House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pencegave the following speech from the floor of the U.S. House, announcing that he had filed an amendment to deny federal funding through Title X Family Planning to Planned Parenthood:
"The time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America. The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funds under Title X.
Today I filed an amendment to block any funds under Title X in the Labor-HHS Appropriations Act from going to Planned Parenthood. This same amendment was supported by 189 bipartisan Members in 2007. I am confident it will be widely supported again this Congress and urge the Members of the Rules Committee to make the Pence Amendment in order.
The Pence Amendment would simply prevent any funds under Title X from going to Planned Parenthood. It would not reduce the total amount of funds available for family planning. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. There are a number of federally funded clinics across the nation that offer beneficial services including patient counseling, breast cancer screenings, HIV prevention education, and many more. According to their last annual report, Title X funds helped over 4.7 million women prevent pregnancy by a variety of ethical methods such as abstinence education and birth control. There are many clinics funded by Title X that offer ethical family planning services - without providing abortions.
Last year alone, according to Planned Parenthood's own annual report, it received nearly $350 million in revenue from government grants and contracts. This same annual report acknowledged that Planned Parenthood also performed more than 305,000 abortions - a 5.3% increase from the previous year. The nation's leading abortion provider is also currently under investigation in multiple states including Indiana, California, Alabama, and Tennessee for allegations of fraudulent use of Title X funding. Additionally, many Planned Parenthood centers have been caught violating state sexual assault and child abuse reporting laws, and even encouraging young girls to lie about their ages to circumvent state reporting laws.
When Title X money goes to organizations that provide both abortions and family planning services, even though the money cannot directly fund abortions, it can be used to offset operational costs, freeing up money to promote and provide abortions. Again I say, the time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America. The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funds under Title X. It's time to pass the Pence Amendment to keep taxpayer money out of the hands of Planned Parenthood."