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Transcript of Press Availability with Democratic Members of Republicans’ Select Committee to Attack Women’s Health

December 2, 2015

Contact: Drew Hammill/Evangeline George, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Members of Republicans' Select Committee to Attack Women's Health held a press availability today following the shooting at a Planned Parenthood Health Center in Colorado Springs last Friday. Below is a transcript of the press availability:

Leader Pelosi. Good afternoon, everyone. It had been my intention to introduce the Members of [the] Select Committee – as we call it, ‘The Republican Select Committee to Attack Women's Health' when we returned from the Thanksgiving break. Sad to say, there's even more urgency to bring the Members to your attention.

I'm very proud of our Committee. I'm very sad that there is a Committee. And I want you to hear directly from them that this announcement is happening in the wake, in the wake, in the wake of three people's deaths is so very, very sad.

We have moments of silence on the Floor of the House, but we will not be silenced. We must speak out against the violence that has befallen our country. We couldn't do better than the six Members of [the] Select Committee. I just want to say, before introducing them, that I'm searching my mind and memory – and perhaps, you can too – to recall any time that we have had a moment of silence on the Floor of the House where the venue of the tragedy was not mentioned. Certainly, it was appropriate to mourn those who lost their lives in that tragic incident. But why couldn't they utter the words ‘Planned Parenthood?'

Again, we will not remain silent. To remove all doubt of the strong voice that House Democrats will bring to this, it is my honor to present our Committee. Our Ranking Member on the Committee, lead Democrat on the Committee – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. In addition, Jerry Nadler of New York, Diana DeGette of Colorado – once again, experienced a terrible tragedy – Jackie Speier of California, Suzan DelBene of Washington state, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey. Now, it is my privilege to yield to our Ranking Member and thank her for her leadership on this issue, Jan Schakowsky.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Thank you, Leader Pelosi. In the aftermath of the attack at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs last Friday, the Democratic Members are calling on Speaker Ryan to disband the panel that we call ‘The Select Panel to Attack Women's Health.' We're here to first condemn the violence that murdered three individuals and wounded nine others, and of course, our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of those who are slain and those who are injured. But, we have to do much more than mourn.

In the last several months, we've seen an uptick in the violence against women's health centers that perform abortion. Incidents of harassment at Planned Parenthood facilities increased by nine times in July compared to reported incidents in June. And according to the National Abortion Federation, since the release of the videos, manufactured by an ideological organization committed to ending women's access to safe and legal abortion services, there had been four arsons and multiple vandalisms – an unprecedented number of threats to those clinics.

These smear videos sparked exhaustive investigations from three House Committees: Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judiciary Committee – none of which uncovered any wrongdoing. Yet, despite serious questions about the accuracy and, actually, the legality of the videos, Republican Members of Congress have continued to use inflammatory language to describe them and to justify the creation of the Select Panel.

For example, announcing the appointment of his Republican Members, Speaker Boehner said that, quote, ‘Recent videos exposing abortion for baby parts business' – let me start that again – announcing his appointment of Republican Members, Speaker Boehner said that, quote, ‘Recent videos exposing abortion for baby parts business have shocked the nation and demanded action.' Marsha Blackburn, who is the Chairwoman of the Committee, said, quote, ‘Is this how babies should be treated? To be harvested for their heads? We now have a Select Panel that will examine the sale of baby body parts.' So, enough is enough.

Congress ought to be turning its attention to ensuring that women get the vital and legal health service they are entitled to and no woman in this country should worry that her visit to the doctor is going to end in violence. And no healthcare provider should ever be targeted for ensuring access to healthcare services.

So, we call, today, on Speaker Ryan to disband this panel immediately. And you have a copy of the letter that we are now sending to Speaker Ryan. We hope he is listening because the women of America are watching.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette. I'm Diana DeGette from Colorado. And all of us in my home state – we're just sick. We're sick about the three lives that were lost, we're sick about the nine people who were injured, and I'm sick because I think that words matter. Words matter, and the words that politicians use matter.

And we don't know a lot about why this shooter went out shooting on Friday. We know some things about him: we know he was a loner, we know he had a semi-automatic weapon, we know he went to a Planned Parenthood parking lot in North Colorado Springs with his semi-automatic weapon, and we know that he shot a bunch of people and tried to shoot more people. And when he was asked by the police why he did it, he talked about baby body parts.

Now, as you heard from Congresswoman Schakowsky, ever since these doctored video tapes were released in July, the FBI has told us that the risk of this type of activity has greatly increased because the passions have been increased around these activities. Even though investigations by four Congressional committees show no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, and even though we've had exhaustive hearings, yet the Republican leadership decided to have yet another committee.

And as I said, words matter. Of the eight Republican Members of this Committee, since July, the words ‘baby body parts' or similar phrases have been used by the eight Members of this Committee – just those eight Members – 33 times. That's not including Speaker Boehner or other Members or Presidential Candidates or other Members of Congress. That's just these eight Members. And isn't it interesting that this lone shooter used that same phrase?

Folks, it's our job as Members of Congress to have respect for disagreement. It's our job to debate about the issues that face our country and what our obligations should be. But, it is not our job as elected officials to incite people – whether they're parts of an organization or whether they're loners – to incite them to go out and use those words.

