2015 Congressional Record on Choice CONGRESSIONAL RECORD on CHOICE 114TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION
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2015 Congressional Record on Choice CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ON CHOICE 114TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION NARAL Pro-Choice America As has been true for several years, in 2015, Congress remained extremely hostile to the believes every woman has the right issue of reproductive freedom: although the American public remains strongly in favor of to make personal decisions legal abortion, only 37 of 100 senators and 166 of 435 House members are fully pro-choice. regarding the full range of When the 114th Congress convened in January, anti-choice leaders took control in reproductive choices, including both chambers for the first time since 2006; they immediately launched a number of preventing unintended pregnancy, attacks on reproductive freedom. In fact, 2015 marks the highest number of choice-related bearing healthy children, and votes in Congress since 1998. NARAL Pro- Choice America’s 2015 Congressional Record choosing legal abortion. on Choice documents the key choice-related House and Senate votes taken during the first session of the 114th Congress: • Attacks on Planned Parenthood: Anti- choice lawmakers capitalized on a series of heavily edited, misleading videos about Planned Parenthood’s practice of fetal-tis- sue donation and renewed their campaign to defund the organization. Anti-choice leaders quickly forced a series of congres- sional hearings and floor votes to disqualify the organization from seeing patients in 2015 Congressional Record on Choice 1 federal health-care programs. The House can only be intended to intimidate abortion passed these votes by wide margins, but providers out of practice. Fortunately, the the Senate blocked similar attempts. Senate did not take up the bill. • Hyde Attacks: The year also was marked • Stupak on Steroids – Again: The House by repeated attempts to insert the Hyde again passed a bill effectively to ban abor- amendment, the current-law ban on public tion coverage in state health-insurance coverage of abortion care, into a number exchanges and penalize small businesses of unrelated bills, including Medicare- that purchase private health plans that reform legislation, a bill to provide aid include abortion coverage. The House to human-trafficking survivors, and bio- passed similar legislation in the 112th and medical-research legislation. Pro-choice 113th Congresses, but the Senate has yet to amendments to strike the provisions failed. take up the proposal. • 20-Week Abortion Ban: Anti-choice lead- In short, 2015 was a year of unrelenting ers attempted again to enact a nationwide anti-choice attacks in Congress, demonstrat- ban on abortion at 20 weeks. Initially, they ing the wide gulf between a vastly pro-choice were stalled by the objections of some of American public and a Congress dominated their own members to the bill’s inadequate by a vocal anti-choice minority. As congres- exception for victims of rape and incest, sional and presidential elections approach in but after making revisions (that made the 2016, we will continue to defend against these legislation even worse), the House took attacks, to hold lawmakers accountable for up the bill and passed it easily, while the their actions, and to fight for the pro-choice Senate subsequently blocked it. (The Sen- champions who will not only block these ate vote tally was 54-42 (60 votes required); attempts but proudly carry forth a pro-choice however, according to public statements, vision that Americans support. had all senators been present and voting, there would have been 46 votes in opposi- tion.) • Interference in Abortion Practice: Also spurred by the attacks on Planned Parent- hood, the House passed a bill to reopen the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act – a 2002 law that the pro-choice community did not and does not oppose. Unlike cur- rent law, however, the new House-passed legislation directly intrudes upon medical care and includes penalties so severe they 2 NARAL Pro-Choice America 2015 Congressional Record on Choice 3 VOTE DESCRIPTIONS SENATE 1. Hyde Attack: Strike from Doc-Fix Bill. Medicare Access and CHIP Reautho- rization Act, H.R.2. Murray (D-WA) amendment to strike a reiteration of the Hyde amendment, a current-law public- coverage ban on abortion care, from a bill reforming Medicare and reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Failed 43-57. A pro-choice vote (+) was in support of the amendment (4/14/15). 2. Hyde Attack: Strike from Human-Traffick- ing Bill. Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, S.178. Leahy (D-VT) amendment to strike an expansion of the Hyde amend- ment, a current-law public-coverage ban on abortion care, from a bill intended to aid human-trafficking survivors. Failed 43-55. A pro-choice vote (+) was in support of the amendment (4/22/15). 