Phone and basic a. M. Radio that was as big as your hand. The same newspaper would report on the latest advanced research on the pain experienced by unborn children focused on the research of an oxfordtrained neonatal pediatrician who held an appointment at harvard medical school. If the fetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, i would assume that there will be pain caused to the fetus and i believe it will be severe and excruciating pain. A few years later the terrifying facts uncovered in the gand jury report regarding dr. Gosnell, would contain references to a neonatal expert who said the cutting of babies spinal cords intended to be lateterm aborted would cause them, and i quote, a tremendous amount of pain. Congress has the power and the responsibility to acknowledge these developments in our understanding of the ability of unborn children to feel pain by prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, postfertilization the point at which evidence shows the unborn can experience great suffering. The bill before us would do just that. It also includes provisions to protect the life of the mother and additional exceptions of rape and incease. Some members last congress and today have called this bill extreme but such claims are false as evidenced by the polls which show astounding support for this bill. A poll found that 62 of people surveyed supported the ban on abortions after 20 weeks or earlier. A clear majority of men women, whites, blacks, hispanics, married people and single people support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks. Among women, 68 of women support a ban on abortions at 20 weeks or earlier, including 66 of single women and 71 of married women. Even 49 of the democrats polled support a ban on abortion at 20 weeks or earlier significantly more than those who opposed it. A Washington Post poll similarly found 66 support for this bill and a Huffington Post poll found support at 59 . Today, america is one of the few countries on earth including north korea and china that allows per miss i have lateterm abortion. These polls show the American People want to change that. Today is the second anniversary of Kermit Gosnells conviction for first degree murder. Following the gosnell trial, we were all reminded that when lateterm babies are taken from the womb and cut with scissors, they whimper, cry and flinch from pain. An unborn babies when cut inside the womb also whimper and cry and flinch from pain. Delivered or not babies are babies and they can feel pain at least by 20 weeks. It is time to welcome Young Children who can feel pain into the human family. And this bill, at last, will do just that. Finally i would note that it is rare for the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to be so confident that a bill would save lives that it makes estimates to the number of lives to be saved. But the c. B. O. Did just that, conservatively estimating that this bill if enacted would save 2,500 lives each year. It could save many thousands more. But let that sink in for a moment. This bill if enacted would probably save at a minimum thousands of lives per year. It would give america the gift of thousands more children and consequently thousands more mothers and thousands more fathers. With all the wonders human gifts they will bring to the world in so many amazing forms, including their own children for generations to come. I congratulate the subcommittee on the constitution and Civil Justice chairman, trent franks, for introducing this vital legislation, and i urge my colleagues to support it. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Conyers thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Conyers madam speaker and members of the house, this legislation is a dangerous and farreaching attack on a womans constitutional right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy, a right that the Supreme Court guaranteed 42 years ago in the case of roe versus wade. One of the most significant problems with this legislation is that it fails to include any exception for a womans health. Many Serious Health conditions materialize or worsened late in pregnancy, including damage to the heart and kidneys, hyper tension and even some forms of hormoneinduced cancer. And yet by failing to include a health exception, h. R. 36 would force a woman to wait until her condition was nearly terminal before she could obtain an abortion to address her health condition. In addition its unconstitutional based on longstanding Supreme Court precedent. I will explain. Roe v. Wades basic holding is that a woman has a constitutional right to have an abortion prior to the fetus viability. Viability is generally considered to be around 24 weeks from fertilization, not 20 weeks. By banning previability abortions, h. R. 36 is a direct challenge to roe v. Wade. In addition, roe made clear that any regulation or abortion, even after viability, must not pose a substantial risk to the womans health. But as i have already noted, h. R. 36 lacks any exception to protect a pregnant womans health. Its therefore not surprising that the nations leading civil rights organizations, medical professionals, and womens groups oppose this bill. In addition, 15 religious organizations noted in a letter to members of congress opposing nearly identical legislation in the last congress that, quote, the decision to end a pregnancy is best left to a woman in consultation with her family, her doctor, and her faith. End quotation. Finally, i want to be clear that the that contrary to assertions made by the bills proponents this legislation still contains a woefully inadequate exception for victims of rape. The socalled rape exception is still based on a complete lack of understanding of the very real challenges rape survivors face and why a rape may go unreported. It is also grounded in the distrust of women, assuming that women cannot be trusted to tell the truth, to make the best medical decisions for themselves and their families. For adult rape survivors, the bill no longer requires that the rape be reported to Law Enforcement. However, a woman must still obtain counseling 48 hours prior to the abortion and the fact that she has obtained counseling for a rape must be certified and documented in her medical file. And this counseling cannot be obtained in the same facility where the abortion is provided. For minor victims of rape or incest an exception from the bills onerous and unconstitutional restrictions only applies if the rape has been reported to Law Enforcement or a Government Agency legally authorized to act on reports of child abuse. Rape is not rape unless the minor has reported it, even if that means putting her own safety at risk. For these reasons, my colleagues, i urge opposition to this dangerous legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan reserves. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Goodlatte at this time, i yield the remainder of my time to the gentlewoman from tennessee congressman black, as my designee for purposes of controlling the remainder of the debate on our side. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from tennessee will be recognized as the designee of the gentleman from virginia. And the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you madam chair. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. Mrs. Black madam speaker, when i became a nurse more than 40 years ago, i took a vow to devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care. But our understanding of the Science Limited to the extent to which i could fulfill that promise has evolved. During my first years of nurse if a woman came into our hospital in labor at 32 weeks of pregnancy, our odds of saving her child were slim. However today, babies are being saved as early as 22 weeks into Fetal Development, according to a study just released this past week by the New York Times. Whats more, there is significant evidence that at 20 weeks of development unborn children have the capacity to feel pain. Sadly, while we celebrate advances in technology that prove life has value and worth before leaving the hospital, we also continue to be one of only seven nations that allow elective longterm elective lateterm abortions. One of only seven nations around this world. It is difficult to imagine a more important measure of society than how it treats the most innocent and defenseless population and by condoning the destruction of unborn life that could otherwise live outside the womb the United States tragically fails to meet this most fundamental human rights standard. Basic decency and human compassion demand that something has to change. Polls consistently show that upwards of 60 of americans support putting an end to the dangerous and inhumane practice of lateterm abortion. So to be clear, we have a mandate to act. That is why i strongly support the paincapable unborn Child Protection act this week which will provide several protections for an unborn child at 20 weeks with exceptions to the saving the lie of the mother or in cases of rape and incest. Todays vote coincides with the twoyear anniversary of the conviction of the evil abortionist kermit gosnell, who killed babies born alive in his clinic and is responsible for the death of an adult woman. Americans were rightfully outraged when they were told of his crimes. But the truth is that innocent unborn children routinely suffer that same fate as goes nells victims did as gosnells victims did through normal lateterm abortions and the government does not bat an eye. The only difference between these casualties and the loss of life that resulted in gosnells murder conviction is the location. Madam speaker if we cannot appeal to my proabortion lawmakers sense of compassion when it comes to this issue surely we can at least appeal to their senses of logic and fact. Knowing that premature babies are being saved as early as 22 weeks into Fetal Development theres no legitimate reason to oppose this bill. In the year 2015 the United States has no business aborting a life that can live outside the womb. Science agrees and so do the majority of americans. The paincapable unborn Child Protection act will right this wrong. Madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Conyers madam speaker, i am pleased now to yield to the gentleman from tennessee im pleased to yield to the gentleman from tennessee three minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Cohen thank you, madam speaker, thank you, mr. Chairman, for the time. I appreciate the good feelings and earnest arguments made by the lady from tennessee and the gentleman from arizona. But the fact is this bill is patently unconstitutional. Because this bill is not about viability its a subterfuge for viability and talks about the issue of pain. Pain is not the issue, viability is the issue. With real and what the real issue is, politicians are not medical experts and women should make these decisions based upon information from people they trust. Women should make these decisions based upon information from people they trust. The information given about this bill is limited. The fact is, doctor anan, cited by my friend the chairman of the committee is from the university of tennessee in memphis where im from. And the fact is, dr. Anan, since 2005 has turned down