Waiving Points of Order Against Conference Report on H.R. 4818, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 and Providing for Consideration of H.J. Res. 114

WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4818, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 114, MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2005, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES -- (House of Representatives - November 20, 2004)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 866 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. FROST) for yielding me this time and for his leadership. He has brought many rules to the floor over the course of many sessions of Congress. Our country, this Congress, and the American people have all been well served, especially the people of Texas who took great pride in his leadership, the dean of the Texas delegation, a diligent and, when it comes to the Committee on Rules, that is part of what one has to be, a diligent and very astute and wise leader for the House Democrats on that committee.

The gentleman's service here will be long remembered. We will all be positively impacted for a long time to come, and I want to thank the gentleman and congratulate him for his service to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Weldon amendment, an extraordinary sneak attack on women's rights and a disgraceful display of ideology over health.

This amendment is a radical change in policy that the House has not passed this session and that the Senate has never considered, debated, or voted on. Republicans slipped it into the appropriations in the dark of night when they thought no one was looking. It is entirely outside the scope of this omnibus spending bill, yet it is part of a must-pass bill at the insistence of House Republican leaders.

This language makes a mockery of Roe v. Wade. Under this provision, a woman will not know where her right to choose will be honored or where it will be denied.

This was first advertised to me as an expansion of the conscience clause which we all respect, as a person who served under the leadership of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. OBEY) on the Labor-HHS committee and with our distinguished chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), I knew full well the importance of the conscience clause to Catholic doctors or other faith doctors, but particular mention was always made of Catholic doctors. It was said to me that this was merely an expansion of that from the doctors to the hospitals, Catholic hospitals. But, I say to my colleagues, it is so very much more than that. We all respect a conscience clause, but this goes well beyond that.

If a hospital, a health insurance company, or a doctor opposes Roe v. Wade, they could simply ignore it. They could simply ignore it. This is the law of the land; a constitutional right could simply be ignored. The Weldon amendment is essentially a domestic gag rule, restricting access to abortion counseling, referral, and information. Health care companies should not be able to prevent doctors from giving medically necessary information.

This language, again, makes a mockery of existing State and local laws, including many State constitutions. Under the Weldon amendment, any law or regulation currently on the books to protect access to reproductive health services is at risk. The term "discrimination" in this amendment is so vague that it could be used against any Federal, State, or local government effort to provide reproductive health services.

This language makes a mockery of title X. The title X family planning program provides much-needed reproductive health services that reach millions of low-income, uninsured individuals; and it really is sad because we all want to reduce the number of abortions in our country. That is a goal that we all share, and reproductive family planning is one way to do that.

But under this amendment, clinics could participate in title X programs without providing a full range of reproductive health services. Federal dollars should not be used to deny the federally protected right to choose. Let me repeat that. Federal dollars should not be used to deny the federally protected right to choose.

Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, but Republicans are gutting it step by step.

The Weldon amendment will have a major and harmful impact on women's health. This sweeping new exemption from current laws and regulations should not be the law of the land, and it certainly should not be a part of the omnibus appropriations bill.

The Republican assault on women's rights must be stopped. I urge my colleagues to oppose the Weldon amendment.

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