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Washington, DC –  U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (TX-36) joined his colleagues today in voting to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R. 7), legislation that extends and makes permanent the Hyde Amendment which prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions through government programs. Rep. Babin voiced his strong support for H.R. 7 on the House floor during the bill’s debate. His remarks are as follows:

“For the past 30 years, through the Hyde Amendment, the U.S. Congress has acted to prevent taxpayer money from being used to pay for abortions.  The bipartisan Hyde Amendment has been an annual rider on appropriations bills.  But Obamacare bypassed this abortion funding prohibition leading to the largest expansion of taxpayer funding of abortion in American history since Roe v. Wade.

“That’s why we desperately need to pass H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, to permanently codify the Hyde Amendment and apply it across the entire federal government.  This bill will also ensure that the prohibition is not subject to annual threats and it will close the massive loophole that was created by Obamacare.

“Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has saved the lives of over 2 million babies - roughly the same number of people that live in the city of Houston, Texas. For the sake of those 2 million people and the millions more that will be saved, we must permanently codify the Hyde Amendment’s pro-life protections.

“Furthermore, as Obamacare presented the largest expansion of abortion since the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court case, we must ensure that the Hyde Amendment covers all areas of the federal government.  This bill makes sure that taxpayer dollars are no longer used to subsidize abortions.  H.R. 7 is an critical piece of legislation that is supported by nearly two-thirds of Americans who do not want the government to be in the business of killing unborn babies.

“Congress must act to preserve the Hyde Amendment for posterity and to put an immediate end to the ongoing harm being done with taxpayer money. I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote for passage of this much-needed bill to end taxpayer funding of abortion once and for all.”