requests to testify in regards to this type of legislation because he doesnt think that his studies have been used properly. Abortion is not the focus and the polityization of his work has got the politicization of his work has gotten out of hands. There are polls that say one thing and polls that say the other. The wol i respect shows about an even one third, one third split on support, opposition and indecision. But this isnt about polls. This is supposed to be about the constitution. And upholding roe v. Wade and medical experts and not politicians making decisions that are polldriven and possibly favorable to their own constituency. The exceptions for incest is the most egregious. If a person is pregnant a woman is pregnant because of incest, under this law, if the lady is under 18 years of age, theres one rule. But if shes 18 years of age or older theres another rule. And what it says is if youre 18 over and youre pregnant as a result of incest then you cannot get an abortion. You cannot. But if youre under 18, you can if you report it to Law Enforcement authorities. And a discussion last night in rules committee, the vice chair of the rules committee errantly compared rape and incest. Incest does not necessarily involve rape, it involves intercourse between parties that are not legally supposed to have intercourse and issues which could result in problems for the child. Incest should always be an exception and the life and health of the mother should always be an exception and the health exceptions are limited to physical and not mental and emotional which are the most pressing for women and theyre also a 48hour waiting period in this bill system of this bill is unconstitutional and wrong, we should respect medical experts and not politicians and women to make decisions with people they trust and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expire the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. It is my pleasure to yield a minute to our majority whip, mr. Scalise from louisiana. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Scalise thank you, madam speaker. I want to thank the gentlelady from tennessee for yielding and for her leadership and for all of the people that have work sod hard to bring this important bill to the house floor. If you look at what were doing here today were standing up for life of our most innocent. Were talking about babies that are more than 20 weeks in the womb. Scientific evidence shows that after 20 weeks these babies can feel pain and so this bill prohibits abortions after five months of pregnancy. Im proud to come from louisiana which has a distinction of being the most prolife state in the nation. Our state already bans this procedure, as do many. And not just states were talking about. Most nations in the world dont allow this procedure. After 20 weeks. And so the United States will finally be joining the vast majority of other countries around the world and the vast majority of americans who understand that its not right to have abortions after 20 weeks. This is an important bill. I think its very strong message to were going to be sending in defense of life by passing it and i urge my colleagues to support it as well. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired this egentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Conyers madam speaker, i am pleased to yield to a Senior Member of the house Judiciary Committee, jerry nadler of new york, three minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized for threemens. Mr. Nadler i thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in opposition to h. R. 36. For more than 40 years, the Supreme Court has clearly and consistently held that women have the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability or at any time to protect the life and health of a mother. This bill is unconstitutional as violating both of those provisions. The bill provides a narrow depomings protect womens lives, allowing physicians to terminate pregnancy after 20 weeks only in a womans life is at imminent risk. This exemption fails to account for the many Severe Health issues that may arise late in pregnancy and forces physicians to think about legal implications rather than about a patients health. Thats perhaps most cruelly it encludes only a very narrow exemption for victims of rape and incest, requiring that any woman seeking an abortion after, prove she either reported the rape to authorities of sought counseling services. Only 35 of Sexual Assaults are ever reported and we know there are many reasons for not reporting a rape. The toll our criminal Justice System takes on victim the humiliation and intimidation faced by victims of i a 15u89 and the adegreesal risk to her safety. So why place this limit on the rape quite simple. This bill says they believe women lie. The republicans seem to think that women are too dishonest to believe when they say they have been raped. This bill continues a tradition of treating women like secondclass citizens. Measures to restrict abortions that women lie about rape and must undergo invasive tests and exams and women are immoral. That is insulting. Frankly none of our business. Enough is enough. Doctors, not politicians should be providing women guidance and medical support throughout their pregnancy and making a personal decision about terminating a pregnancy and women should make that decision for themselves. We must defeat this unconstitutional bill and afford women their constitutional right enjoyed by every man to make decisions about their health care in the privacy of their doctors offices. I urge to vote no and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black it is my honor now to call op representative franks from arizona, who is the sponsor of the bill. For five minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from arizona is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Franks i thank the gentlelady. Madam speaker, for the sake of all of those who founded this nation and dreamed of what america could someday be and for the sake of all of those who died in darkness so americans can walk in the light of freedom, it is important that those of us who are privileged to be members of this congress pause from time to time. Thomas jefferson marked the beginning of this nation said, quote the care of human life and its happiness and not its destruction is the chief and only object of good government. The phrase in the 15th amendment talks about our constitution it says no person shall be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law and the 14th amendment says no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. Madam speaker protecting the lives of all americans and their Constitutional Rights are especially those who cant defend themselves is why we are all here. And yet today madam speaker, a great shadow looms over america. More than 18,000 very lateterm abortions are occurring in america every year placing the mothers at greater risk and subbing their paincapable unborn babies to torture and death without anesthesia and without any federal protection of any kind in the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is the greatest human rights atrocity in the United States today. And almost every other civilized nation on earth protects paincapable unborn babies at this age particularly and every credible poll of americans show the American People are overwhelmingly in favor of protecting them. And yet we have given these little babies less Legal Protection than the protection we have given farm animals under the federal humane slaughter act. Madam speaker, it just seems we are never quite so eloquent as when we decry the crimes of a past generation, but we often become staggered when it becomes facing and rejecting the worst of atrocities in our own time. Thankfully madam speaker i believe the winds are changing and now beginning to blow and that tid tide of blindness and blood is finally turning in america. Because today today, we are poised to pass the paincapable unborn Child Protection act in this chamber. And no matter how it is shouted down or if distractions, diversions, twisting of the words, changing the subject or falsehoods it remains that this bill is a deeply sincere effort beginning at the sixth month, at the sixth month of pregnancy to protect both mothers and their paincapable unborn babies from the atrocities of lateterm abortion on demand. And ultimately it is one that all humane americans can support if they truly understand it for themselves. Madam speaker, this is a vote all of us will remember the rest of our lives. It will be considered in history and i believe in the councils of eternity itself, but it shouldnt be such a hard vote. Because in spite of all the political noise, protecting little unborn paincapable babies is not a republican issue and its not a democrat issue, but a test of our basic humanity and who we are as a human family. And it is time that we open our eyes and let our consciouses catch up with technology. Time for the members of the United States congress to open our eyes and our souls and remember that protecting those who cannot protect themselves is why we are all here. Thats why were here. Madam speaker its time for all americans to open our eyes and hearts to the humanity of these little paincapable unborn children of god and the inhumanity of what is being done to them. With that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from arizona yields back. The gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Conyers madam speaker, im now pleased to recognize a distinguished member of the house Judiciary Committee, the gentlelady from washington ms. Delbene for four one minute. Ms. Delbene i rise in strong opposition to h. R. 36, a nationwide 20week abortion ban. Its truly appalling to me that house leaders keep ignoring the needs of middleclass bill while restricting Womens Health care and during Womens National week, the legislation we are debating is an attack that ignores medical safety and puts Womens Health at risk and survivors are facing facing difficult circumstances and it has ideology into the doctorpatient relationship and puts politicians in charge of their medical care. House leaders need to stop interfering. The American People expect better from this chamber and deserve Real Solutions to the challenges they are facing. This bill fails women and their families and i urge my colleagues to vote no. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentleman from michigan reserves. