Nita Lowey

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. If I may reclaim my time, could the gentleman explain whether this includes the pill?

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, if I might ask the gentleman, I believe in response to my question as to whether the pill would be included, since the pill is one of the five methods of approving contraception from the FDA, you seem to be questioning this and I would ask the gentleman, if you are not sure whether the pill is an established method of contraception, what would the plans determine?

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, would the gentleman consider the IUD a form of contraception? This is and approved method of contraception. Or would you consider the IUD as abortifacient?

Mrs. LOWEY. No, I will not yield. I will not yield. That the American people who are listening to this debate have to understand that this Congress wants to tell women that all forms of contraception are abortifacients and they cannot be considered. I would like to make that point again. The majority of American women do support the use of contraceptives. These are very personal decisions, we understand that, and each person has to make it for themselves. But the majority of American women understands that. Now, it seems to me from this discussion, that the gentleman from New Jersey is saying to every woman who may take a birth control pill or use another one of the five accepted methods of contraception that they are abortionists.

Mrs. LOWEY. I think it is important to clarify what we are talking about because the FDA has approved five methods of contraception.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, I just want to make it clear to my colleague that the gentleman from New Jersey, it appears to me from your statement, is trying to make every method of contraception an abortifacient; is that correct?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, if I can make it clear, I think it is very important, my colleagues, that we realize what the gentleman is attempting to achieve with this amendment. He is stating that there is no form of contraception that may not be considered an abortifacient and, therefore, the American women have to understand----

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I rise to engage the gentleman from New Jersey in a colloquy. I would like to ask the gentleman to define further his amendment. Based upon the information that we have, the FDA has approved five methods of contraception. This is the established definition of contraception. It has nothing to do with RU-486 although, unfortunately, there were some letters sent out saying it did. RU-486 is not included among the five methods of contraception. It has nothing to do with abortion. There have been debates that have been going on among us, in the country, about when does life begin. This takes some serious discussion, and I am sure that we can have some serious debates about this issue, but today what we are talking about very simply is the five established methods of contraception that have been improved by the FDA, nothing to do with abortion, nothing to do with RU-486.

Mrs. LOWEY. I am sorry. Will the gentleman repeat?

Mrs. LOWEY. I seems to me the gentleman has questions about the pill, questions about the diaphragm, questions abut the IUD, and I assume the gentleman has questions about Depo--Provera and Norplant. Let me say this, there are five established methods of contraception. If the gentleman supports the amendment to not cover abortion, then you are saying that contraception cannot be covered; no method of contraception can be covered.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, does the gentleman include the diaphragm as a form of contraception?

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. I seems to me the gentleman has questions about the pill, questions about the diaphragm, questions abut the IUD, and I assume the gentleman has questions about Depo--Provera and Norplant. Let me say this, there are five established methods of contraception. If the gentleman supports the amendment to not cover abortion, then you are saying that contraception cannot be covered; no method of contraception can be covered.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, does the gentleman include the diaphragm as a form of contraception? Mrs. SMith of New Jersey. No. As far as I know, that is not included.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, if I might ask the gentleman, I believe in response to my question as to whether the pill would be included, since the pill is one of the five methods of approving contraception from the FDA, you seem to be questioning this and I would ask the gentleman, if you are not sure whether the pill is an established method of contraception, what would the plans determine?

Mrs. LOWEY. I think it is important to clarify what we are talking about because the FDA has approved five methods of contraception.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Reclaiming my time, would the gentleman consider the IUD a form of contraception? This is and approved method of contraception. Or would you consider the IUD as abortifacient?

