Virginia Foxx

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are talking about the Ex-Im Bank because they know when they talk about protecting organizations that sell babies' hearts and lungs, they are losing. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues in the minority also claim that women would no longer have access to healthcare services. It is important to remember that this bill merely stops the Obama administration's current practice of using Medicaid to force States into including abortionists in their provider network. Each State can take its specific needs into consideration when determining what, if any, action to take under this bill. Claims that 13,000 federally qualified and rural health centers aren't sufficient fail to reflect the fact that community health centers have grown significantly since 2010. According to HRSA data, health centers have grown so much that, in the years since 2010, they have acquired 3.4 million more patients, 1.9 million of whom are women. And as our colleague from Maryland pointed out, they are often open more days and more hours than Planned Parenthood clinics are. They are providing better and more comprehensive services to women. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. My colleagues continue to hold up regular order as an excuse for their unwillingness to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to organizations that dismember children. Thankfully, there are committee hearings being held on this issue even now that will continue to expose the wrongs of the abortion industry. Here today, though, we take the simple step of stopping funding to organizations that sell children's body parts. My colleague's newfound affection for regular order is a poor objection to the passage of this legislation to protect women and children from being parties to trafficking in human tissue. It is not extreme to want to protect the most vulnerable, the unborn, from having their body parts being sold and the use of taxpayer dollars to aid such enterprises. Mr. Speaker, we have heard today about outrageous activities that are ongoing in the abortion industry as it takes apart tiny babies with beating hearts and cute little fingers and toes. It is truly saddening that the reaction in this Chamber isn't unanimous agreement that the clinics where this has occurred be closed and those responsible be sanctioned for their reprehensible actions. We haven't even been able to come to agreement with those on the other side that Federal grants to these organizations from the Department of Health and Human Services stop immediately. Now we try again to find common ground. Today, the legislation before us would take the small but vital step of allowing those States that choose, and only those States, to stop funding abortion providers through Medicaid. This legislation wouldn't tell New York or Massachusetts or California that they can't give their taxpayer dollars to an organization that sells body parts. It would, however, enable Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, or Indiana to do so. The principle of federalism, that Americans are free to come together with others in their community and establish the principles by which they will govern themselves, is a bedrock for our Nation. Even if opponents of this legislation have become callous to the unheard cries of unborn children dismembered for compensation, they should rally to the cause of federalism in order to allow their own communities to exercise the freedom it protects. What a sad day it is when we can no longer even unite around our founding principles, one of which was that life is the first unalienable right. When we ignore the need to protect that right for the smallest of our brothers and sisters, we should not be surprised by the erosion of our other rights, including the right to self-governance prohibited by federalism. The exposure of the ongoing tragedy of crushed young lives must spur us to unite to stop this imposition of Federal power on States and their citizens and restore to them the choice of protecting children from being sold as organ donors before even taking their first breath. This is what H.R. 3495, the Women's Public Health and Safety Act, would accomplish, and I commend it and this rule providing for its consideration to my colleagues for their support.

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

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Trooper J.D. Berrong, who recently won the Jimmy K. Ammons North American Inspectors Grand Champion Award. This is the first time a North Carolina trooper has ever won this competition, which recognizes the Nation's top roadside inspector. Berrong, who resides in the community of Mulberry, competed against 51 other roadside inspectors representing jurisdictions across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Trooper Berrong is stationed in Wilkes County and is a 14-year veteran of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. He is currently assigned to the motor carrier enforcement section, troop F, district 9. Troopers who perform motor carrier enforcement duties ensure that all modes of travel, including commercial motor vehicles, are consistently monitored in order to improve highway safety. Congratulations, Trooper Berrong, and thank you for serving the public good and helping maintain the safety of the highways of North Carolina.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the House Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on Monday, September 28, 2015, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, if my colleagues would like to use parliamentary terms like ``regular order,'' ``self-execute,'' or ``waivers'' to hide from debate over the gruesome practices of abortionists, that is their prerogative. They ignore what one key Planned Parenthood abortionist said: ``We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part. I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact.'' Republicans will continue to bring the truth to Americans and prevent taxpayer dollars from going to organizations that dismember children. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Last evening when I spoke on this legislation in the Committee on Rules, I mentioned that this is a very emotional issue for those of us who value life so much. One of my colleagues has already spoken to the fundamental issue of life, but I think we always should have time to talk about our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Particularly as it relates to this issue, it is the Declaration of Independence which says: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men.'' Madam Speaker, that is what we are talking about here today. We are talking about what our government should be doing in the light of knowing that the most vulnerable among us are being destroyed, and that without life, there is nothing else. Our colleagues keep saying there are things that are more important for us to be debating today. Madam Speaker, I would purport that there are few things more important than this debate over the trafficking of hearts and other body parts of unborn children, some of whom may have been born alive. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim that this legislation is part of a war on women, but in reality it is designed to stop the war on children that is going on in abortion facilities across this country. Large majorities of Americans believe their tax dollars should not go to fund abortions. They felt this way even before learning that, during those abortions, children are dismembered and sold piece by piece. It is unfathomable that we have to debate stopping the provision of tax dollars to organizations participating in such activities. It is also unbelievable that we do not immediately pass, by unanimous consent, legislation ensuring that children born alive, breathing and crying, like each of us was on our first day outside the womb, deserve the same medical care that any child born in a hospital would receive. What is heartening, in the face of this contentious debate, is the principle that the truth always comes out. Abortionists can no longer hide in the dark back rooms of their facilities and sell unborn children piece by piece under an illusion that no one will ever know their crimes. Our debate today and the videos that have been released have shattered that darkness and exposed the callousness of the abortion industry toward life and the consequences of accepting abortion on demand as acceptable. Both of these bills, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 and the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, contain commonsense provisions addressing the barbaric actions that have come to light in the abortion industry, and I commend the underlying bills in this rule providing for their consideration to all of my colleagues for their support.

