Marsha Blackburn: “I come in support of H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act. This…”

“I come in support of H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act. This legislation is written with the same simple principle that has been supported on a bipartisan basis for decades. No taxpayer dollars should be spent on abortions and abortion coverage. H.R. 7 establishes a permanent Governmentwide prohibition on taxpayer subsidies for abortion. This bill is all the more necessary because of the President's health care law and its attack on this long-standing protection of taxpayer dollars. For example, the health care law's premium subsidies can be used to purchase coverage on exchanges that include coverage of abortion. The ACA breaks with the tradition of the Hyde Amendment, which has ensured that Federal dollars do not subsidize plans that cover abortion. {time} 1515 The bill before us would simply codify the Hyde amendment language so it applies across the Federal Government. Consumers should also have the right to know whether the plans they are selecting on an exchange include abortion coverage. While the ACA included some notification provisions, many of our constituents are simply unable to find out whether a plan is paying for abortions. In fact, this inability to find out whether exchange plans provide abortion coverage seems to extend to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.…”