Lynn C. Woolsey: “I ask my colleagues, why is it when the majority proposes spending cuts, it is women and children first? I voted for the…”

“I ask my colleagues, why is it when the majority proposes spending cuts, it is women and children first? I voted for the balanced budget agreement because I was really hopeful that roughneck politics had been passed aside to reach a grander goal. Democrats and Republicans were willing to give some to gain a lot. It was a textbook example of the art of compromise, actually. But somewhere between the House floor and the committee rooms, the deal unraveled and this unacceptable bill emerged, a bill that undermines the budget agreement and adds new provisions that were never even discussed and, in fact, have little to do with balancing the budget in the first place. The bill sends funds that we targeted for child health coverage to States as block grants. This means Governors can spend the money for programs that have nothing to do with providing children with basic health care. Under this plan, less than half a million kids will get coverage. Talk about a sellout. But that is not even the worst of it. The same leadership who shut down the Government and held flood victims hostage has once again included an extraneous, divisive issue in its must-pass legislation. The majority is using this bill to codify into law the Hyde amendment. The Hyde amendment takes away reproductive rights for hundreds of thousands of poor women. Roe versus. Wade does not exist when you cannot afford to pay the bill. This bill also takes away other rights from poor women.”