Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) voted against the Republican’s latest proposal to fight the social wars of the past, by passing their so-called “No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act” (H.R. 3).  This is designed to prevent federal tax dollars from being spent on abortions despite the Hyde Amendment already preventing federal funds from being used on abortions – with cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother as exceptions – for many years.  The Amendment is enacted annually during the appropriations process.  (To view Rep. Engel’s floor speech on the issue http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7PbWdsZewU

“I wish I could say I was surprised, but this is just a continuation of the GOP’s year-long effort to check off every single item on their social agenda.  They came to power last November while promising to focus on jobs and to protect Medicare for seniors.  Instead, they have ignored jobs and the millions of Americans looking for work and have passed a budget which would destroy Medicare and Medicaid as we know it.   Meanwhile, they have paid more attention to reigniting the social battles of the past.  Defund NPR and PBS, check; slash funding for low-income families while extending tax breaks for the wealthy, check; protect tax breaks for corporations, check; take away health insurance from 30 million people, check. Now we can add, attack a woman’s right to health care services, check.  This makes no sense.  We are almost one-quarter of the way finished with the 112^th Congress and the House has spent more time on issues which do not help the American people, but rather help Republicans pander to their political activists,” said Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

The bill’s sponsors claim that this it simply codifies the Hyde Amendment.  In reality, this bill manipulates the tax code and places restrictions on how even women with private insurance can spend private money in purchasing health insurance.  “The claims that this is just a simple procedure to make the Hyde Amendment law are incorrect.  This takes the Hyde Amendment as a starting point and makes it more extreme.  The result would be that more women would lose access to health care.  This is unacceptable and I do not understand how this is considered to be a priority for America,” added Rep. Engel.

There are four groups of women impacted by the bill’s tax provisions: 1) the millions of women who work for small businesses; 2) the millions of women who will buy insurance in the upcoming Exchanges; 3) women who use HSAs and similar accounts; and 4) women who claim itemized deductions for medical expenses.  Under the bill, a small employer cannot use the new small business tax credits created by the Affordable Care Act to provide employee health coverage if the coverage includes abortion services.  The likely result is that almost no small employer would offer such coverage.

“It is time to stop focusing on issues that drive a wedge between our parties and the American people.  There can be a time and a place for such discussions, but there are issues facing our nation today that are just too important to ignore.  The Majority has claimed many times that they want government out of people’s lives; however they continue to not practice what they preach.  To them, government intervention is fine when it comes to restricting access to health care, dictating what women can do with their bodies, and who people can and cannot marry.  To decide to have an abortion is one of the most difficult decisions a woman, and a family, can make in their lives.  Why the Majority feels they are better served in making those decisions I will never know.  I call on my colleagues to begin working in a bipartisan manner to address the issues that truly affect the American people and let these social wars of the past remain a distant memory,” added Rep. Engel.

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