Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. The only thing historic about this vote today is it probably breaks the record for the number of times a Congress has voted to try to overturn existing law that has been twice upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. Yes. Mr. Speaker. here we go again and again and again. How fitting it is that we are here. on Groundhog Day. for the 63rd vote in the House of Representatives to overturn the Affordable Care Act. And make no mistake. The Congressional Budget Office. the nonpartisan entity that analyzes bills. has told us and told the American people that. in overturning the Affordable Care Act. you will eliminate affordable health care for 22 million Americans. So this is a historically callous action that. in 1 day. our colleagues are proposing that we would deny affordable health care to 22 million Americans. It is also the 12th vote this House has taken to attack womens health care and defund Planned Parenthood. You know. the American people have got to be scratching their heads. They were told that. with a new Speaker. in the new year. 2016. we would actually begin to address the real challenges facing this country and do some serious work. Yet. the very first action taken here on this House floor in 2016 with the new Speaker was to again try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. And. yes. that legislation went through the Senate and the House. It went to the Presidents desk. and the President vetoed it. Make no mistake. We will not overturn the Presidents veto today. This is a futile gesture. It is part of an obsession to try to undo affordable care for 22 million Americans. and it is not going to happen. Now. what has happened since the last vote we had here to attack womens health programs and defund Planned Parenthood? We have had a decision by a court in Texas. Here were the headlines that came out of that court decision: "Vindication for Planned Parenthood" and "Texas grand jury clears Planned Parenthood. indicts its accusers." I have to say. Mr. Speaker. our colleagues have a lot of gall to bring this to the floor after that Texas court decision. You know. they went into that Texas court decision. and the Harris County District Attorney said at the outset of their investigation into Planned Parenthood: We must go where the evidence leads us. It began as an investigation into Planned Parenthood. just as we have had a series of witchhunt investigations here in the House. where the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said months ago that there was no evidence that Planned Parenthood had committed any wrongdoing. Now we have a Texas court not only vindicating Planned Parenthood. but indicting their accusers. Mr. Speaker. I tell you. this does take a lot of gall to come back here after that and go after womens health programs not for the first time. not for the second time. This is now the 11th time. This will be the 11th time this House has wasted taxpayer time and money trying to overturn womens health programs and the 63rd time it has wasted taxpayer time and money trying to strip away affordable health care to 22 million Americans by undoing the Affordable Care Act. So. yes. this is a shamefully historic day. As I said. Mr. Speaker. I think it probably breaks all the records in wasting taxpayer time and money where. in a really cruel way. if we actually did overturn the Presidents veto. 22 million Americans would be denied access to health care. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to sustain the Presidents veto. Dont take away health care to 22 million Americans. and dont continue this attack on womens health. I reserve the balance of my time.