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black it is my delight to have the speaker of the house, john boehner from ohio, for as much time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute. The speaker i rise today to urge the whole house to support h. R. 36, the paincapable unborn Child Protection act. H. R. 36 is the most fulllife legislation to ever to come before this body and it reflects the will of the American People. As such, it also reflects the contributions of many people and many perspectives. I take this opportunity to thank mrs. Black, mr. Franks, mr. Pitts and mr. Smith of new jersey for their hard work in bringing this bill to the floor. I thank our conference chair for her leadership in helping us bring this bill to the floor. Im going to take a moment to recognize all of the americans who spoke out for this bill. Your voices have been heard. After all, we have no obligation, no higher obligation than to speak out for those who cant speak for themselves, to defend the defenseless. Thats what this bill does. Because we know that by five months in the womb unborn babies of capable of feeling pain and wrong to inflict pain on an innocent human being. And protecting these lives is the right thing to do. And again, a majority of americans agree. My colleagues, growing up with 11 brothers and sisters, i didnt need my parents to tell me that every child is a gift from god. But let me tell you, they did and did it often and because of that respect, that sanctity and that dignity is everything. A vote for this bill is a vote to protect innocent lives and to protect our dearest values for generations to come. We should all be proud to take this stand today. And i urge my colleagues to vote for this bill today. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Conyers thank you madam speaker. I am now pleased to yield three minutes to the distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee ms. Jackson lee from houston, texas. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for three minutes. Ms. Jackson lee madam speaker, i have had more than a momentous time to be in this body. I was moved by the conviction of my friend and colleague and the Speaker Boehner and representative franks, because i know they speak from their heart. But states cannot be distributed on one side of the aisle. My faith my god is no less than the republicans. And i speak for those who cannot be here today. I speak for mothers who suffer in corners trying to provide for their children, but love their children and gave birth to them. I speak for those who i sat in a room called the Judiciary Committee some years ago by listening to the pain of mothers who said, i want this child. But my doctor has advised me that my life would not have survived to take care of my other children had i not had the ability to be able to follow my doctor and my faith. Praying with my husband, my faith leader, my extended families to make decisions that would, in fact, provide for not only future children, but for my sanctity and ability to be the woman that i need to be. Just outside this chamber, i met the author of the song glory. Many of us heard it in the movie of selma. And it says one day when the glory comes, it will be ours. It will be ours. Everybodys glory is different. But h. R. 36 besides being unconstitutional speaks against 25,000 women in the United States who came became pregnant as a result of rape. 30 of 30 requires that women to report their ordeal before they go to a Law Enforcement officer. It challenges their faith and their love of god. And so i am incensed that we challenge someones faith. I speak to those women who cannot be here today, who love children who love life who are good mothers. And i take no less in the conviction of those who have spoken for my conviction and the conviction of those women or Tiffany Campbell when she was 19 she was pregnant, she and her husband her pregnancy was inflicted with twins infusion mr. Conyers i yield to the gentlelady an additional unit minute. Ms. Jackson lee the news was devastating. But they had to make a decision that was guided by the doctor and their faith. The campbells it was out of selected termination, they risked the loss of both fetuses and would not have any. And in 22 weeks in consultation with their doctors, they aborted one fetus in order to save the other. The lifesaving procedure for one of the fetuses would be illegal under the new 20week ban. I beg of my colleagues. I know there will be those who will vote. But as i stand here today i do not condemn the conviction of my friends, but im welled up with tears because i have hugged those who had no where else to go. And no man can stand and tell a woman what rape is and how it feels or what the results of that is. That is why the constitution, the ninth amendment and the Supreme Court interpreted roe v. Wade as it did. Mr. Conyers i yield the gentlewoman one more minute. Ms. Jackson lee i thank the gentleman. I am welled with emotion. Not nor killing. But for saving. Not for condemnation, but for appreciation. Not for judging, but for letting people know that i have constituents who are huddled in places right now in houston, texas, in fear. Huddles because laws have prevented them from good counseling counseling before such tragedy would happen. Laws that he would prevent them from having facilities in their area. They fall victim to sheisters because of laws we have passed here. I cant see that anymore and h. R. 36 now make it a federal offense and owe fends doctors and people owe fends doctors and people of offends doctors and people of faith. I love that song glory and it says one day when the glory comes it will be ours. It will be ours. The glory has to be tolerance and acceptance of peoples condition. We must do the right thing in this congress. Vote against h. R. 36. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. I yield 1 1 2 minutes to mrs. Wagner. Mrs. Wagner i thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her leadership on this issue. Madam speaker i rise today in support of life. Life begins at conception. We know that after three weeks the baby has a heart beat. After seven weeks the baby begins kicking in the womb, leaving believe me, as a mother of three i know it well. By week eight the baby begins to hear and fingerprints start to form. After 10 weeks the baby is able to turn his or her head frown and get the hiccups. By week 11 the baby can grass wp his or her hand. By week 12 the baby can suck or her thumb. By week 15 the baby has an adult taste buds and the week of 1 that baby can flex hiser 18 that baby can flex his or her arm and by the week of 20, madam speaker, not only can that baby recognize the sound of his or her own mothers voice, that baby can also feel pain. Madam speaker it is not only the pain of the child that must be that we must be concerned with, it is the pain of the mother. H. R. 36, the paincapable unborn Child Protection act, provides protections for both the woman and the child. This is not a bill restricting womens rights. This is a bill that supports and protects life. It is prowoman it. Encourages discussion, medical treatment and counseling for women who have been victimized. This bill is prowoman. It empowers women with a civil right of action if this law is not followed and this bill, madam speaker is prochild. It ensures a baby born alive will be given life saving treatment. This bill is prowoman and prochild. Solutions to who our science and our values are deep values already tell us. A baby of 20 weeks can feel pain and the baby deserves protection. Madam speaker, i am for life at all stages. I am for the life of the baby and the life of the mother. I will continue to work toward the day when not only is abortion illegal but, madam speaker, it is unthinkable. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Conyers madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to have the gentleman from tennessee replace me as the control time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman will be recognized to control the time. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen thank you. That is an august responsibility, to control time. And in that control i yield two minutes to the gentleman from rhode island. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Cicilline i thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong opposition to h. R. 36. Instead of considering legislation that would help to promote our economic recovery, expand educational opportunities, repair our crumbling infrastructure or invest in science and research, our house colleagues on the republican side continue to pursue an extreme social agenda. I stand to strongly oppose h. R. 36, which would violate Supreme Court precedent and impose arbitrary and unconstitutional restrictions on Womens Health care decisions. Every woman in america deserves access to affordable comprehensive health care, including full Reproductive Health care. H. R. 36 would ban abortions after 20 weeks, even though medical professionals have explained that some deadly and severe conditions cannot be diagnosed earlier. Politicians are not medical experts. And should not be making Health Care Decisions for women in this country. These decisions are probably made by women in consultation with their health care professionals, not by a bunch of politicians in washington. In addition the bill contains an unreasonably narrow exception for cases in which a womans life is in danger or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. Only if the woman has sought Mental Health counseling or reported the incident to Law Enforcement. Even though we know that a majority of these crimes go undisclosed or unreported. This bill is a dangerous distraction from the pressing needs facing our country. I urge my colleagues to oppose this terrible bill and leave Health Care Decisions in the hands of the people they belong in the women of this country. That i with that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee reserves. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. Now i yield one minute to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. Fortenberry. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for one minute. Mr. Fortenberry thank you madam speaker. I thank the gentlelady from tennessee for her leadership on this important issue. Madam speaker, theres a rule in the house of representatives that any little child who is a guest of ours can come right down here and be in the well with us. Lease a lets assume for a moment that one of those children tripped and fell and hurt themselves and cried out in pain. Theres not a member of this body that wouldnt rush to their side and comfort them. Thats what this bill does today. It rushes to the side of children who are feeling the pain of violence of abortion. Lets stand with them. Lets stand with women who deserve better than the aggressive tactics of the abortion industry and their profitseeking and marketing. Lets rebuild our nations compassion capacity so that we can understand what is right and just, by protecting the little ones who are most vulnerable. Lets do something good for america today. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen thank you. I yield a minute to the gentlelady from california, ms. Lee. