WASHINGTON, DC - The House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved reconciliation recommendations that together save more than $1 billion. The recommendations would repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund created in the president’s health care law, stop states from receiving federal dollars for abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, and invest in Community Health Centers to promote higher quality access health care options for women and men.
Full Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said, “The recommendations we have advanced today reflect the priorities of the American people and begin to chip away at the enormous fiscal challenges facing our country. The work of this committee and the Committees on Ways and Means and Education and the Workforce together demonstrate the House Republicans’ commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars by using the budget process to actually reduce spending and the deficit."
Full Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has been a strong leader in the fight to protect human life. “It is our duty in Congress to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and ethically. Recent reports and this committee’s ongoing investigation demonstrate that federal funding for abortion providers like Planned Parenthood does not meet those standards. It is absolutely essential that we stop that flow of funding as we continue our thorough investigation in the fight to protect the dignity of all human life - woman, man, unborn, and born."
Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) spoke to the repeal of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, an issue he has championed for many years. “The goals of the Prevention and Public Health Fund are laudable, and there is no doubt that we must focus on preventing disease rather than simply treating people once they become ill, but we must remember this funding is over and above the amount that Congress has already decided go in these activities and the amount that Congress has already appropriated for the activities. This should concern every member. This is a slush fund that the Health and Human Services Secretary can spend from without any Congressional oversight or approval. Repealing this slush fund is part of reclaiming our oversight role in how federal taxpayer dollars should be used."
