Press Releases

WASHINGTON, September 13, 2021 — Today in the House Judiciary Committee's consideration of provisions of the Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending bill, United States Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04) offered an amendment that would protect the longstanding bipartisan ban on taxpayer funding for abortion.

Read Congressman Johnson’s remarks below and read the text of the amendment here.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

When it comes to the issue of life and the protection of unborn children, we sadly have two very distinct, very different ideologies between our sides of the aisle in Congress.

The Democrat leadership here is now aggressively pursuing their party platform and pushing an extreme agenda on abortion.

They are trying for the first time to fund abortions through taxpayer dollars and to codify a universal “right” to abort unborn children.

Suddenly, measures like the Hyde Amendment—which has always prevented the use of taxpayer dollars on abortion—and which has been re-enacted by bipartisan agreement for the last half century—is no longer supported by most Democrats.

The Hyde Amendment alone is estimated to have saved more than 2.5 million lives since its inception in 1976, and at least 60% of Americans support it.

In 1994, even then-Senator Joe Biden stated: “those of us who are opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them.”  He was right—but sadly, he, too, has given in now to he radical abortion lobby.

We Republicans have already attempted to bring a permanent end to taxpayer-funded abortions to the House floor, but Democrat leadership has refused to listen.

So, I introduced this amendment today to protect the sanctity of human life and to protect our long-held bipartisan tradition that we will always prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions.

Americans should never be forced to pay for abortions against their will.

Life must be protected.

And Congress must recognize the importance of standing for both the woman and the child.

Our government should never be in the business of financing the abortion industry.

I urge you to pass my amendment so we can put an end to the nonsense of forcing taxpayers to fund abortion.

Background:

·        If enacted, President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget would allow taxpayer dollars to fund abortions.

·        Congressional Democrats’ Fiscal Year 2022 government funding legislation would do the same, if enacted.

·        Congressman Johnson’s amendment would make permanent and government-wide the Hyde Amendment, which bans taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

·        Committee Democrats voted to table the amendment.

Congressman Johnson is the Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference, a member of the House Judiciary and Armed Services Committees, and a former constitutional law litigator.