Frank Lautenberg: “how incomprehensible it is that we have a position on the one hand that refuses to acknowledge in this body there are…”

“how incomprehensible it is that we have a position on the one hand that refuses to acknowledge in this body there are other ways to control teenage pregnancies than abstinence. We are not against abstinence. There are funds provided in the President's budget for 2007 for abstinence--$204 million. This amendment asks for additional funding to supply comprehensive education. We heard from the Senator from South Carolina saying that he describes our values as shared values. But we are not sharing values with the people in South Carolina from Bamberg County who had the lowest rate of teenage pregnancies after they started a program for comprehensive education in South Carolina. The Senator from South Carolina said we had to have shared values on these things. But these are shared values. I hope our colleagues will look at this fairly, and think about the women who are hurting because they are prevented from getting an education and vote ``no'' on this bill and ``yes'' on my amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?”