On the recordJanuary 22, 2015
Just the night before last the President addressed this body and laid out an agenda that we all might not agree with certain elements, but there are elements that we could certainly act upon. We could take up an infrastructure bill. We could take up legislation that would assure every young person the ability to go to community college. We could take up the big questions that the American people expect us to address that are important to growing our economy. But we are not doing that. Instead, this morning, the leadership will present to this body legislation that will again seek to curtail the health care rights of women, not because you have some expectation that it will become law, but I believe because it is just another attempt to pander to the more extreme voices of the base. The President and others have called to us to elevate the dialogue in Congress and elevate our aspirations for our country. We have legislation before us that would put limitations on the choices that women have and even deny access to abortion services to save the life of a mother. This is the wrong direction. We need to reject it. ____________________