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

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 421 provides closed rules for consideration of H.R. 3134, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, and H.R. 3504, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Today, Madam Speaker, we provide for consideration of two vital pieces of legislation addressing one of the most important issues of our time. On many previous occasions, my colleagues and I have spoken on the issue of abortion and the tragedy it is that unborn children are not safe and protected. We are not here today, though, debating the policy of abortion on- demand. We are debating specific legislative reactions to horrific wrongs that have come to light: the deliberate dismemberment of unborn children to receive compensation for their organs and other body parts and the failure of abortion facilities to care for children born alive during failed abortions. Even some who support elective abortion agree that those practices are barbaric and must be stopped. The horrific reality of these practices in the abortion industry have become clear over the past few months, as undercover videos have been released of Planned Parenthood's leaders and affiliates discussing painstakingly dismembering unborn children for compensation. In these days of 3-D ultrasounds and high-definition screens, it is impossible to hide the humanity of these child victims. They have fingers and toes, heartbeats, and organs developed enough that tissue collectors will pay $60 a specimen for them. In light of the serious questions raised by these videos, the House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform have each launched investigations. While Planned Parenthood does not receive direct Federal funding for abortions, these investigations are warranted, as a recent report from the Government Accountability Office shows that the organization receives an average of $500 million taxpayer dollars each year for other lines of business. Money is fungible, and the Federal funds that Planned Parenthood receives ultimately subsidize their abortion services. Given the serious allegations that have been raised about Planned Parenthood's abortion practices related to the procurement and sale of tissue and organs from aborted, unborn children, it is appropriate for Congress to pass H.R. 3134, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, placing a 1-year moratorium on all Federal funds while Congress conducts its investigation. No organization that performs divisive practices like abortion, particularly in such a gruesome, profitable manner, should receive taxpayer dollars, and this legislation advances that principle. In addition, the examples of Kermit Gosnell's convictions for murdering children born alive at his house of horrors and separate reports of unborn children may have been born alive or ``intact'' prior to being sold to tissue collectors have exposed the need for strengthening the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which became law in 2002, extended critical legal protections to babies who are born alive after a failed abortion attempt. That bill passed the House Judiciary Committee with only two dissenting votes and was passed by the Senate by unanimous consent. The legislation before us today, H.R. 3504, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, goes one step further to protect these vulnerable lives by requiring healthcare practitioners present at the time of birth to administer professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child. This small, but important, step ensures the protection and preservation of precious, newborn life by providing for criminal penalties when that life is lost as a result of negligence. These tiny, precious, vulnerable lives deserve the protection afforded all other persons under the law, and this bill ensures that their lives are protected. Madam Speaker, I commend this rule and both the underlying bills to my colleagues for their support. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 421 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Utah (Mrs. Love).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, there are many more options for women's health care than the discredited abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. While Planned Parenthood is only approximately 665 clinics, federally qualified health centers, FQHCs, and rural health centers, RHCs, provide over 13,000 publicly supported locations, providing alternatives for women's health care. This means there are 20 federally funded comprehensive care clinics for every one Planned Parenthood. This bill does not change the availability of funds for women's health. It simply establishes a safeguard so that the Nation's largest abortion chain is not the one providing such services. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My colleagues have asked for an investigation into The Center for Medical Progress, which released these videos. The Center for Medical Progress does not receive half a billion in taxpayer dollars every year; Planned Parenthood does. It is the role of Congress to exercise oversight on those who receive taxpayer dollars. It is also appropriate for Congress to cease funding a scandal-ridden organization. It is extremely interesting to hear my colleagues across the aisle talk about investigating the creators of these videos. If only there was such enthusiasm for oversight on other issues, such as ObamaCare implementation, immigration executive orders, and Hillary Clinton's refusal to share her actions on Benghazi. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I am expecting one more speaker that I am trying to accommodate. However, if the gentleman is prepared to close, then I will do my best to do that also.

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

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, during the August work period, Smith Phillips Building Supply hosted a customer appreciation day and supplier showcase that I attended in Winston-Salem. While I was there, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jack Shearin, who founded a ministry called Serving our Savior, and Harry Underwood, who chairs the ministry. Since 2000, this group has been assisting the disabled in Forsyth County by building handicap ramps at their homes. All the work is performed by volunteers, who build 70 to 80 ramps each year. Since the organization's inception, more than 700 ramps have been built. Serving our Savior does not charge for their ramps. Instead, the organization allows the recipients to pay what they can, and if they are unable to pay, funds are provided by Serving our Savior. This ministry is a wonderful example of the difference a small group of people can make in its local community, and I applaud their selfless work on behalf of those who need a helping hand.