Cole Offers Motion to Recommit Advocating for Bipartisan Pro-Life Protections

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, offered a motion to recommit (MTR) on the House floor to restore longstanding, bipartisan pro-life protections to annual appropriations bills for fiscal year 2022. Before Democrats removed these provisions from the bills reported by the Appropriations Committee earlier this month and considered on the floor this week, every single Democrat in the House - except new members this Congress - had previously voted in support of annual funding bills with the language included.

Cole's motion was blocked by Democrats this afternoon during consideration of H.R. 4502. As offered, text of Cole's MTR is available here.

Cole made the following remarks regarding the MTR on the House floor yesterday:

While I have many concerns with the bills reported out of the House Appropriations Committee, none is more alarming than the removal of longstanding provisions to protect the lives of unborn babies and preserve the conscience rights of American taxpayers.

If my motion to recommit passes, Republicans will restore essential prolife protections that have been stripped from these bills.

We will restore the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions on demand and has been included in appropriations bills every year for the past 40 years with bipartisan, bicameral support.

We will restore the Weldon Amendment, which protects American doctors, nurses and other health care professionals from participating in or providing an abortion if they have a moral objection.

We will restore the Dornan Amendment, which prevents District of Columbia resident taxpayer monies from being used for abortions on demand.

We will restore the Smith Amendment, which prevents the Federal Employee Health Benefit plan from subsidizing abortions on demand for federal workers.

And we will restore the Helms Amendment, which prevents American taxpayers from financing abortions in foreign organizations or countries.

Regardless of one's personal views, lawmakers and presidents of both parties have always agreed that Americans should not be forced to pay for abortion on demand with their hard-earned tax dollars.

It is not too late for Democrats to change course, abandon their radical, far-left policies and restore these important protections before a final vote on this measure.

Every Democrat, who is not a freshman, has voted to support this language on this floor - and we know they must again if any of these appropriations bills are to become law.

All Republicans in the House stand united with the American people on this issue, and none will support appropriations bills that do not include these important pro-life protections.

We urge Democrats to accept the motion to recommit, restore these bipartisan compromises and allow this bill to move forward toward a final negotiation in good faith.

Ultimately, failure to do so will result in either a continuing resolution or, even worse, a government shutdown later this year. Neither outcome should ever be acceptable to any member on this floor.

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