Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. when I was sworn into this Congress. there was quite a bit of fanfare about how many women now serve in this body. But even with all of these women. this body is still 80 percent male. Men are running the show. and the sideshow that they have used to distract us from the real reasons each of us was elected has been a persistent. absurd. arrogant. and ignorant effort to impede upon a womans right to make her own choices about her health. We have wastedabsolutely wastedtaxpayer dollars and valuable time here on the floor of the House again and again and again trying to legislate away something our highest Court confirmed years ago. We could have spent that time talking about the recent rash of police brutality cases that have long plagued communities of color. an issue that has now caught fire in the streets of Baltimore. just a few miles north of us. We could have discussed the lack of job training programs preparing workers for careers in technology and health. the fastestgrowing professions in an economy doing nothing for the longterm unemployed. We could have used this time to work on protecting our seniors by expanding Social Security. keeping even more older Americans out of poverty. We could have debated any issue that would offer better opportunities for our constituents. which is what each of us was elected to do. Instead. we put Members of Congress one place we have no right to be. and that is. in a womans uterus. Women are the only ones who have the right to make the inherently private health choices that they are faced with. Mr. Speaker. when the legislation we are preparing to debate came before the House Oversight Committee. I was particularly disturbed. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle gave us a slew of wellmeaning arguments about why we so desperately needed to violate the selfrule of the District of Columbia. One of these men. a former minister. explained employers. who are moved by faith to judge and persecute their employees. should be free to do so. He went on to say that employers should have every right to freely exercise their faiths and that the Districts effort to ensure employees dont lose their jobs because of in vitro fertilization or birth control or any other reproductive healthcare choice was part of a "continued attack" on religion. One thing that is particularly wonderful about this great Nation is that we offer everyone a right to have an opinion. As a mother. a grandmother. and a devoted woman of God. I couldnt help wondering how men. who are so very adamant about forcing mothers to have these babies. could refuse to ensure they have access to care. The same folks calling for bills like this one have called for cuts to programs across the spectrum that will give their children and their mothers access to education. access to healthy meals. and all kinds of tools to assure they are not stuck in the cycle of poverty. So once they have funneled women into the path that brings a child into the world. my colleagues would prefer to say. "God bless you." and walk away. Mr. Speaker. the legislation this rule would force us to consider is absolutely wrong. It violates the will of the Districts voters. it violates the privacy and the rights of women. and most relevant to this point of order. it violates rules of this body for interference in State and local governments. It is now my pleasure to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from the District of Columbia