3. Attack on Planned Parenthood: Funding Ban. A Bill to Prohibit Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of Amer- ica, S.1881. Motion to invoke cloture (end debate) on Ernst (R-IA) bill to disqualify Planned Parenthood from participating in federal health-care programs. Three-fifths 2015 Congressional Record on Choice 5 of the total Senate (60 votes) is required to for clinic security and women’s health ser- invoke cloture. Cloture motion failed 53-46. vices. Passed 54-46. A pro-choice vote (+) A pro-choice vote (+) was against cloture was against the motion to table (12/3/15). (8/3/15). 4. 20-Week Abortion Ban. Pain-Capable 7. Attack on Planned Parenthood: Strike Unborn Child Protection Act, H.R.36. One-Year Funding Ban. Restoring Ameri- Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to cans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation proceed to H.R.36, the House-passed bill Act, H.R.3762. Collins (R-ME) amendment to ban abortion after 20 weeks nationwide. to strike a provision disqualifying Planned Three-fifths of the total Senate (60 votes) is Parenthood from participating in federal required to invoke cloture. Cloture motion health-care programs for one year. Failed failed 54-42. A pro-choice vote (+) was 48-52. A pro-choice vote (+) was in support against cloture (9/22/15). of the amendment (12/3/15). 5. Attack on Planned Parenthood: One-Year Funding Ban. FY’15 Continuing Resolu- tion, H.J.Res.61. Motion to invoke cloture (end debate) on the continuing resolution disqualifying Planned Parenthood from receiving funds appropriated by the bill for one year. Three-fifths of the total Senate (60 votes) is required to invoke cloture. (Some anti-choice lawmakers cast what appear to be pro-choice votes; most observers recog- nize that those votes were cast for reasons other than reproductive health.) Cloture motion failed 47-52. A pro-choice vote (+) was against cloture (9/24/15). 6. Attack on Planned Parenthood: Strike One-Year Funding Ban and Establish Clinic-Security Fund. Restoring Ameri- cans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, H.R.3762. Motion to table a Murray (D-WA) amendment to strike a provision disqualifying Planned Parenthood from participating in federal health-care pro- grams for one year and establish a fund 6 NARAL Pro-Choice America 2015 Congressional Record on Choice 7 2015 SENATE VOTES Attack on Planned Parenthood: Hyde Attack: StrikeHyde from Attack: Strike from Attack on Planned Parenthood: Attack on Planned Parenthood:Strike One-Year Funding Ban and Doc-Fix Bill Attack on Planned Parenthood: Human-Trafficking Bill Funding Ban 20-Week Abortion One-YearBan Funding Ban Establish Clinic-SecurityStrike FundOne-Year Funding Ban 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 % ALABAMA Richard Shelby - - - - - - - 0 Jeff Sessions - - - - - - - 0 ALASKA Lisa Murkowski - - - A + - + 50 Dan Sullivan - - - - - - - 0 ARIZONA John McCain - - - - - - - 0 Jeff Flake - - - - - - - 0 ARKANSAS John Boozman - - - - - - - 0 Tom Cotton - - - - + - - 15 CALIFORNIA DIANNE FEINSTEIN + + + + + + + 100 BARBARA BOXER + + + A A + + 100 COLORADO MICHAEL BENNET + + + + + + + 100 Cory Gardner - - - - - - - 0 CONNECTICUT RICHARD BLUMENTHAL + + + + + + + 100 CHRIS MURPHY + + + + + + + 100 DELAWARE THOMAS CARPER + + + + + + + 100 CHRIS COONS + + + + + + + 100 FLORIDA BILL NELSON + + + + + + + 100 Marco Rubio - A - - - - - 0 GEORGIA Johnny Isakson - - - - - - - 0 David Perdue - - - - - - - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 % 8 NARAL Pro-Choice America 2015 Congressional Record on Choice 9 2015 SENATE VOTES (continued) Attack on Planned Parenthood: Hyde Attack: StrikeHyde from Attack: Strike from Attack on Planned Parenthood: Attack on Planned Parenthood:Strike One-Year Funding Ban and Doc-Fix Bill Attack on Planned Parenthood: Human-Trafficking Bill Funding Ban 20-Week Abortion One-YearBan Funding Ban Establish Clinic-SecurityStrike FundOne-Year Funding Ban 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 % HAWAII BRIAN SCHATZ + + + + + + + 100 MAZIE HIRONO + + + + + + + 100 IDAHO Michael Crapo - - - - - - - 0 Jim Risch - - - - - - - 0 ILLINOIS RICHARD DURBIN + + + + + + + 100 Mark Kirk - - + + + + + 80 INDIANA Dan Coats - - - - - - - 0 JOE DONNELLY - - - - + + + 45 IOWA Charles Grassley - - - - - - - 0 Joni Ernst - - - - - - - 0 KANSAS Pat Roberts - - - - - - - 0 Jerry Moran - - - - - - - 0 KENTUCKY Mitch McConnell - - L - - - - 0 Rand Paul - - - - + - - 15 LOUISIANA David Vitter - - - - - - - 0 Bill Cassidy - - - - - - - 0 MAINE Susan Collins - - - + + - + 50 Angus King + + + + + + + 100 MARYLAND BARBARA MIKULSKI + + + + + + + 100 BENJAMIN CARDIN + + + + + + + 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 % 10 NARAL Pro-Choice America 2015 Congressional Record on Choice 11 2015 SENATE VOTES (continued) Attack on Planned Parenthood: Hyde Attack: StrikeHyde from Attack: Strike from Attack on Planned Parenthood: Attack on Planned Parenthood:Strike One-Year Funding Ban and Doc-Fix