Barbara Lee on House Floor: Reject "Cynical, Divisive" Bill That Would Strip Reproductive Rights from Women
Media Contact: Joel Payne, (202) 225-2661
Washington, DC – Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) spoke on the House floor today against HR 3, Republican legislation that would restrict reproductive rights for women. Yesterday, Representative Lee joined her Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) women colleagues to call on Senate Democratic women to block passage of HR 3. Below are her floor remarks as prepared for delivery:
“Here we go again. Instead of working on creating jobs and jumpstarting the economy, we are debating another cynical and divisive attempt to strip away the rights of women.
“Republicans continue to perpetrate their war on women while millions of people around the country are desperate for jobs to help provide for their families.
“Let me be clear - the law already bans federal funds from being used for abortions. That is a fact - even though I think we should get rid of that ban.
“What's next? Are we going to block transportation funding because it might be used to build a road to a hospital that provides abortions?
“By the logic of this bill, any type of federal funding - whether it is health related or not - would become abortion money.
“And this bill specifically attacks low-income women in the District of Columbia by permanently prohibiting the District from spending its purely local funds on abortions for low-income women. The poor women in the District have already begun to feel the terrible effects of the rider passed in the CR. This is outrageous!
“It is ideologically driven and dangerous.
“Let's reject this latest bill in this war on women – especially low income women. Vote ‘No’ on HR 3!”
Video of Representative Lee’s floor remarks can be viewed HERE.
Follow Barbara Lee on Twitter @RepBarbaraLee
###