On the recordJanuary 24, 2017
With H.R. 7, Republicans are again targeting American women's health care. This bill limits financial assistance in order to restrict women's choices in the health insurance marketplaces, forcing women and their families to select only certain plans. The goal is to restrict the ability of a woman to make her own choices. This bill comes up 1 day after President Trump reinstituted the Mexico rule. It prohibits U.S. foreign assistance to any organization which uses not those funds, but those from any other source for any activity related to abortion services. When I was Assistant Administrator of the AID in the late seventies, I led the highly organized effort that established a strict process for cordoning off any U.S. funds from any activity related to abortions, in violation of the Hyde amendment. What the Mexico rule means is that if any organization uses funds from any source related to abortion, it cannot receive any U.S. assistance, even if 99 percent of its activities related to women's health are totally unrelated to abortions and even programs in a nation where abortion is illegal. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired. Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
