On the recordJune 24, 2021
The Hyde amendment is an essential protection for the conscience rights of Americans and has saved over 2 million innocent lives. The prohibition on the use of taxpayer funds for abortion has been enacted annually on a bipartisan basis despite our country's divisions on the question of abortion itself. Yet, despite President Biden's decades of support for the Hyde amendment, his budget request bows to the radical left and fails to include these longstanding protections. As ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, I am committed to protecting all existing pro-life protections and advancing the pro-life cause whenever possible. I will strongly oppose the elimination of the Hyde amendment from annual appropriations bills. But to strengthen the Hyde amendment, we must make it permanent law. That is why I support H.R. 18, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 18, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bowman). Under guidelines consistently issued by successive Speakers, as recorded in section 956 of the House Rules and Manual, the Chair is constrained not to entertain the request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships. ____________________
