On the recordApril 14, 2011
a little later today we are going to receive from the House of Representatives a spending bill which, if passed, will fund the government for the remainer of this fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Included in that vote today are two other votes, separate votes, which were insisted on by the House Republicans. One of the votes will defund Planned Parenthood across the United States. Under title X, a law which was proposed by President Nixon and passed by Congress--and supported for over 40 years since--we have provided money across America to clinics that take care of women, children, and families who otherwise would have no place to turn. One of the recipients of those funds is Planned Parenthood. They do not receive all the funds or even a majority of the funds. But they do receive support through title X. In my State of Illinois, Planned Parenthood has clinics in many down-State communities, as well as in the Chicagoland area. In my hometown of Springfield, there is a Planned Parenthood clinic. It provides valuable services for many women in my community and State--services which otherwise they could not find or afford: basic examinations by doctors who can screen for forms of cancer, for infectious disease. These are things which many women rely on, and they are valuable services. Yet the House Republicans are determined to take the funding away from Planned Parenthood. The amendment on the floor addresses that issue.…