Mrs. LOWEY. I am sorry. Will the gentleman repeat?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, before I address this particular amendment, I would like to ask the gentleman from New Jersey whether, in fact, in addition to opposing abortion he opposes all kinds of contraception. I have been working very hard with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Democrat and Republican, prochoice, prolife, to prevent unintended pregnancies. We have been working with the national campaign on preventing teenage pregnancy to try and promote abstinence, to encourage abstinence upon our young people, to encourage responsibility. Now I believe the gentleman and the Republican party, in fact, by disallowing my amendment, which would make the Federal employee health plans which are disallowing coverage of abortion also disallowing coverage of contraception, I believe the gentleman also does not believe that the majority of the American people who would like to be able to purchase contraceptives should be able to have contraceptives. So I think we are mixing up the debate here. The gentleman is talking about the debate next week on so-called partial-birth abortion, but, in fact, in this bill the gentleman does not feel we should cover contraception. So we are telling to all the Federal employees, ``No, we are not going to cover abortion, we are not going to pay for abortion, but you know what? We are not going to cover contraception either.'' Now I wonder if the gentleman from New Jersey would like to tell that to all the constituents in his district who work for the Federal Government, that, no, we are not going to cover abortion, but we are not going to cover contraception either. Now it seems to me that there are five established methods of contraception that have been approved by the FDA. Now what we are saying and what we said in our amendment was that the Federal employee should be entitled to have those expenses covered. Now the cost of health care to women is 68 percent higher for women than that of a man, and in fact only 10 percent of the plans cover all of the forms of abortion, and, excuse me, cover all forms of contraception that have been approved. In fact, 81 percent of the plans do not cover the five methods of contraception. So, my colleagues, I am trying to figure this out. The Republican majority does not want to cover payment for abortion for these women even though the women's health care costs are 68 percent higher, but they do not want to pay for contraception. I would hope, my colleagues, we could work together to really reduce unintended pregnancies. Let us encourage abstinence, let us encourage responsibility, but it is hard to believe, and I am saying this to the American people, all the women out there, this party does not want to give us a vote on covering of contraception. Does this make any sense? So I speak in support of my colleague, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro's) amendment because I think that Federal employees with their own money that they have earned should be able to have abortion covered, but I also believe that Federal employees should be able to have the costs of contraception covered. That is only fair.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, the point of order raised by the gentleman is not well-founded. The amendment is a limitation on funds contained in the bill and does not place any duties upon Federal officials. The amendment merely limits the types of Federal Health Benefit Programs that can be funded in the bill to those that contain certain benefits. The programs exempted from the requirements under the limitation are currently known, and again, do not place additional affirmative duties on Federal officials.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, as my colleagues know, the Treasury-Postal bill originally contained the Lowey contraceptive coverage language providing Federal employees with contraceptive coverage. I offer now an amendment that allows this House a fair and open debate on contraceptives. This amendment, if passed, will restore language providing contraceptive coverage for Federal employees. My amendment also respects the rights of religious plans that as a matter of conscience choose not to cover contraceptives. The amendment clearly exempts those plans. Although all but one of the FEHBP plans covers sterilization, only 10 percent cover the five most basic, most widely used forms of contraception, and 81 percent only cover some of the five methods. Contraception, Mr. Chairman, is basic health care for women. It allows couples to plan families, have healthier babies when they choose to conceive, and it makes abortion less necessary. Currently women of reproductive age spend 68 percent more in out-of- pocket costs than men, partly because of the cost of contraceptives. Plans refuse to cover contraceptives because they know that, if forced to, women will pay for it themselves. On average, women using the pill pay $25 a month. That is $300 a year for their prescriptions. It is important to understand what we are talking about when we talk about contraceptive methods. We are not talking about abortion. We are not talking about RU-486 or any other abortion method. No abortions will be covered by this amendment. We are talking about the range of contraceptive options that women need. It is crucial that plans cover the range of choices, because some methods do not work for some women. For example, many women cannot use any of the hormone-based methods, such as the oral contraceptive pill, because it causes migraines or because they have been advised not to by their physician because it may increase the risk of stroke or breast cancer. Let us be clear, my colleagues. This is not a mandate on private plans. What we are discussing here is what the United States as an employer should provide to its employees. The United States Government should be a model for other employers. A myriad of health groups support the provision, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is also supported by the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Government Employees. Finally, my colleagues, a recent Congressional Budget Office analysis determined that this improved coverage for Federal employees would not have any impact, no impact on the budget totals for fiscal year 1999. I want to repeat that again. This will have no impact for fiscal year 1999 on the budget. This issue is absolutely essential to millions of American women, Democrat and Republican, pro-life, pro-choice. I truly hope, my colleagues, that after many of the debates that are very difficult for all of us, we can come together now to support contraceptive coverage and prevent abortions. I would ask my colleagues to vote for the Lowey amendment.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I rise to engage the gentleman from New Jersey in a colloquy. I would like to ask the gentleman to define further his amendment. Based upon the information that we have, the FDA has approved five methods of contraception. This is the established definition of contraception. It has nothing to do with RU-486 although, unfortunately, there were some letters sent out saying it did. RU-486 is not included among the five methods of contraception. It has nothing to do with abortion. There have been debates that have been going on among us, in the country, about when does life begin. This takes some serious discussion, and I am sure that we can have some serious debates about this issue, but today what we are talking about very simply is the five established methods of contraception that have been improved by the FDA, nothing to do with abortion, nothing to do with RU-486.