Over 100 Conservative Leaders Ask Congressional Republicans to Defend Hyde Amendment
More than 100 conservative activists, pro-life leaders, former elected representatives and government officials have authored a letter to Republican lawmakers in both chambers of Congress. The massive group of conservative leaders is speaking out, asking Congressional Republicans to support the Hyde Amendment.
Hyde is a decades old policy which prohibits taxpayer dollars allocated to Medicaid from funding abortions. The amendment has been included in every annual funding bill since 1980.
But shockingly, just last week, the House Appropriations labor and health and human services subcommittee did not include Hyde in an upcoming appropriations bill for the first time in 40 years.
“We urge all conservatives, and anyone who values the sanctity and dignity of human life from conception until natural death, to oppose spending legislation which does not contain the Hyde amendment and key related pro-life policies,” the letter reads, according to Fox News.
“Over decades, both Democrat and Republican presidents have signed these protections into law – protections that were, for years, supported by President Biden in the United States Senate,” the letter adds.
“But despite the broad bipartisan consensus and the national federal support for these policies, House Democrats have for the first time passed spending bills without them, raising the possibility that millions of Americans who are deeply and profoundly opposed to abortion will find their tax dollars used to subsidize the practice.”
Among the signers of the letter include former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, former Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, Susan B. Anthony List’s President Marjorie Dannenfelser, Concerned Women for America’s Penny Nance and March for Life’s Tom McClusky.
Fox News notes that it may be difficult for the bill to become law without Hyde’s inclusion, as Democrats will need 60 votes to pass the budget in the Senate. The Senate chamber is currently split 50-50 between the parties and would therefore need to garner support from 10 Republicans.
However, Senate Democrats could attempt to pass the budget on a party-line vote, but to do so, Democrats would need to end the filibuster, something Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., don’t support.
Another reason Hyde is important is because, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Hyde has saved the lives of at 2.4 million preborn babies since it was crafted.
On July 15, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor to speak in defense of Hyde.
“At the very, very least, the mainstream, bipartisan Hyde Amendment has ensured that taxpayers’ hard-earned money is not funneled to this brutal practice,” McConnell said. “A broad, bipartisan coalition agreed the American taxpayer should not be forced to underwrite this nightmare. And by the way, a strong majority of Americans still agree!”
Focus on the Family has long supported the Hyde Amendment as a bipartisan measure to ensure that hardworking taxpayers are not forced to fund something they morally object to.
Related articles:
Hyde Amendment Has Not Been Included in Subcommittee Spending Bill
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zachary Mettler is a writer/analyst for the Daily Citizen at Focus on the Family. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Mettler earned his Bachelor’s degree from William Jessup University and is an alumnus of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. In addition to the Daily Citizen, his written pieces have appeared in the Daily Wire, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Townhall, the Daily Signal, the Christian Post, Charisma News and other outlets.
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