is the founder of planned parenthood. we should talk about the racist roots of planned parenthood just like with the confederate flag and just like the

jefferson-jackson dinners that the democrats celebrate every year. if you watched the videos that have come out of planned parenthood, harvesting little baby body parts and selling those body parts for a profit. that's disgusting. this is not a debate about abortion or even nonabortion. pro-life or pro-abortion. those who are even pro-abortion agree that these tactics are unacceptable. they have no place in our society. and if federal tax dollars should go to fund an institution that harvests baby body parts for sale? is absolutely as nine. -- asinine. you want to talk about health care? health care doesn't mean planned parent hoo. planned parenthood doesn't mean woman's health care. you talk about defunding women's health care? there is no less money. there is the same amount of money that goes to women's health care.

that's a false argument. we spend the same amount of money. you say you know what? if we have an organization that supports the harvest and sale of body parts, our tax dollars probably shouldn't go to it. or better yet, why don't we let the states make the decision for themselves? they go, you know what, that's an affront to our morals and values in one state, we should say we are not going to send federal medicaid money to that organization. and if another state says, you know what, we are ok with it, let them spend their money that way. giving stailingts back the power to -- states back the power to choose how they use their money. i oftentimes sit back and am amazed my friend across the aisle who talk about being compassionate and caring and loving and supporting the downtrodden, can't join us in saying we probably should at least ban abortions after 20 weeks when little babies feel pain. when little babies can survive

outside the womb. we are so radical in our position we want to support abortion up to the point of birth. we won't even support you if there is a botched abortion and a baby is born alive we should try to save it. you can't join us in that. you know what? it's a sellout to the radical abortion industry. i see the rally outside. the rally is a rally of planned parenthood that provides the largest funds to the democratic covers -- coffers. to their campaigns. this is not about life, this is not about health care, this is no about abortion, this is about campaign money that flows from planned parenthood into my democrat friends' campaigns and sadly i wish they would put aside their campaign concerns and start standing for state rights and women's health and little babies' lives. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back. i remind all members to make their comments and address the chair. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the chair recognizes the

gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: madam speaker, i didn't agree with much the previous speaker said, but i do agree that from our perspective it is about campaign money on that side. and i would now recognize the gentlelady from california, ms. ee, for 1.5 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. lee: thank you very much. i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding but also for your tremendous leadership on this and so many issues. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 3495, the so-called women's public health and safety act. first of all, this bill does not keep women safe, and it certainly won't keep them healthy. it would prevent individuals and organizations that provide abortion services from treating women enrolled in medicaid. and it would simply strip women of their fundamental right to choose their own health provider. congress already denies federal medicaid coverage of abortions, which is wrong, and that needs to be repealed, that's the hyde amendment. we have to repeal that. now excluding doctors from

serving medicaid patients is yet another attack on the rights of low-income women. hen in the world are you going to stop? h.r. 3495 would deny more than seven million women access to critical health care services, including contraceptive care, s.t.i. test, lifesaving cancer screenings, and other primary care services, and hurt our most vulnerable communities including low-income women and women of color. madam speaker, this bill is simply wrong. it is nothing more than a shameful attempt to restrict women's constitutional rights. politicians should never interfere with women's personal health care decisions, period. stay out of our lives. this women's public health and safety act, or public safety and health act, it does just the opposite of what this bogus title says. it erodes the health and safety of women. it continues their war on women. i stand l you, today

with planned to stop? parenthood. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, we should be aware that not a single penny will be cut for women's health care under this bill. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. pittenger. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pittenger: madam speaker, i stand before you in full support of h.r. 3495, the women's public health and safety act. this legislation amends medicaid law to give states the freedom and flexibility to remove abortion providers from medicaid. taxpayer dollars should not be used for abortion, period. this important policy is widely supported by the american people. that's why the hyde amendment first established in 1976

protects taxpayers from preventing the use of federal funds for abortion. however, through the years we have seen these groups attempt to circumvent this federal mandate in order to further their own destructive agenda of death. in north carolina, madam speaker, there are 294 community health clinics. only nine planned parenthood abortion centers. providing states like north carolina with flexibility and funding will result in better, more accessible health care for all women instead of funneling money to abortion providers like planned parenthood and their army of political lobbyists. thank you to congressman sean duffy for his leadership on this issue. as a nation, we must restore the value and sanctity of life each and every one against the selfish culture of death. i will continue to be a voice for the voiceless and speak out against these egregious acts as long as it takes to restore the god-given promise of life.

