Women's Public Health and Safety Act
Floor Speech
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his diligence and his consistency through the years as we have worked on this issue at the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I do rise in strong support today of the Women's Public Health and Safety Act.
There will be a lot said about this bill during the course of the day, but let's be certain in what the bill actually says. You have got two pages, and what this does is grant to the States flexibility.
Madam Speaker, what they have asked us for is flexibility. Why are they asking us for this flexibility? Because we have four States currently in litigation over wanting to be able to determine who is and is not a Medicaid provider in their State.
So there is a premise and a basis and a reason for bringing this forward and allowing the States to have the final say in who participates in that Medicaid
delivery--that is what you call good government--and sending the power and the money back to the State and local level.
This bill is necessary because the Obama administration has blocked attempts of States to remove certain providers from the program. Now, we have four States, as I said, that have had to go into court because they have tried to remove providers and CMS has blocked that action. So, therefore, they are not able to move these providers out of the program.
The States know best the needs of their residents, and they know best which providers are providing affordable access to quality medical care and which ones are trying to skirt the law. There are no mandates in this bill. The final decision is up to the States.
The left, in their endless efforts to protect Planned Parenthood and to prevent them from being held accountable, have once again resorted to scare tactics.
I also want to touch on the issue of the community health centers, 9,000 here in our country. They meet the needs of over 24 million Americans. You take a district like mine in Tennessee, there are zero Planned Parenthood affiliates in my district--zero. There are 16 community health centers.
Contrast that with the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois, Ms. Schakowsky's district. She has 1 Planned Parenthood affiliate, and there are 44 community health centers. Ms. DeGette has 3 Planned Parenthood sites and 46 of the community health centers.
So what we are doing is encouraging the States to take the responsibility and make the determination of where this ought to be.
Madam Speaker, it is amazing to me. People always say: Let's make certain that we are being good stewards of the money. Planned Parenthood is now outsourcing their women's health issues. They have cut them in half over the past 7 years. It is important for us to redirect the funds and give the States the opportunity to determine who provides the service and the access.
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