So, my humble suggestion as a Congresswoman from Colorado is that we all take it down a notch. My humble suggestion is that we disband this Committee which would serve no other purpose than fomenting the already toxic environment that we have out there and we focus our attention on seeing how all women in this country can get quality healthcare at good services and at safety for themselves and their families.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler. I'm Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York. Since the release of those doctored tapes, the anti-choice, the violent anti-choice rhetoric that we have seen has been causative and predictably so, of the violent extremism that we have seen in many places and now in Colorado Springs. To continue this select committee is to continue spreading these lies about Planned Parenthood and to continue inciting extremism and physical violence against reproductive health facilities, providers and patients. Bullet proof glass and safe rooms should not be a requirement for women and families to access their legally guaranteed right to health care and their legally guaranteed right should they choose to an abortion. This committee should be disbanded because it can only serve to further the incitement to violence.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier. I'm Jackie Speier from California. There's no ‘there, there' in this committee. Since the 1990s, the Congress of the United States passed legislation to provide guidelines for fetal tissue research. 59 members of the GOP supported that legislation. Many of them still in Congress including Mitch McConnell and Fred Upton. The incendiary language and rhetoric being used, associated with this committee is disgusting. It is time for us to take down this committee and to take down the vitriolic comments being made by so many against what is a legally-provided service and one the Congress has endorsed in a bipartisan fashion many decades ago.

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene. I'm Suzan DelBene from Washington State. And I, along with my colleagues, voted against the formation of the select committee in the first place. There is no data, no facts to support the creation of such a committee. We've had investigations and hearings in many committees already – in Oversight, Energy and Commerce and in Judiciary, which I sit on. In fact, in Judiciary, it was not an investigation at all. It was a predetermined hearing. The title of the hearing was ‘Planned Parenthood Exposed'. And no one from Planned Parenthood stood on that witness stand. So, we need to move forward. We need to focus on making sure that all women in our country have access to affordable, quality health care; to make sure that women are able to make their own health care choices along with their doctors. And one step forward would be disbanding this committee and moving forward on other important issues. Thank you.

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. I'm Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman from New Jersey and I need to associate myself with all of my colleagues' comments. This is a very dangerous and interesting time that we live in. And as we know, the incident that happened in Colorado had to be terrorizing to the people who were there and who could be negatively impacted. We as Congress cannot insure that everything that can be done is done. We are a body of elected officials to ensure that policies and laws are passed to create the most safe environments that can be created. Having said that, we can be doing a whole heck of a lot more than we've been doing in Congress. When we stand up and we have a moment of silence for something that has been repeated over, and over, and over again and then we sit down and do nothing, we are not doing our job.

And so, our job is to make sure women have quality access, affordable access, and unfettered access to health care. Planned Parenthood is an entity that provides that to the lowest income to the middle income, to the woman who lives in the rural areas and the underserved areas. And to make that possible experience a dangerous one is something we can do something about by number one: disbanding this committee; by number two: ensuring and reinforcing that women have a right to good, solid health care. Women have a right to make decisions regarding their reproductive rights and women will have a right to an abortion if that is a decision that she and her doctor have made. Congress needs to reinforce those issues.

We need to ensure that there are resources associated with ensuring that there is access to health care for women. We need to ensure that there is a freedom and safety and security in seeking that. So we need to do things like set up a select committee on looking at the proliferation of guns so that women and anybody seeking their rights to access healthcare aren't frightened simply because Congress is not doing its job. Congress needs to get about stopping our moments of silence and get about putting a pedal to the medal and getting the work done that ensures that we are a society that respects the rights of women. Thank you.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Questions?

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Q: Just yesterday, the Majority Leader was talking about continuing the investigation even after what happened in Colorado. If the Speaker doesn't disband, will you all continue to participate in the select committee?

Congresswoman Schakowsky. The short answer is yes. If they insist in setting up this committee to supposedly, as they call it, protect infant lives, we're going to be in the room to protect American women, their access to health care, their right to abortion, their right to birth control and the right to choose the provider they want and to do it in safety. So, yes, we'll be there.

Q: In the Senate right now, there's this reconciliation package that's about to start and one of the things that they want to do is obviously defund Planned Parenthood. Is there a concern if they were to do that some have expressed reservations about these public health centers not being able to absorb – you know, if they defunded Planned Parenthood – do you think that they could, for instance, absorb…

Congresswoman Schakowsky. We know for a fact that the 2.7 million people that access Planned Parenthood, [and] that the community health centers which themselves are strapped right now would not be able to adequately take care of them. The other thing is, Planned Parenthood clinics are the only clinic within hundreds of miles available to provide people with preventive and primary care – men and women alike. I think it's important to note. And so, we hear that Planned Parenthood, we hope, will not be used to shut down the government. But if they choose this method to shut down Planned Parenthood, we would certainly oppose that.

Q: But this is reconciliation, not…

Congresswoman Schakowsky. I understand that.

Q: Republicans are pushing now – are using the Planned Parenthood shooting to push Tim Murphy's mental health bill. How did Democrats respond to that?

Congresswoman Schakowsky. You know, that is a totally separate question right now. The issue for how we create a better infrastructure to provide mental health services but I think the idea that we would be able to prevent everyone from being able to go into a Planned Parenthood clinic or into a movie theater if only we would do something about mental health is just not realistic. And if any special committee is going to be set up, I would suggest that it would be on the proliferation of guns and that would be a more direct way to prevent in the future this kind of activity.

But as Congresswoman DeGette said also, words really do matter. We need to be careful in this Congress how we talk about these divisive issues. And it seems to me that disbanding the panel would be the way to go.

Congresswoman DeGette. I am also working on a bipartisan group that's trying to work on mental health. And it's obvious to everybody that we need mental health reform. We believe that Congressman Murphy's bill needs a lot of work and in fact, there is a bipartisan group working on that bill, including Congressman Murphy. We think we do need mental health reform but as Jan said, we also need to talk about the proliferation of guns in this country and a lot of other issues. Right now what we're talking about – we could be applying ourselves in a lot of ways: mental health, gun safety legislation, other things. We certainly don't need to have another committee talking about the Planned Parenthood situation.

Leader Pelosi. Thank you all.

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Issues:Health Care