Liz Cheney

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I just want to make a point in terms of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and the constant reference to women, women, women, as though all women believe what they believe. They have very strongly held views on the other side of the aisle, but the notion that somehow all women can be categorized as being pro- abortion is just simply wrong and, frankly, offensive to those of us who have different views. Madam Speaker, I would like to say, at this point in time, that we are not making any kind of a dangerous attack on women's rights. My colleagues have accused us of being relentless. We are relentless. We are relentless, Madam Speaker. We are relentless in defense of the unborn, the most vulnerable among us. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, it is no surprise that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle would rather talk about just about anything besides the text and the substance of the rule and the bill that we are about to consider. The transparency that is important to this debate and that is relevant for this discussion today is transparency that is in the rule and in this bill that would require that insurance companies make sure that people understand what they are purchasing and whether or not they are purchasing a plan that will, in fact, provide abortion coverage. I also just want to note that although there may be some in this Chamber who view The Washington Post Fact Checker as the oracle and font of all wisdom, he got this one wrong, as he has in many cases, and, in fact, failed to understand that there are, as we meet here today, monthly advanced payments of U.S. taxpayer funding going to insurance companies or to exchanges to pay for health insurance plans that subsidize abortion on demand. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just note that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have referred several times now to the massive turnout for the women's march here, and we, ourselves, will be having, I am sure, a very large turnout this week; as well as I would like to point out that that women's march excluded groups that were pro-life women's groups. And so the notion that somehow it was reflective of all women in this Nation is fundamentally misleading. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes of my time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the cosponsor of this bill who has done tremendous work.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 55, which provides a closed rule for consideration of H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act. This bipartisan bill will codify and make permanent what is commonly referred to as the Hyde amendment and expand Hyde amendment restrictions to all Federal agencies. First offered in 1976, the Hyde amendment prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions through government programs like Medicaid. These restrictions have been maintained for more than 40 years through the annual appropriations process, including the most recent continuing resolution passed last December. It is time that these important protections against the use of taxpayer funding to pay for abortion be made permanent. A GAO report in 2014 found that, under ObamaCare, over 1,000 insurance plans covered elective abortion. Those plans are purchased with taxpayer subsidies. H.R. 7 would stop this and make ObamaCare conform to the Hyde amendment. If the Hyde amendment had been applied to ObamaCare, as President Obama promised it would be, the number of federally subsidized plans with elective abortion coverage would have been zero. As we work to repeal and replace the deeply flawed ObamaCare, we need to ensure taxpayer subsidies are not used to pay for abortion coverage. According to a Marist Poll conducted last July, 62 percent of respondents--a majority of the women asked--and including 45 percent of those who identify as pro-choice do not support taxpayer funding for abortions. H.R. 7 simply codifies and makes permanent a protection against the use of taxpayer funding for abortion that the majority of Americans and certainly a majority of my constituents in Wyoming support. Therefore, I urge support for the rule to allow consideration of H.R. 7. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 55 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am really heartened today, Madam Speaker, to hear so much concern from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle about making sure that patients and individuals have the right to make decisions about their own health care. I would expect, then, to see support from the other side of the aisle when we are in a position where we are putting in place our replacement for ObamaCare. That is one of the main reasons we are repealing ObamaCare, getting the government out of the business of telling people what they can and can't have with respect to their own health care. That is not the issue that we are debating here today, however, Madam Speaker. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his tireless work on this issue and for introducing this bipartisan bill. A majority of Americans across the country share the view that we must continue to work to protect the lives of mothers and their unborn children. As you have already heard, Madam Speaker, the Hyde amendment is responsible for saving the lives of at least 2 million babies, the most vulnerable among us. Codifying a permanent restriction on the use of taxpayer funding for abortions is long overdue. I urge adoption of both the rule and H.R. 7 so we can continue to protect and save lives.

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.