life is precious. as pope francis stated in this chamber, we must cherish each and every one at every stage of life. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves his time. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: thank you, madam speaker. i'm now pleased to yield to the distinguished gentlelady from wisconsin, ms. moore, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. moore: i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding. madam speaker, i am in opposition to this ill-conceived legislation brought forward from my good friend and colleague from wisconsin. i realize that good people can differ on topics. and i have been stung by some of the discussion that has occurred on this floor today. with regard to the racist roots of planned parenthood.

with regard to so-called states' rights. and i can tell you that as a african-american and as a woman have heard the terms state rights used in ways that were not very he healthy and safe for me as a african-american woman. there's nothing healthy and safe about a bill that would deny women their constitutional and human rights to control their own reproduction. either to get birth control, to be protected against s.t.d.s, or to have an abortion the -- abortion. the reality s. i know many people in this body are fond of reality shows, but in reality a woman is fertile for 30 to 40 years of her life, and there's nothing healthy about becoming pregnant every year for 30 to 40

years. i know i'm one of nine kids and that is not a healthy scenario for many women. the reality is is that this would have an adverse impact on some of the poorest women and many of them african-american in this country. planned parenthood serves that 78% of planned parenthood patients live at 150% or lower of the poverty level. the reality is is that 60% of all americans do not want to see planned parenthood defunded. it is not in the interest of public health and safety for these women to be denied this basic health care. madam speaker, we have heard about these films that are not real at all. they havedown been doctored, edited, and they are revisionist pes, all in pursuit of

defunding the premiere organization that protects women's health. and with regard to the other community health centers, i'm glad to know that my colleagues interested in funding those centers, but this bill even puts them at risk. because any ancillary service related to abortion qub deemed as -- can be deemed as unfitting for reimbursement under the medicaid program. . madam speaker, we have seen the flexibility that states have used. we saw in indiana where they defunded planned parenthood, and as a result we saw a pandemic of h.i.v. infestations in that state. so i would say before i yield back, madam speaker, that i urge my colleagues to not go for the appeasement of the

anti-choice caucus that doesn't -- so we don't shut the government down, to use women as a game bit in this political battle. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam chair, may i inquire as to how much time remains? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania has 18 minutes remaining. and the gentlewoman from colorado has 19 minutes remaining. mr. pitts: madam chair -- speaker, i'm pleased at this time to yield five minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, the chair of the pro-life caucus, chris smith. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, my good friend, for yielding. and madam speaker, last week pope francis admonished a joint session of congress to follow the golden rule. to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. the golden rule compels us to

protect and defend human life at every stage of development. and, of course, that includes the unborn. and that it's wrong to remain silent, he said, or to look the other way when individuals are put at risk. at the white house welcoming ceremony earlier in the day, president obama spoke of protecting the least of these, taken from matthew's gospel, the 25th chapter. when president obama says protect the least of these, he excludes millions of children, unborn children. every day planned parenthood dismembers or chemically poisons to death approximately 900 unborn babies, the least of these and hurts many women in the process. subsidized by half a billion dollars annually, planned parenthood kills a baby every two minutes, and has terminated the lives of over seven million infants since 1973. a staggering loss of children's lives that equates to the twice

the number of every man, woman and child living in the state of connecticut. so i rise in strong support of h.r. 3495, the women's health and public safety act, authored by our distinguished colleague, sean duffy, to give states the authority to defund planned parenthood. states, indeed, madam speaker, should have the freedom to choose who they subsidize and why. but the president has denied that option to at least six states so far, including texas, arizona, indiana, louisiana, alabama and arkansas. the latter three states have moved to defund in the wake of the recent undercover videos by the center for medical progress. now because of the c.m.p. videos, we know planned parenthood is also trafficking in baby body parties. i would note paraphernalia theyically, madam speaker, i wrote the trafficking of ictims protection act to end

cruelty, sex trafficking. this is exploiting the defense of unborn children -- defenseless unborn children and taking body parts they have no right to take. turns out planned parenthood has turned these babies into human guinea pigs and it makes the abortion industry even richer. although much of the media continues to ignore this scandal, planned parenthood's me particularally classic -- me particular yussly classic callous they show disregard for precious children's lives while gleefully calculating the financial gain which begs the question -- do americans understand the violence to children done every day in planned parenthood clinics? have my congressional colleagues, has the president actually watched the videos? have you watched them?

