I know my friend from Oklahoma didn't intend to mislead, but there is already a law, the Helms amendment, which says no U.S. money can be used for that purpose --no U.S. money. What the Mexico City language in this bill says is that these nonprofit organizations cannot use their own money, the money they raise, in Mexico, in Argentina, in Italy, in France, in China, they can't use that money to lobby their government. No U.S. taxpayers' dollars are allowed under present law to be used to lobby for abortion, period, bang. That is already law. That is the Helms amendment. What we are talking about is using their money raised from sources other than a contribution from the U.S. taxpayer.
Joe Biden: “I know my friend from Oklahoma didn't intend to mislead, but there is already a law, the Helms amendment, which says no…”
On the recordApril 28, 1998
Source
govinfo.govEditor's note · Context
Discussing the implications of the Helms amendment and the Mexico City language regarding U.S. funding and abortion lobbying.
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