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute. Ms. Lee thank you. I thank the gentleman for yielding, for your leadership. Madam speaker of course i rise in strong opposition to h. R. 36, which is nothing more than another ideological attack on womens reproductive rights. This bill would institute a nationwide ban on abortion after 20 weeks with no exceptions to protect Womens Health. It adds unnecessary burdens, obstacles to deny medical care to women in the most desperate of circumstances, including in the instance of rape, by requiring women to seek counseling or medical treatment prior to their medical procedure. I remember the days of back alley abortions. Many women died and more were permanently injured before row vs. Wade. With this roe vs. Wade. With this bill, republicans have once again decided to take us back there, that threatens physicians with criminal prosecution. This bill is unconstitutional, its dangerous and its wrong. No woman should have a politician interfering in her personal health decisions. They should always be kept private, period. My faith is as deep as those using their faith, imposing their faith on women who must make these very difficult personal decisions. Instead of passing yet another bill that attacks women, we should get back to the real work that American Families desperately need mr. Cohen i yield the gentlelady an additional 30 seconds. Ms. Lee like eliminating poverty, instituting real criminal Justice Reform and increasing Job Opportunities for all. For those who say that they support life then why not support universal preschool, paid family medical leave affordable child care, support those lifeaffirming measures that were trying to get passed here . I urge a no vote on this outrageous attack on women. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the chair of the prolife caucus, mr. Smith from new jersey. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Smith thank you to present it franks, Speaker Boehner mrs. Mcmorris rogers, the gentlelady presiding in the chair. This has been a team effort and it will yield considerable protection when its finally enacted into law. The paincapable unborn Child Protection act is landmark human rights law. It recognizes the compelling body of medical evidence that unborn children feel pain and seeks to safeguard and protect Vulnerable Children from the violence of abortion. A leading expert in the area of fetal pain has said, and i quote, it is my opinion that the human fetus possesses the ability to experience pain from 20 weeks of gestation, if not earlier, and the pain perceived by a fetus is possibly more intense than that perceived by term newborns or older children. The doctor testified before the Judiciary Committee and said when we speak of infants at 20 weeks, we no longer have to rely on ultrasound imagery. Because such premature patients are kicking, moving and reacting and developing right before our eyes in the neonatal intensive care unit. Today madam speaker, surgeons routinely administer anesthesia to unborn children societys littlest patients, to treat diseases and anomallies and to perform benign corrective surgeries. Today there are Kermit Gosnells, you remember him, the inif if a mouse abortionist who was infamous abortionist who was convicted two years ago today in philadelphia, theyre all over america inflicting not only violence and death on very Young Children but excruciating pain as well. When it comes to pain, i he dont know about i dont know about you, but i feel this way i dread it. We all seek to avoid it. We even fear it. We go to great and extraordinarily lengths to mitigate its severity and duration. This legislation protects an entire agespecific class of kids from preventable pain and death. This is human rights legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen i would yield a minute to the gentlelady from new york. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for one minute. Mr. Vela i thank the gentleman for yielding velazquez velazquez i thank the gentleman for yield ms. Have a less questions i ms. Velazquez i rise in strong opposition to this legislation. This is about a womans ability to make her own decisions in consultation with her doctor, not politicians. Not only does this unconstitutional bill run afoul of long standing judicial precedent, but it will also jeopardize Womens Health by banning abortion after 20 weeks, even in cases where pregnancy complications arise from Serious Health issues like heart conditions Kidney Disease and cancers. What about the life of the mother . Women facing desperate medical situations will see their Health Care Options restricted through this unacceptable bill. Furthermore, rape and incest victims will face additional hurdles when terminating a pregnancy. Doctors and Health Care Providers will encounter threats or fines and even imprisonment when they are simply trying to provide Compassionate Care to women in need. Madam speaker, this bill inserts the government into one of the most personal decisions a woman can make and would interfere with the relationship between women and their doctors. So much for getting government off my back. I would like to say two things get the government out of my bedroom. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black madam speaker, i now yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from pennsylvania. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Rothman madam speaker, our mr. Rothfus madam speaker, our declaration of independence states that everyone is endowed with an inhe will al with an inalienable right to life. Who could forget president kennedys words more than 50 years ago when he said our rights do not come from the generosity of the state but from the hand of god . This legislation expands protections for the right to life. It recognizes that a class of children, unborn babys older than 20 weeks who feel the pain of abortion, should be protected. We must stand in solidarity with these Vulnerable Children and affirm we will protect you. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 36. I thank the speaker and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen i yield 1 1 2 minutes to the patient woman from massachusetts. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from massachusetts is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Ms. Clark i agree with the gentleman from tennessee that we are privileged, were privileged to represent our districts and our country but we are not medical experts and we are not privileged to insert ourselves into these most personal decisions that must remain with women, their doctors, their families and their faith. Clearly absent from this Congress Agenda is any discussion about persistent wage inequality hurting women and their families. What about paid parental leave or making sure families get access to Quality Childcare . What are we doing about feeding hungry children or making sure that every child can access education . How about anything at all concerning women that doesnt have to do with restricting reproductive rights . Lets call this bill what it is, its an unconstitutional bill that would force survivors of Sexual Assault and incest to jump through hoops in order to get the medical care they need. This bill is an insult to women and to their families. As women and families are working hard to move this country forward, were seeing a Republican Congress obsessed with moving us backwards. I urge this congress to get back to work for them and reject this unconstitutional and insulting bill. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black madam speaker i now yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from texas mr. Babin. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Babin i rise in support of this bill. This act takes an important step to protecting unborn life. Unborn babies have the capacity to experience pain after 20 weeks. Ending these lives through abortion is both unconscionable and inhumane. As members of congress, its our duty to protect those who are defenseless. Our bill affirms the highlyity of the unborn while curbing the unhumanity of abortion. One of seven children and five children of my own and grandfather of 12, i ask my colleagues to support this prolife bill and with that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen may i inquire as to how much time we have left . The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from tennessee has 7 1 2 minutes. The gentlewoman from tennessee has 8 1 2 minutes. Mr. Cohen i yield one minute to the gentleman from michigan, mr. Kildee. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kildee thank you. I thank my friend for yielding. You know, here we are again at a time when this congress should be focusing on the American Peoples top priorities, growing our economy creating goodpaying jobs, dealing with crumbling infrastructure, dealing with the big challenges that the American People sent us to do and we are not doing that, we continue yet another attack on Womens Health. Health care decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians in washington. Let me repeat. Health care decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians here in washington. We need to Work Together on the things we agree on. This keeps coming up over and over again. American people, american Women Deserve the respect that should be accorded to them, to exercise their right of privacy and their constitutionally protected right and not have people here in this chamber continually attack their decisions that should be made in direct personal private consultation with their physician. And to do anything other than that i think is taking this country and this congress in the wrong direction. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black madam speaker i now yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from alabama, mr. Aderholt. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from alabama is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Aderholt thank you madam speaker. I want to thank the gentlewoman from tennessee for her work on this bill and all of my colleagues that had a hand in it. In particular, the gentleman from arizona, mr. Franks, for authoring this important legislation. I think most people would be surprised to learn that the United States is one of only seven countries in the world that allows elective abortions to be performed after 20 weeks. Science has shown us that underborn children can feel pain. Some argue against this. But then why would unborn babies who are given lifesaving operations in the womb are given anesthesia . The Founding Fathers strongly believed that human beings are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain alienable rights. It is the duty of members of congress to protect those who cannot speak for themselves and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen i recognize the gentleman from california on the day after yogi berras 90th birthday, mr. Bera, not related. Birthday, mr. Bera, not related. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman. Mr. Bera i am a doctor and when i graduated medical school i took an oath, im going to sit with my patient. Im going to answer their questions and im going to empower them to make the decisions that best fit their lives and their health care. That is sacred to the oath that i swore when i became a doctor. This bill will make it criminal for me to do my job as a doctor. It is all about empowering our patients to make the decisions that best fit their lives. Answering their questions. Its personal. You know, i think about this as a father of a daughter. I want my daughter to grow up in a country where shes in charge of her own Health Care Decisions. You know, when we think about women in government, none of us wants the government to come into the exam room and get between that doctorpatient relationship. This is sacred. This is what health cares all about. Its about working with our patients answering their questions and putting them in charge of their own Health Care Decisions. This is a bad bill. This is a bill, massive government overreach. Vote against this bill. Let us do our jobs as doctors. Thank you and with that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black madam speaker, i now yield excuse me 30 seconds to the gentleman from north dakota, mr. Cramer. