Marsha Blackburn: “I do rise in opposition to this amendment. I think it is important to realize a couple of things. The American people…”

“I do rise in opposition to this amendment. I think it is important to realize a couple of things. The American people have spoken out on this issue. Sixty-eight percent of all Americans oppose taxpayer dollars being used for abortions. Seventy-one percent of all millennials oppose this. What the Lee amendment would do is strip away bipartisan agreements that we use in appropriations bills. This is not something that is new. It is not language that is new. The Hyde amendment and the Hyde language has been around for a very long time. The Lee amendment would reverse important limitations to protect these taxpayer dollars. I have mentioned the opposition to abortion. There is also prohibition for the use of public funds to advocate for gun control, limit Federal grants from being awarded to tax cheats. Do we really want tax cheats being able to get Federal dollars? It limits extravagant conference spending for public employees. Do we really want them to be able to waste these dollars? Of course not. Of course not. That is why this language is in the bill. I encourage my colleagues to vote against the Lee amendment.”