in one clip, dr. deborah nuke tal -- nucatula, says we have been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because i know i'm not going to crush that part so they crush all the way around the part that's desired, dismember that baby piece by piece but they leaf intact certain parts, including livers that will then be sold. planned parenthood's medical director's council president, uses the less crunchy, her words, again, to preserve body parts. regarding the price tag for baby body parts, she says, and i quote her, let me just figure out what others are getting and if this is in the ballpark, then it's fine. if it's still low then we can bump it up, she says. another planned parenthood director says we're just trying to figure out as an industry --

and it is the abortion industry -- we're trying to figure out how we're going to manage renew mexico ration because the headlines -- renumeration because the headlines -- no concern whatsoever for the child victim who suffers when they're dismembered, arms, legs, torso, decapitated head. it is gruesome dismemberment abortions, that's what planned parenthood does. one woman, holly o'donnell, says, and i quote her, she gave me the scissors and told me i had to cut down the middle of the face. i can't even describe what that feels like, she says. i suspect that if the president watches at least one of the videos and my colleagues on the other side, it would at least demand real answers concerns kerning planned parenthood's inhumane behavior and violence that's directed at the least of these. of course, sir come standings

and because of immature and dependent -- mr. pitts: madam chair, i yield the gentleman an additional two minutes. mr. smith: thank you. mention about margaret sanger. i read one of her books. she talks about the cruelty of charity of caring for innocent women who carry babies to term that you should not give them help, that charity is cruel. she was a racist. read her books. read her birth control review. i went to the library of congress, got many copies of it and read through it. she had many programs that talked about focusing on blacks and others for extermination. just read her books. and, again, "the pivot of civilization" is one of the worst. let me also say to my friends, they talk about how they -- videos had been doctored. there is a new report called analysis" e forensic

falling say they are into five categories. restroom breaks, recording. at each interview four devices recorded conversations. two video recorders and microphones and two audio-only devices. i ask my friends and colleagues on the other side to take a look at that analysis. again, you just attack the whistleblower. you attack the organization, but you don't look at the evidence. i've watched those tapes several times and was sickened, sickened by just how inhumane these individuals are in cutting people, little babies to pieces in order to procure their body parts. seven million babies since 1973 killed in planned parenthood clinics. they ought to be called child abuse, incorporated. it is the most unsafe place in

america for a child to be in a planned parenthood clinic. i yield back to my good friend and colleague, the chairman of the health committee, any reminder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. and the chair recognizes the gentlelady from colorado. ms. degette: thank you, madam speaker. i'm now pleased to yield 1.5 minutes to the gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for 1.5 minutes. mrs. maloney: i thank my good friend for her leadership and for yielding. madam speaker, i stand in strong opposition to this ironically titled bill, women's public health and safety act. let's be honest. we are -- we all know that this bill in no way protects the health and safety of women. in fact, it does quite the opposite. this bill is aimed squarely at restricting a woman's constitutionally protected freedom, to make her own reproductive hate choices. this bill is not base -- health choices. this bill is not based on facts. it's not based on the health

needs of women. it's based on pure politics and ideologically driven. it's shameful that congress is considering a bill that would leave vulnerable women's access to comprehensive health care at the mercy of the extreme fringe of the far right. this is another attempt to put politics between a woman and her doctor, and a thinly veiled attempt to destroy a woman's right to choose. this bill is so vaguely worded and so broadly written that it will have devastating and far-reaching effects on women's health. states would be allowed to exclude any provider, any entity that has ever provided an abortion or has ever had any sort of association or involvement with an abortion. this bill puts women's lives in danger and it is a chilling and a most dangerous precedent. mr. speaker, i urge a strong no vote.