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from north dakota is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Cramer thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker the most basic responsibility of a government of the people, by the people and for the people is to protect the people. We protect our Senior Citizens economic security, social security. We protect our country with our national security. We have a department of Homeland Security to protect all people. It seems that the very least we can do for the most vulnerable, defenseless and innocent among us is to protect them with this most basic right. To protect them from the imposition of the excruciating pain of abortion. I ask my colleagues to vote yes on this important bill and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen mrs. Maloney from new york, i recognize for a minute and a half. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Mrs. Maloney i thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership. I rise in opposition to h. R. 36. It endangers Womens Health. It contains a woefully inadequate rape exception and is patently unconstitutional. It contains no health exception for the mother. The entire premise that women must provide quote, proof of rape is preposterous and hurtful to women who have already faced incredible trauma. Most of us cannot begin to fathom what a woman has faced in these situations. The f. B. I. Rates rape the second worst crime preceded only by murder in terms of the destruction and continuing harm to the victim. This is truly adding insult to injury. The Majority Party expects survivors to be mindful of keeping good medical paper records and to file paperwork that they, the majority, have decided that the rape victims should file. The reality is that abortions after 20 weekends are rare and represent just 1. 5 of pregnancies that are terminated. In almost all of these cases the woman choosing an abortion are doing so because there is a grave problem with their pregnancy and their own health that affects their fetus. Some fetuses are incompatible with life, and in some cases going to full term would destroy a womans ability to have future children. Even after four decades of settled law, some of my colleagues still refuse to cede women their constitutional right and the autonomy and Human Dignity that goes with being allowed to make your own decisions about your own body and your own health care. The party of individual rights and states rights wants to go into medical personal decisions of women in this country with their doctors. I urge my colleagues to reject this awful bill, h. R. 36, and recognize that women are both capable and prepared to make decisions about their own bodies and their own medical care. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. I now yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from iowa, mr. King. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from iowa is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. King thank you, madam speaker. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. I rise in support of h. R. 36, and i would point out that we have had an estimate of 58 million abortions in this country since roe v. Wade. Thats roughly 14 million by planned parenthood alone. Its about one million abortions a year in this country. But we ended partial birth abortion for one reason because those babies were their lives were ended the moment before they could scream for their own mercy, and now with pain capable, were going to be able to were going to be able to stop that abortion thats coming because we can see in 4d ultrasound that these babies are thriving for their own mercy. These babies need to be brought forth so they can live, learn laugh and love so they can celebrate the life that we gave them. Thank you, madam speaker, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen thank you. Id like to make note that we have the American College of nurse mid wives, the american obstetricians and gynecologists, the american medical association, the american medical womens association, American Nurses association, american miracle association, many others against this bill. And id like to hear from the other side those against for this bill. And with that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee reserves. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, mrs. Walters. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Walters madam speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 36, the paincapable unborn Child Protection act. This bill will protect women and children by establishing federal Legal Protections from unborn babies of 20 weeks. Substantial evidence has shown that children at 20 weeks or the fifth month of pregnancy have the capacity to feel pain and due to modern medicine are increasingly likely to survive a premature birth. Furthermore this bill protects the health of mothers when they are at their most vulnerable state. At 20 weeks, a woman is 30 times more likely to die from abortion than she would in the first trimester. After 1 weeks, that risk 21 weeks, that risk of mother increases almost 100fold. This is weeklong Womens Health week, encouraging women to prioritize their health. Im pleased to stand in support of this piece of Womens Health legislation today. This bill will empower women in their Health Care Decisions and protect the lives of the innocent unborn. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentleman from tennessee continues to mr. Cohen continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black im going to yield one minute to the gentlelady from missouri mrs. Hartzler. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from missouri is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Hartzler madam speaker, i rise today in support of the paincapable unborn tried protection act. This protects unborn children and ensures that those born alive are given the same level of care as other premature infants. Id like to introduce you to micah and his parents. His mom danieal recalls telling if her son was not we were told our baby would not cry upon birth. We were told he would be stillborn. He would have a 95 chance of horrible lifealtering disabilities like not talking, not walking, not eating on his own. On the morning micah was born, he defied all odds. We didnt know what gods will for micah was but we do now. It is to be a voice for all those other babies. I ask unanimous consent to insert danieals full story and letter into the dan yells full storly and letter into the record. Story and letter into the record. Without objection. Mrs. Hartzler we are i urge my colleagues mrs. Hartzler i urge my colleagues to support h. R. 36. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen id like to recognize mr. Deutch from florida for a minute and a half. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized im sorry, florida, is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Mr. Deutch i thank my friend for yielding. My republican colleagues have no interest in preventing abortions after 20 weeks. Motivation behind h. R. 36 couldnt be more transparent. They want to make abortion after 20 weeks illegal and abortions before 20 weeks impossible. Consider the story of a young woman named josephine. Who recently moved to florida from texas. With her two kids after escaping an abusive husband. While trying to build a stable home for her children, she was raped and she became pregnant. She couldnt afford an abortion or a trip to her provider more than 80 miles away. So josephine attempted to perm terminate the pregnancy herself by to terminate the pregnancy herself by ingesting poison. By the time she gathered enough resources to cover her procedure and transportation to her provider nearly 80 miles away, she was 23 weeks pregnant. If this republican majority had its way, josephine would be denied access to a safe and legal abortion. From regulating providers out of business, to requiring waiting periods to mandating counseling and medically unnecessary ultrasounds, this republican majority has made securing an abortion has made exercising a womans constitutional right a long and expensive process. Lets reject this bill and instead work to ensure that all women can control their own bodies their own health and their own destinies. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from maryland, mr. Harills. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. Mr. Harris thank you madam speaker. I rise in support of h. R. 36 today and lets call this bill what it is. Its a late term abortion ban. Thats what it is. The majority of americans agree, madam speaker that late term abortions should be illegal in this country. Whether its unconstitutional is not up for this body to determine. I believe the Supreme Court will rule that this is constitutional. Because theres a reason why a majority of americans believe that late term abortions should be illegal. Its because that baby is developed at 20 weeks, developed enough to perceive pain. Thats how developed. Developed enough to survive outside the womb. Thats how developed. Thats why a majority of americans believe that that baby has rights as well. Thats what were here to do today. H. R. 36 preserves the rights of that baby to survive. I practicalitiesed medicine for over 20 years practiced o. B. For 20 years. Down the corridor youd abort them. This bill says that if that baby being aborted is born alive, someones going to recesstate that baby. Thats what we need, madam speaker. Thats why i support h. R. 36. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee has 1 1 2 minutes remaining. Mr. Cohen we go back to the reserve mode. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee reserves. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from alabama, mrs. Roby. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from alabama is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Roby thank you madam speaker. Thank you to the gentlelady from tennessee. And everyone who has worked so hard on this bill. Ive sat here for the past 20 minutes, 25 minutes listening, for however long listening to this it bait. Ive been struck by the op this debate. Ive been struck by the opposition to this bills con stapt and consistent argument that this is about leaving these decisions to the mother and her doctor. What about the baby . Whos standing up for that baby who cannot speak for themselves . That is what we are doing here today. This is such an important measure, on behalf of those who dont have a voice and can feel pain. And its a shame that such a humane and compassionate measure has opposition at all. Especially since great care has been taken to protect women and babies in this bill. If we wont stop abortions at five months, when unborn babies feel pain, when will we stop it . There has to be limits. And even those of us who want to end abortion altogether, in any form, we support this restriction. You know why . Because it protects babies, it saves babies it protects women and it assigns a greater value to human life. Thank you, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee reserves. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Fleming. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. Mr. Fleming i thank my good friend from tennessee. And i rise today as a physician, as a father and as a grandfather in support of h. R. 36, the paincapable unborn Child Protection act. Its no surprise that unborn children as young as 20 weeks postfertilization feel, respond to and recoil from pain. These tiny forming human beings make faces yawn, stretch and suck their thumb. My own granddaughter, who is now about 20 months of age, when we viewed her 4d ultrasound, her face, compared to today, is almost exactly the same. Its unbelievable how humanlike, how much like a baby a baby really is in the womb. Because, lets admit it, it is a child. It is a human life. We celebrate when our friends and family post these precious ultrasound pictures. In fact, life is always a celebration. And its only right that we should be vigilant to ensure that the womb remains the most peaceful, protected place for a child to grow and be nurtured. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 36, which will protect children in the fifth month of development from the excruciating pain and intended violent death of an abortion. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from tennessee reserves. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you, madam speaker. I yield one minute to the gentlelady from utah mrs. Love. Ms. Love thank you madam speaker. I wasnt planning on speaking today. I didnt put my name on a list to speak today. I was actually sitting in my office listening to the debate. About this bill. And i started thinking of my three children. I started thinking about the decisions that we have to make in order to protect them. And im disappointed. I am disappointed that theres even opposition to this piece of legislation. I want you to know that we as adults have a voice. Were able to speak, were able to speak on opposition to things. But we have children that do not have a voice. Those babies that we know can feel pain. Do not have a voice. Now, i want everyone who is watching today, because im not trying to convince my colleagues i want every american that is watching this today to think of their children think of their nieces their nephews, their grandchildren, the ones that they love, would they inflict this kind of pain to keep them from coming into the world . We have a moral obligation in this country to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is time that we do our job. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee has one minute remaining. The gentleman from tennessee has 1 1 2 minutes remange. Remaining. Is the gentleman from tennessee prepared to close . Mr. Cohen yes indeed, i am. The speaker pro tempore is the gentlewoman prepared to close . Mrs. Black i am, madam speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Mr. Cohen thank you madam speaker. I think if anybody listened to this debate, they would see one thing clearly. That theres a difference on the two sides. A difference in perspective and a difference on the facts. Some say that clearly the fetus feels pain. And my data shows the majority of medical opinions says the fetus does not. And doctor anan, who they cite, mine Research Shows has retracted his position and doesnt want to be in this debate and hes an outliar. The bottom line is there are differences. Differences to the facts as well as the opinions. And what that should say to anybody madam speaker, who watches this debate is this issue shouldnt be decided by politicians but it should be decided by medical experts and by women with the people they trust. Medical experts not politicians. And by women with the people they trust. And the truth of this debate came down to a lady from North Carolina who testified, contrary to what she said in january, in january she said the bill that came before this house was not a good bill and shouldnt come to the house and was withdrawn because incest is incest. And it shouldnt be seen that people 18 and over doesnt get an abortion if theyre the victim of incest. This bill allows it. She changed her position. At the close of her statement she said, i will not rest until abortion is illegal. And thats what this is about. Its the beginning of the end of abortion at 20 weeks, at 17 weeks, at 1 weeks, at one week 12 weeks, at one week at conception. This is an ty abortion bill, its antiabortion bill, its not about fetal pain its not about 20 weeks. Thats what its about. American women need to wake up. I thank and i close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. Mrs. Black thank you madam speaker. Madam speaker, during the course of this debate we have heard more than a few mischaracterizations against this legislation. In truth, this is just a modest compassionate bill that does not in any way change abortion law for the first five months of pregnancy. As a nurse for more than 40 years, i know that late term abortion is not health and it is not caring. It takes an innocent life that we know can feel pain inside the womb and sin creasingly viable outside the womb. This is a human right issue. And we have the responsibility to act. I therefore urge a yes vote on on tuesday a bill failed a procedural vote. The next day Senate Leaders announced a compromise to move the deal forward which includes holding separate votes on two bills favored by democrats. Senate leaders Mitch Mcconnell and harry reid discussed the status of the trade bill on wednesday. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President this morning i restated my commitment to working with senators in a serious way to move our country ahead on trade and the economy of the 21st century. I said that we need to allow debate on this important issue to begin and that our colleagues across the aisle need to stop blocking us from doing so. Thats the view from our side. Its the view from the white house. And its the view of serious people across the political spectrum. Ive repeatedly stated my commitment to serious warn ways forward bipartisan ways forward on this issue. Now serious and bipartisan does not mean agreeing to impossible guarantees or swallowing poison pills designed to kill the legislation but it does mean pursuing reasonable options that are actually designed to get a good policy result in the end. Thats why ive agreed to keep my partys significant concession of offering to process both t. P. A. And t. A. A. On the table. Its why ive said we could also consider other policies that chairman hatch and senator wyden agreed to. And thats why ive underlined my commitment to an open amendment process once we get on the bill. Of course, our friends across the aisle now say they want a path forward on all four of the trade bills the finance committee passed and this isnt just an issue for our friends on the other side, theres a great deal of support on our side, on our side, for many of the things contained in these other bills. However, as the senior senator from in a democratic a senior senator from in the democratic leadership reminded us yesterday we have to take some of these votes separately or else we kill the underlying legislation. So the plan im about to offer will provide our democratic colleagues with a sensible way forward without killing the bill. A plan the plan im about to offer will allow the regular order on the trade bill while also allowing senators the opportunity to take votes on the customs and preference bills in a way that quill not imperil the increased american exports and american trade jobs that we need. We would then turn to the trade bill with t. A. A. And t. A. A. As t. P. A. And t. A. A. As the base bill and open the floor to amendments as ive suggested all week. Its reasonable, so i look forward to our friends across the aisle now joining with us to move forward on this issue in a serious way. So mr. President i ask unanimous consent that at 10 30 a. M. Tomorrow, may 4 the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 57, h. R. 1295 and calendar number 56, h. R. 644, en bloc, that the hatch amendments at the desk, the text of which are s. 1267 and s. 1269 respectively, be considered and agreed to, that no further amendments be in order, and that at noon the bills as amended be read a third time and the senate then proceed to passage on h. R. 1295 as amended. Followed by a vote on the passage of 644 as amended with no intervening action or debate and that there be a 60 affirmativevote threshold needed for passage of each bill and that if passed the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table. I further ask following disposition of h. R. 644 the motion to proceed to the motion to reconsider the failed cloture be agreed to, the motion to reconsidered the failed cloture vote on the motion to proceed to h. R. 1314 be agreed to, and that at 2 00 p. M. The senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to h. R. 1314. Further, that if cloture is invoked, the 30 hours of postcloture consideration under 22 be deemed expired at 10 00 p. M. On thursday night. The presiding officer is there objection . The democrat leader. Mr. Reid reserving the right to object mr. President. First of all, i want to take a very brief moment to express my appreciation to my democratic colleagues who have been understanding and vocal in their opinions as to what we should do to move forward. I also extend my appreciation to the republican leadership, the republican leader for having this suggestion to go forward. Weve worked together the last 24 hours i think weve come up with something that is fair. A bipartisan majority of the finance committee reported out four trade measures, fasttrack trade adjustment assistance trade enforcement and a bill expanding trade for africa. We want a path forward on all four parts of this legislation. Yesterday we made it clear we didnt accept merely a fasttrack Foreign Trade agreements. We also must enforce the trade agreements we make. The proposal today provides that path forward. I look forward to consideration today and tomorrow of the trade enforcement passage and the africa bill. Once we proceed to the fasttrack measure the majority leader has offered an amendment process that in his words be open, robust and fair. I appreciate that offer. This is a complex issue one that deserves a full and robust debate. Once we get on the trade bill, democrats want to debate and vote on a number of amendments and so with that background and the understanding we have on both sides i do not object. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from georgia. Mr. Isakson i rise could i propound a question of the majority leader. I prefer to propound the question first. As i understand the african bill and the trade enforcement bill will be in tandem together and not subject to amendment an then well go to t. P. A. And t. A. A. Which will be open to amendment, is that correct . Mr. Mcconnell the senator from georgia is correct. Mr. Isakson in that case i will not object but i ask unanimous consent senator coons and i be able to make a oneminute statement. