On the recordMarch 30, 2017
Mr. President, I rise to thank my colleagues for their support of my legislation to overturn President Obama's eleventh hour rule that revokes States' rights to determine the best eligible subgrantees for title X family planning funding. It should be the right of our States to allocate subgrants under the title X program in the way that best fits the needs of the people living there. Unfortunately, like many other rules that were issued during the Obama administration, this rule attempted to empower Federal bureaucrats in Washington and silence our States. As we all know, States are closer to and more familiar with the healthcare providers and patients within their borders and should be able to make their own decisions about the best eligible title X subgrantees, be they hospitals, federally qualified community health centers, or other types of providers. A number of States have acted in recent years to prioritize title X subgrants to more comprehensive providers, where women can receive greater preventive and primary care than they can with providers like Planned Parenthood. The Obama administration's rule attempted to claim that providers like Planned Parenthood can ``accomplish title X programmatic objectives more effectively.'' This rhetoric does not match the reality.…





