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Sadly, another week has gone by without getting any closer to re-opening the government. Speaker Pelosi brought two more appropriations bills to the floor this week, neither of which provided necessary funding for securing our southern border and combatting the influx of illegal aliens, drugs and trafficked persons we know are crossing every day. Once again, under the Democrats’ leadership, the House of Representatives wasted time politicking instead of offering real solutions to re-open the government.
Meanwhile, House Republicans filed a motion to amend one of the Democrats' funding measures, H.J. Res. 28, which would have funded the government through January 15, allowing all federal employees to receive their first paycheck of the year without further delay. While the Republican motion received a mere 6 Democrat votes, the rest of their party chose to use federal workers as political leverage rather than give them their pay. These unfortunate circumstances will improve only if Democrats are willing to work with Republicans, and thus far they have shown that’s not something they are willing to do.
| Protecting Life in Global Health |
On Thursday, I introduced H.R. 661, the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Act of 2019. This bill codifies the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy (formerly known as the Mexico City Policy), which prohibits U.S. foreign health assistance funds from going to organizations that promote or perform abortions.
Organizations such as International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International perform millions of abortions every year. If it were not for President Trump’s Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy (PLGHA), these international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would be able to subsidize these abortion activities with hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid. PLGHA requires foreign NGOs to agree, as a condition of receiving global health assistance, that they will not perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning. Ending human life in the names of "global health" and "economic development" must stop for good, and this bill would do just that.
Thursday, the House also passed my bill, H.R. 150, the Grant Reporting Efficiency Agreements and Transparency Act by a vote of 422-0. As a former researcher, librarian and college president, I have been writing grants for all of my professional life and know what a cumbersome process the reporting can be. It’s hard to believe that the same challenges I faced at the beginning of my career are the same ones faced by federal grant recipients today. The GREAT Act addresses the inefficiencies and will bring federal grant reporting into the 21st century with searchable documents and open data. These data improvements would also provide increased transparency for the $750 billion taxpayer dollars dedicated to federal grants each year.
The Bipartisan Policy Center is a think tank that promotes bipartisanship and brings together former elected and appointed officials, business leaders, advocates and academics who represent both ends of the political spectrum. This week, I was featured on its Bipartisan Backstory Podcast to discuss the 116th Congress and the GREAT Act was featured in its blog!
Women’s Congressional Policy Institute Gathering
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Click here or the image above to listen to my remarks for the 46th Annual March for Life Special Order.
The HIRE Vets Medallion Program is the only federally recognized program designed to recognize businesses for their efforts to support veteran hiring. Employers can learn about the requirements and apply for the award here.
The typical district work period during the week of MLK Day has been cancelled. We will return on Tuesday, hopefully, to debate legislation to reopen the federal government and secure our borders.
Sincerely,
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