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Isakson in the committee on the act we put an amendment to ensure a review of trade practices visavis poultry and other issues important to the United States. We would have offered an amendment on the floor had it been possible without this u. C. But with this u. C. Coming forward and not objecting we have gotten permission to talk to ambassador froman who has assured us an outofcycle review whenever necessary to review the trade practices of south africa visavis poultry and i commend him for doing that and want to memorialize it in the record. I yield to senator coons. Mr. Coons i thank senator isakson of georgia and express my shared concern if we are going to proceed to a longterm renewal of the growth and opportunity act which provides dutyfree access to u. S. Markets to subsaharan african countries that there is an enforcement that those of house support free trade also support fair trade and effectively enforcement. And as the good senator from georgia commented we are acting in reliance upon a regulars by the United States trade representative that there will be enforcement action taken if appropriate on access to the markets in south africa. With that i thank the president and yield the floor. The presiding officer is there objection to the request of the majority leader . Without objection so ordered. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President before he leaves the floor i want to thank the Senate Majority leader for working with us in a constructive fashion to make it possible for all of the vital parts of the trade package to be considered. I look forward to working closely with him and colleagues, i will say that what has been done through the cooperation of the majority leader and the minority leader is in effect to say that trade enforcement will be the first bill to be debated and in doing so it drives home yesterdays message of 13 protrade democrats who together said that robust enforcement of our trade law is a prerequisite to a modern trade policy. And in making this the first topic for debate, it is a long overdue recognition that strig russ trade enforcement has got to be in the forefront not in the rear, and a recognition that the 1990s nafta trade playbook is being set aside. Mr. President , im going to be brief at this point but id just like to give a little bit of history as to how we got to this point. Mr. Brown mr. President would the senator from oregon yield for a moment . Thank you. I want to thank senator wyden for his work on the customs bill that we will be debating, the bill to which hes referring. Especially his amendment that we worked on on prohibition of child labor closing an 85year loophole, if you will, allowing child labor in far too many cases and we as a nation were importing goods produced by child labor. I appreciate his support and senator hatchs support early in the process before the markup began on our level the Playing Field language which is important to a number of industries to make the Playing Field more level as senator wyden was sane, and third the importance of currency. We know how many jobs weve lost in my state and all over the country because of whats happened with people gaming countries gaming the currency system. I just wanted to express my thanks to senator wyden. Mr. Wyden mr. President before he leaves the floor i want to thank senator brown for again and again putting in front of the committee and all senators the importance of this issue, and i just want to read a sentence from the paper yesterday that really puts a human face on this enforcement issue that senator brown has so often come back to. A quote here from the New York Times that says candymakers want to preserve a loophole this is the loophole that was closed in the customs bill. The article goes on to say the candymakers want to preserve this loophole that allows them to import african cocoa harvested by child labor. Now, what senator brown has said is without in effect this enforcement language, this vigorous enforcement language thats in the customs bill, we would basically be back in yesteryears policy, back in what we had for decades and decades where youngsters would be exploited in this way. So were going to talk about trade here for a few days, and i think colleagues and certainly my colleagues on the finance committee know that i strongly support expanded trade. I look at the globe and there are going to be a billion middleclass people in the developing world mr. President in 2025. Theyre going to have a fair amount of money to spend and we want them to spend on the goods and services produced in the United States. So we support expanding those opportunities, increasing those exports. And the reality is expanding trade and expanding exports and enforcing the trade law are two sides of the same coin, because what happens at home, i have Community Meetings in all of my counties had several just here in the last couple of weeks. The first question that often comes up is a citizen will say i hear theres talk about a new trade deal. Well how about first enforcing the laws that are on the books . And thats why the group of 13 protrade senators yesterday wanted to weigh in right at the outset of this debate talking about how important trade enforcement was to a policy that i call, mr. President trade done right. Trade done right a modern trade policy. And im going to be brief here in opening this discussion, but i wanted to just spend a few minutes describing how we got to this place. A few weeks ago the finance committee met and passed a bipartisan package of four bills. These were more than a year in the making and the message that i sought to send right at the outset was a message that would respond to all the people in this country who want to know if youre doing more than just going back to nafta. And those four bills suggest that this will be very different. The first the trade promotion bill the t. P. A. , as its called helps rid our trade policies of excessive secrecy. And the reason this is so important, mr. President , is the first thing people say whether its in South Carolina or oregon or anywhere else is whats all this excessive secrecy about . If you believe strongly in trade and want more of it, why would you want to have more needless secrecy that makes people more convinced that youre kind of, sort of hiding things . So we have made very dramatic changes in that area. A second strengthens and expands the support system for our workers. Its known as trade adjustment assistance. And this is to make sure that when there are changes in the private economy changes that so often take place and cause workers to see positions that they have had be affected, this is a section of trade policy that gives them a chance almost to spring board into another set of Job Opportunities. And the third would finally put as ive said, trade enforcement into high gear so that we can crack down on trade cheats and protect American Workers and exports. The reality is trade enforcement is a jobs bill. Its protecting jobs. And thats another reason why its so important. And the fourth, which is touched on, has been touched on by our distinguished colleagues, the senator from georgia, the senator from delaware, involves the trade preference programs that are so crucial to both our employers and developing countries. Taken together, the bills form a package of trade policies that are going to help our country create more highskill, highwage jobs in my state and across the land. And as i have said so often if you wanted to explain what a modern trade policy is in a sentence what youd say is this is the kind of approach that helps us grow things in america make things in america, add value to them in america and then ship them somewhere. And particularly, if you look to that developing world where there are going to be in just a few years a billion middleclass consumers, that strikes me as a real economic shot in the arm that will be of longterm benefit to our people. Now, with respect to enforcement, i want to take just a few minutes to talk about why i think this is an appropriate opening step in the legislative process. Now, mr. President i already talked about the 13, 14 protrade democrats that got together yesterday and weighed in as a group. And why we did it is that trade enforcement in that particular bill, which is part of the initial debating here is a jobs bill. It is a cornerstone of a new trade approach that is going to reject the status quo. As the president said, to his credit, in the state of the Union Address past trade deals havent always lived up to the hype. My own view is a lot of that can be attributed to subpar trade enforcement. That in my view, is because so many of the same old enforcement tools from the nafta era and decades prior just arent the right kind of tools to get the job done in 2015. Our competitors overseas, mr. President , use shell companies, fraudulent records and sophisticated schemes to play cat and mouse with u. S. Customs authorities. Our competitors overseas in a number of instances intimidate american firms into relocating factories or surrendering our intellectual property. Our competitors often spy on our companies and trade enforce rs to steal secrets and block our efforts at holding them accountable. To mask their activities, they hide their paper trails and engage in outright fraud. And for a number of years mr. President , i chaired the trade subcommittee of the finance committee and i can tell you these examples ive given of modern challenges is just touching the surface of what we found in our investigations. At one point we set up a sting operation to try to catch people who were merchandise laundering. Not only does our trade enforcement need, mr. President to catch up to these schemes weve got to have a trade enforcement policy that stayed ahead of the game. And that is why the bipartisan enforcement package the customs package, will take enforcement up to a higher level. This bill raises the bar for all of our trade enforcers whether its the customs agent at the border checking inbound shipments, the Commerce Department investigator looking into an unfair trade petition, or the lawyer from the office of trade representative following up on possible violations of trade agreements. So i want to just quickly tick through a few of the major parts of this trade enforcement package. A proposal that i pushed for a number of years mr. President to include will help customs crack down on Foreign Companies that try to get around the rules by hiding their identity and sending their products on hardtotrace shipping routes. Another will close a shameful loophole, a shameful loophole that senator brown and i just talked about that allows product made with forced and child labor to be sold in our country. A third will build what i call an unfair trade alert to help identify when american jobs and exports are under threat before the damage is done. With this Early Warning system, mr. President , in effect you will have warning bells ringing earlier and more loudly than ever before when a country attempts to undercut an american industry like china recently tried with solar panels. And i think thats especially important because when youre home and youre link listening to companies and workers and their organizations talk about trade enforcement they say you know, it just gets to us too