Congressman Estes Speaks on Trump Administration's Protect Life Rule
Washington,
May 22, 2018
|
Greg Steele
(202-225-6216)
WASHINGTON—Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas) spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last night to address the Protect Life Rule, the name of new regulations on the Title X Family Planning Program recently put forward by the Trump administration. On May 18, the administration announced it would apply new regulations which would prohibit any organization that performs or refers abortions from receiving Title X Family Planning funds. These regulations would address all of the concerns raised by 153 House representatives in a letter last month to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Rep. Estes led the letter in the House and thanked the Trump administration last night.
Title X is a family planning program authorized in 1970 to provide family planning services to low income women. Currently, Congress approves $286 million a year to provide family planning services like education, counseling, health screenings and healthcare. For years, pro-life protections like the Hyde Amendment sought to ensure tax dollars, including Title X funds, would not go to abortion providers. However, Clinton-era Title X regulations have sadly mandated that all grantees refer abortions as part of their family planning services and created loopholes allowing Title X funding to flow to organizations which provide abortions, such as Planned Parenthood. Under these Clinton regulations, Planned Parenthood has been able to receive an average $56 million every year from Title X. Clearly this is not in line with the intent of the Title X Family Planning Program and it is past time for change. I was proud to help lead the effort in Congress to urge Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to update Title X guidelines with those similar to regulations in place during the Reagan-era. These Reagan regulations, which were upheld by the Supreme Court in 1991, were rolled back by the Clinton administration and have remained in place since then. However today, thanks to President Trump and his administration, we turn this page and mark a historic victory for life. This week the Trump administration will unveil new regulations called the Protect Life Rule… which will prohibit any organization that performs or refers abortions from receiving Title X Family Planning funds. The Protect Life Rule will mandate that Title X grant recipients be physically and financially separate from facilities that provide abortions, closing for good the loophole that has allowed organizations like Planned Parenthood to receive Title X funding. Currently, Planned Parenthood conducts 320,000 abortions every year and receives nearly $60 million annually. Implementing the Protect Life Rule will save innocent lives and ensure that Title X funding supports actual family planning, not abortions. The Protect Life Rule will also increase safeguards for victims of sexual assault. And implementing the Protect Life Rule will not cut any funds that go toward family planning to support mothers and families every day. In fact it will provide more money net for legitimate family planning activities. To suggest otherwise would be a politically-motivated lie to the American people. Contrary to the doomsday rhetoric used by pro-abortion advocates, this is a great day for life and families across America. I want to thank the dozens of pro-life grassroots organizations and more than 150 of my colleagues from the House and Senate who joined this effort to push for new Title X regulations, especially representatives Black, Hartzler and Smith. I also want to thank President Trump and his administration for issuing the Protect Life Rule, heeding our calls and the calls of millions of Americans who have long demanded that tax dollars not go to abortion providers, just as the law was intended. President Trump ran as a pro-life candidate and the Protect Life Rule is just the latest example of how the president and Republicans in Congress believe in keeping our promises to the American people. The Protect Life Rule is a win for millions of Americans who have marched for life in our nation’s capital, and millions more who have marched throughout our country, including my home state of Kansas. I look forward to the implementation of the Protect Life Rule and with that I yield back the balance of my time. Ron Estes is a 5th generation Kansan and represents Kansas’ 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the House Committee on Homeland Security. |