instead, stand for a woman's right to make her own personal health care choices. planned parenthood should be celebrated, not demonized. it is the largest health care provider for vulnerable women in this great country of ours. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentlelady from colorado reserves. and the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, i would just remind the gentlelady that abortion is not health care, and i now yield two minutes to the gentlelady from missouri, vicky hartzler, a great leader in the pro-life movement. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mrs. hartzler: thank you, and thank you, mr. chairman. protecting unborn lives is paramount to defining who we are as a people and as a nation. killing innocent babies before they even have a chance at life

is unconscionable, let alone turning around and selling the fetal tissue for profit. planned parenthood is the nation's largest provider of abortions. this abortion chain receives $1.2 billion of taxpayer money through medicaid over a three-year period. planned parenthood reported over $500 million of their annual revenue comes from government funding. this is reprehensible. no federal dollars should go to any institution in the business of harvesting and selling baby parts of aborted children. can you imagine what people would say in this country if this practice occurred with our beloved pets? most of us have cats and dogs. would we stand for them to be killed and their body parts harvested and sold for profit? where is the outrage that this is happening to our country's babies, our unborn children?

i continue to fight to defund planned parenthood at the federal level, and i encourage allstate and local governments -- all is it state and local governments to stop funding planned parenthood. three states have undereneded their contracts with planned parenthood, and the obama administration said disqualifying planned parenthood because of their abortion business violated federal medicaid law. well, today's bill amends the medicaid law to empower states with the ability to exclude abortion providers from medicaid. given the horrific nature of the videos showing the shameful lengths that planned parenthood will go to in order to harvest and sell fetal organs, i am hopeful that each and every state would exercise this option. i urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, which is critical to the fight to protect innocent lives. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves, and the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: thank you very much, madam speaker.

i'm now pleased to yield 1.5 minutes to the gentlelady from california, ms. chu. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 1.5 minutes. ms. chu: another day, another attack by republicans on women's health care in the house of representatives. but this one is different. it goes beyond the typical attacks on women and endangers their health and the health of entire communities by holding medicaid hostage, this bill seeks to intimidate doctors and hospitals into not providing a safe and constitutionally protected service. i'm appalled by how far republicans are willing to go. the language in the bill is so vague that it would allow states to exclude entire providers from the medicaid program. minority and low-income women would be disproportionately impacted and would stand to lose access to critical health services like birth control and family planning. it's time to stop the attacks. women must be free to make

their own health care choices in consultation with their doctors and without threats from republican politicians in washington. and we must have as one of those choices planned parenthood. for many it's the only place they can turn to for even the most basic care. women, especially low-income women, turn to planned parenthood for affordable and dependable primary care services. they fill a vital gap that community health centers can't fill by themselves, and we're all better off because of their cancer screenings, s.t.d. testings and wellness plans. republicans are trying to hold other health care hostage by using baseless attacks to shut down planned parenthood, using heavily doctored videos. . it's time to stop using health care as a weapon to bully women. we must vote against this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady's time has expired. the in just a moment-- the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: i'm pleased at this time to yield four minutes to the gentleman from maryland, dr. andy harris, another leader on this issuement the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. harris: thank you. madam speaker, look, this bill is very simple. this bill just says that states actually can be partners with the federal government and medicaid. the federal government, the secretary of h.h.s., doesn't get to tell a state which providers they think are inadequate. yes, inadequate. planned parenthood is not a comprehensive health provider in my district. in the lower eastern shore of maryland, they closed the planned parenthood in april and said on the website, i quote, that the easton center will be opened -- you can get services monday through friday at the center in easton, 45 minutes up the road. madam speaker, if you go up the road today, they are closed.

in fact, the center in easton funded with federal dollars is opened two days a week. that clinic is empty the rest of the time. federal dollars paying for an empty clinic that doesn't deliver comprehensive care. madam speaker, you may have heard somewhere that planned parenthood provides mammograms. nonsense, even planned parenthood executives say they don't have a mammogram machine in the entire system. the only method of breast cancer screening that actually results in decreased deaths from breast cancer, the only method, mammograms, they don't provide at planned parenthood. but you can be referred. actually, madam speaker, the law is you don't need a referral for a mammogram screening. that's the law. you don't need a referral. any woman can go and get a mammogram screening as long as she's within the screening guidelines without a referral. what is this magic that planned parenthood provides? the gentlelady from new york said, it fills a gap, the community health centers can't fill. nonsense, community health