late. By the time somebody back there in washington, d. C. Is talking about enforcing the trade laws, the lights have gone out at the plant. The workers have had their lives shattered, and the community is feeling pain from one end to another. So the point of the Early Warning system is we now have the kind of technology and access to the kind of information that can set off these Early Warning signals. Thats what the unfair trade alert provision is all about. And fourth, for the first time in decades the congress would set out clear enforcement priorities with a focus on jobs and growth that will build real accountability and follow through into our trade enforcement system. And finally it includes a proposal from senator brown that goes a long way to ensuring that our trade enforcers use the full strength of our antidumping and counterveiling duty laws to fight unfair tactics. Mr. President , i said months ago repeatedly making it very clear when senator hatch and i chairman hatch and i began working on this package that strengthening trade law sphawrmt was at the very trade Law Enforcement was at the very top of the list of my priorities. And i did in starting all those discussions and the debate, repeatedly come back to the fact that for those of us who are protrade, who think it is absolutely key for the kind of exportrelated jobs and growth that we need in this country weve got to shore up trade enforcement, because its not credible to say that youre pushing for a new trade agreement if people dont find credible that youre going to enforce the laws that are already existing on the books and relate to the past trade agreements. So strengthening trade enforcement has been at the top of my list of priorities for many many years. The finance committee passed this enforcement measure with a voice vote. So that ought to indicate alone mr. President , that this was not some topic of enormous controversy. We had votes on the trade promotion act. We had votes on the trade adjustment act. And there was some pretty vigorous debate on those. Voice vote on the enforcement provision, on the customs package because it includes so much of what i think members actually on both sides of the trade debate feel strongly about. Ive talked about why as a protrade democrat, i feel so strongly about enforcement. My colleague, senator brown speaks eloquently about another point of view, that he feels strongly about trade enforcement. So im very pleased that the senate is on this bill, is beginning debate on this legislation. I am thoroughly committed to getting this legislation passed before we leave for the recess. No one can ever make guarantees, but im sure going to pull out all the stops to do it. And i just want, as we close the opening of this debate, to thank both the majority leader and the minority leader for working with myself and chairman hatch and others to get us to this point. We had a bipartisan effort in the finance committee and were very pleased to see the distinguished president of the senate join us on the finance committee. We had a bipartisan package as the distinguished president knows, in the finance committee which passed really overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis. Now, starting this debate and with whats ahead of us, we have a chance to build on the bipartisan work that took place in the finance committee. Its very appropriate that we begin this discussion focusing on trade enforcement as the 14 13 14 protrade democrats did yesterday in making an announcement with respect to the importance of this topic. Its going to be a good debate. The stakes are enormously high. Mr. President , i look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this legislation passed, to get a bill that the president of the United States will sign, and with that, mr. President i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Lankford mr. President , i have a concern. Its not about trade. Quite frankly trade is one of the things weve done as a nation all along. We were free traders before we were a nation. One of the grievances we had in the declaration of independence was the fact that king george was restricting our trade. Weve always been individuals and a nation of trade. My issue is particularly with this customs bill thats coming. And gephardt, its not about the protections in it. Its about the way and again its not about the protections in it. Its about the way we pay for it. As odd as it sounds while were doing trade and while we engage in things, we cant lose track of this simple thing called the deficit thats hanging out there as well. We have basic rules on how we actually handle budget issues. Anything that we set out thats going to take several years to pay for, we have basic rules. Those rules involve it has to be deficit neutral in year six and it has to be deficit neutral in year 11. The reason thats set up is you cant game the system that way. You cant just back load the whole thing and say were going to be deficit neutral in the very last year but every other year were going to run up the bill and have some pretend payfor at the very end. So the way this is set up is to have this basic debt. Halfway through you are deficit neutral. At the other end of it, youre also deficit neutral. Well here is what the customs bill does. The customs bill sets up this unique something called the corporate payment shift. Corporate payment shift. So heres how it works. Six years from now every corporation that has a billion dollars or more in assets has a 5. 25 tax increase in year six. In year seven every one of those companies that has a billion dollars or more in assets gets a 5. 25 tax refund. Let me run that past you again. This is set up and the way the bill is written six years from now taxes go up on every company, thats 2,000 companies in america that has a billion or more in assets by 5. 25 . And until thes in in the next year they get a refund of that same amount. Can somebody help me understand exactly why every company in america has to gear up, change the way they do all their tax policies pay an extra tax that year and so the next year they can get a refund . Thats additional costs thats additional expense only to help this body circumvent the basic rules that we have said were going to abide by. Now, in all likelihood, these Companies Wont actually do that six and be seven years from now because in all likelihood next year this body will come through and will waive the Corporate Tax shift because its now not year six and be seven. Now its year seven and eight and so it doesnt apply. This is ridiculous. This is a problem that this body is playing a game in how were trying to actually accomplish a basic rule. Now if anyone can stand up in this body and say thats a good idea that were going to raise taxes six years from now on all these companies and refund the same amount the seventh year, if anyone can tell me thats actually a good idea, please do. All that thats set up to do is to be able to help us in our c. B. O. Scoring. So heres what i think we should do. Option number one, have a real payfor. Not pretend and say this is a deefsneutral bill when its not a deficitneutral bill. We have a 3. 7 trillion budget. I think we can find a real payfor to be able to put into this bill. If youre lacking for those my office can give you many options that are real payfors rather than something fake year six and year seven. Heres option number two. At least admit that this is not a deficitneutral bill and that these payfors are fake. There is something this body has called a budget point of order and it should apply in this sense because this is not a real payfor. Now, i have had these conversations with staff behind the scenes, with individuals in this body and i have been told the same thing over and over, this is how we always do it. In other words youre a new guy here. You dont know this is how the game is played on the budgetneutral deficit eliminating bills that really dont do that. Okay yes thats true. I am the new guy here. And ive heard this is an old practice. And it needs to go away because no one can defend this. How about this . How about next week i try to go get a car loan and i try to negotiate with the car dealer a fiveyear loan and i tell him ill pay all of my loan off year four but i want a full refund in year five for all that i paid off. Do you think im going to get that car loan . No. Im not going to get that car loan because hes going to say thats fake. And i will say i paid it off completely i will pay it off completely in year five. Yeah but we paid it all back the next year. Weve got to be able to actually have real accounting at the end of the day. This is not invisible money. This is debt thats being added. And with a 3. 7 trillion budget, we can find real payfors. Mr. President , this is a practice that has happened in this congress and in previous congresses that has to stop. We have the ability to do that. I have to oppose this bill because its not genuine in how were actually paying for it. Saying that we pay for it in year six and refunding in year seven is not real, and we know it. In the days ahead i hope we can address this practice and not just eliminate for this bill but that we can eliminate it from ever being used again in any bill as a gimmick payfor. Cspan2 book tv and sunday afternoon at 2 00 oclock on American History tv. Next, Senate ForeignRelations Committee chair bob corker discusses a Foreign Policy issues. The leader summit and relations with china. His remarks are part of the Christian Science monitors breakfast series. This runs an hour. Thank you for coming. Our guest today is senator bob corker. He is also a member of the banking budget and aging committees. We appreciate his coming back. He is a South Carolina native the graduated from the university of tennessee. He started his own Construction Company which grew rapidly and he sold before turning age 40. In 1994 he ran for the senate and later was named tennessees commissioner of finance and administration. He was selected as mayor in 2001 and in 06 he was elected to the senate winning reelection handily with 65 percent of the vote. Now on to the other compelling recitation of ground rules. I have thoroughly enjoyed being in a position in the new role to set an agenda and to deal with issues and have as you know enjoyed very much dealing with senator menendez and now senator carden. That only enjoy very much dealing with senator menendez. We have a number of issues right now in the senate we had a good run as far as policy. I think that will continue although some of the issues will move ahead. But instead of the giving opening comments date you for providing this opportunity i would rather just take questions from all the views we can talk ground what is on your mind. I will start with the ceremonial softballs. What to expect results of tomorrows meeting at camp david with the gulf states bidders that are not showing up . Behindthescenes many have expressed great frustration. We bump into these people often in there is a lot of concern about the of a realignment they see taking place than to concerns about i iran. That the calls that are being made to calm things down. I think some of it is convenience issues but certainly the arms producers in my Office Yesterday but i do think there is an effort in the region now