On the recordMarch 21, 2010
This bill violates the conscience of the American people. It violates the principle that we should not spend more than we have. This bill is not reform. It just makes our existing entitlement crisis even worse. This bill violates the belief held by more than 70 percent of Americans that money collected by the government should not be used to pay for abortion or abortion coverage, but that's what this bill does. Regardless of the colloquy, an Executive order is not a statute. It doesn't trump a statute. The government will end up directly paying for abortions at community health centers. Taxpayer subsidies will, for the first time in decades, subsidize insurance coverage that includes abortion. The bill and the accompanying Executive order turns over the protection of the unborn to the most pro-abortion President in our history. This extreme legislation is being forced on an unwilling Nation. It is the most pro-abortion bill and the largest expansion of abortion in our history. No Member who votes for it will ever be able to claim again that they have always stood on the side of the unborn. I'm sad to say this. This is a career-defining vote. There will be no living it down. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this terrible bill.