centers can provide mammograms, breast screening, cervical cancer screening, birth control, do is y thing they don't they don't provide abortions outside the limits of the hyde amendment, and they don't sell baby body parts. that's right. i guess selling baby body parts is what's important about women's health care, then you're right. you got to go to a planned parenthood. you can't get it at a community health center. there are 13,000 community health centers providing the broad range, truly broad range of health care. not health care that you have to leave. maybe you approach some age or younger than some age you don't go to planned parenthood because it's not comprehensive care. community health centers are. they were designed that wafmente the affordable care act, i'm no particular fan of. the fact of the matter is it set these up to be truly comprehensive primary care centers. my community health certainty in my district, if you call today, they are actually opened. if you call tomorrow, they are

opened. but planned parenthood isn't. if you call thursday, planned parenthood is opened 7 1/2 hours. my community health center 8 1/2. if you call friday you're out of luck at planned parenthood. madam speaker, we are paying planned parenthood to keep an empty office open that doesn't provide comprehensive care in my clinic. the gentlelady from new york you hat end of this bill couldn't provide an abortion. that's nonsense. read the bill. as long as you provide abortions consistent with the hyde amendment that. is a rape or incest exclusion or life the mother. the gentlelady was wrong. she said lives are threatened. no, madam speaker. if lives are threatened specifically this bill says that provider, that state can choose to fund that provider and can do that. madam speaker, the bottom line is, planned parenthood there's only one thing is it does that you don't get -- i'll reiterate. in the on't get

community health center. you can get an abortion, usually any stavenlg pregnancy for any reason. get your baby's body parts sold in the trafficking of body parts that we saw in those films. those films doctored? they are not doctored. anyone can look on the website. they are raw footage. a le get your talking about lamborghini from the profits of baby body parts. if we aren't -- if that isn't repulsive to us, what is? all this bill does allow states to defund that. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. and the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself 30 seconds to point out that the gentleman is absolutely correct. planned parenthood does not provide mammograms. they do provide breast cancer screenings, but under this bill if there is a hospital or a clinic that does provide mammograms, and they also provide a lamborghini abortions, well, th the states could prehe vent

funding. so ironically under the terms of this bill up for discussion today, mammograms could be prehaven'ted. i don't think that's the intention of the writer of this bill. with that i'm pleased to yield 1.5 minutes to a senior member of the energy and commerce committee, mr. green from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15st minutes. mr. green: thank youers madam speaker. i thank my colleague from colorado for yielding to me. i rise in opposition to h.r. 3495, the so-called women's public health act. women's health care is more than bram mam grams. i know that planned parenthood in my district provides over 80% of their care is women's health and not abortion. this bill would give states the right to exclude a health care provider who performs abortion care from their medicaid program. medicaid provides premium care to millions of low-income women and families alike. excluding providers from medicaid without cause is another ill masked attempt to impede reproductive rights. this bill as named is plame

claiming to provide safe public health care for women, but excluding quality health care providers such as planned parenthood, the quality of services will drop and as a result women's health will be detrimentally harmed. that was proofed in a study by a texas agency after 2011. this is yet one more attempt to defund planned parenthood which if successful will hurt millions of women and communities across the country. h.r. 3495 is contradictory to the views of the majority of americans. three out of four american women support publicly funded family planning centers and believe they have a positive impact on public health. by passing this bill we are harming millions of women who rely on publicly funded planning care. i urge my colleagues to vote against this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. and the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from colorado. ms. degette: madam speaker, i'm

now pleased to yield 1.5 minutes to the gentleman from new york -- sorry, two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from new york, mr. nadler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. madam speaker, despite its puffed up name this bill has nothing to do with protecting women's health or safety. the bill the republicans pass today would cut off access to health care for millions of american families who rely on medicaid. this bill would cut off from medicaid reimbursement for any service, planned parenthood or any doctor or hospital or clinic or local health center that performs or is in involved in any way with abortions. if this bill passes, a woman seeking prenatal care for a planned pregnancy could suddenly be cut off from her doctor if that doctor also provides abortion certificate visions or even referral to abortion services. a child with a lifesaving illness could be turned away from the hospital because the

hospital chair expressed views upportive of abortion. a senior citizen with a chronic illness could suddenly find his or her prescription lapse with no way to refill it because his or her doctor is somehow involved with abortion. my colleagues continue to insist this bill won't interrupt care. that these families, children, and seniors will see different doctors or go to different hospitals. how many of my colleagues have ever been on medicaid? how many of them have ever been turned away by a doctor or told they have to wait months for an appointment because the doctor simply cannot afford to accept any more medicaid patients? this bill would dramatically shorten medicaid doctors and lengthen wait time for patients. putting more people at risk. if their overarching goal is to dismantle medicaid as we know bill is a strong first step. if we want to talk about a culture of life, we should bring bills to the floor to encourage

