Skip to main content

Scalise Amendment Strikes Funding for Contraceptives and Abortion Industry from Stimulus Package

January 28, 2009

Washington, DC -- Congressman Steve Scalise introduced an amendment this week that will strike taxpayer funding for contraceptives and the abortion industry from H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 last night. The House Rules Committee included the Scalise amendment into the proposed bill that will be considered on the floor today.

“There is no question that the Democrats’ bill would have increased Medicaid funding for family planning groups that provide abortion services,” Scalise said. “Taxpayer funds should not be used to help underwrite the abortion industry. I challenge anyone to find an economist out there, liberal or conservative, who will tell you that spending millions on the abortion industry will help create jobs or ‘stimulate’ the economy.”

The Scalise Amendment strikes Section 5004 from H.R. 1. This section would have changed current law, expanding Medicaid to cover family planning programs for individuals currently not eligible under the Medicaid program including adults in a household with significant income. Section 5004 also provided a loop-hole for organizations like Planned Parenthood to receive taxpayer funding to subsidize abortion operations. That provision allowed Medicaid to pay for expensive treatments, and reversed current law to take away a parent’s ability to choose health care plans for their children on Medicaid.

Scalise said, “The Democrats’ spending bill contains hundreds of billions in new government programs that will do nothing to stimulate our economy. Getting rid of this funding from this legislation is a step in the right direction.”

Scalise has co-sponsored a solution to the economic crisis, The Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act, HR 470 as an alternative to the Democrats’ spending bill, H.R. 1. This legislation is based on three main principles: 1) Support Families through Tax Relief; 2) Provide Economic Relief for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs; and 3) Save Future Generations from hundreds of billions of dollars in additional national debt.

###

Contact: Luke Bolar
202-226-4309