WASHINGTON, DC- Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee, issued the following statement today at a mark up of H.R. 1232, a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate certain tax benefits relating to abortion.
“Earlier this month, the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee held a hearing on HR 3. The good news is that the bill before us today is an improvement. That bad news is that it is still a bad idea.
This bill goes beyond the Hyde Amendment in that it turns the ‘federal funding’ concept on its head. I believe even Henry Hyde would have blushed at the stretch here.
And, I think this is dangerous territory for my Republican colleagues, especially considering that the Supreme Court has a case before it involving scholarships for a Christian school, questioning whether tax credits are government spending.
Consider the comments of Justice Alito during arguments, ‘You think that all the money belongs to the government, except to the extent that it deigns to allow private people to keep some of it?’ And those of Justice Kennedy, ‘I must say, I have some difficulty that any money that the government doesn't take from me is still the government's money.’
I think the answer from this Committee is yes. We will intrude into your life in the most difficult of circumstances and send in IRS agents, the ultimate bean-counters, to determine whether your medical records, your criminal records, are sufficient.
But not all pregnant women will face this dilemma. If they are wealthy enough to not need premium assistance, then the IRS will not audit their decision. If they are fortunate enough to work at a large corporation not needing small business health credits, then the IRS will not audit their decision. This bill adds more complexity, more uncertainty, and more inequity to the Code.
Mr. Chairman, I cannot recall a time in my two decades on this Committee - and I have checked with a few others that served this Committee before me -- that we have devoted a full hearing and markup to this topic. I regret that it takes away our attention from our shared goals of job-creation and tax reform. And I regret that this bill is overall just a tax increase on women."