more doctors to serve in high need areas to give every child access to the highest health care. we should talk about increasing funding for wick and snap to make sure parents, babies, and children are going to bed hungry. we should talk about providing public housing programs. talk about lowering student debt loan to ensure parents can give their kids every opportunity. while what we should not be doing is cutting doctors and hospitals and clinics and community health care centers out of medicaid and putting more lives at risk. this bill is just another blatant attempt to intimidate doctors and hospitals into ending abortion services. under the guise of promoting life, this bill puts more lives at risk. i urge my colleagues to vote no and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the the gentlewoman from colorado reserves. ms. degette: madam speaker, i believe my colleague has no more speakers. mr. pitts: we are prepared to close. i reserve. bill is a strong ms. degette: i have more speakers. i'd now like to recognize the distinguished gentleman from california, dr. bera, for 1 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dera: thank you to my colleague from colorado. madam speaker, i rise in

opposition to another bill restricting women's access to health care. the so-called women's public health and safety act is not about public health and certainly not about safety. this is a bill that takes away individual rights. it's a bill that would significantly restrict a women's access to health care. where they want to go. this is fundamentally about individual rights and individuals' aability to choose where they want to get health care. it's another example of politicians coming in to the examine room and making decisions. now, my colleagues on the right, madam speaker, often will say they want to stand for individual rights. well, planned parenthood has not broken any laws to my knowledge. if an individual patient wants to get their care at planned parenthood, that's their right. planned parenthood's providing access to care. they are doing exactly what their name says, planning and

helping families decide when they are ready to start a family. planning parenthood. we should protect that fundamental individual right. now, as a doctor i find it offensive when the government comes into my exam room and tells patients what they can and can't do. fundamentally to the practice of medicine i have to answer my patients' questions, empower them to make the choice that is they want to, and let them make those choices. again, patients should be able to choose their provider. congress should not be picking and choosing who people can go see. this is about individual rights and preserving that right. i am proud to stand with planned parenthood. i am proud to fight to preserve those individual rights. as a doctor, we have got to protect access to care. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. degette: may i inquire to the time remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady has 10 1/2 minutes remaining.

ms. degette: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania has five minutes. the gentlelady from colorado reserve. ms. degette: i'm now pleased to recognize the gentleman from rhode island mr. cicilline for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. cicilline: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. madam speaker, today we are debating h.r. 3495, which should be called the yet another radical republican assault on women's health care act. this bill undermines the long-standing freedom of choice providers provision of the medicaid statute that protects the rights of medicare patients to seek care from any willing qualified provider. this bill contains language that is so broad that it gives states unchecked authority to deny access to any providers it defines as participating in the performance of abortion. this bill is the latest in a long line of radical republican efforts to defund planned parenthood and deny women access to the high quality health care service it is provides. madam speaker, here are the

facts. each year planned parenthood provides essential care to 2.7 million men and women. one in five american women have visited planned parenthood at least once. 1.5 million young people and adults participate in planned parenthood's educational programs or reproductive health. each year 700 planned parenthood clinics across the united states provide 900 cancer screenings to help detect cervical and breast cancer, 400,000 pap tests, and 500,000 breast exams. the cruel irony of this bill is that if it becomes law, these services, not abortion services, will be put at risk because planned parenthood is already prohibited from using federal funds to provide abortion services intercept limited circumstances. in providing the critical services i just described, planned pirntehood saves lives. -- parenthood saves lives. i want to close by articulating the testimony that richards

offered in the house oversight committee today. it was disturbing that so many members of this chamber treated her with such condescension and disrespect. at some point, madam speaker, the republican party will need to end this war on women and recognize that the question of whether women have a right to make their own health care decisions is a matter of settled law. and threatening to shut down the government unless we agree to deny millions of women access to high quality health care is reckless and irresponsible. ms. degette: i'm now pleased to yield to the distinguished ntlelady from the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: this is not a debate on people's conscience and what you believe in. it is a debate and question of the law. first of