Jeffrey Rodack – June 3, 2022
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., led 47 other Republican senators in pledging to block any bill that would undermine the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion.
Daines, founder and chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, and his colleagues made the pledge in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“We write to express our unwavering support for the Hyde Amendment and all other longstanding pro-life protections,” the letter says. “For more than 45 years, the Hyde Amendment has ensured that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions, saving the lives of nearly 2.5 million preborn children. As you know, the Hyde Amendment is supported by both a substantial majority of the American public and a bipartisan majority of sitting United States Senators, and was most recently signed into law by President [Joe] Biden in Public Law 117-103.
“On February 5, 2021, we wrote to you that ‘We are committed to vote against the advancement of any legislation that would eliminate or weaken the Hyde Amendment or any other current-law pro-life protections, or otherwise undermine existing Federal pro-life policy.’ We firmly renew this commitment for FY 2023.”
The senators added: “We urge you to start where we finished by making a baseline commitment to maintain the same pro-life protections that were included in Public Law 117-103, and to eschew any taxpayer-funded giveaways that benefit the multi-billion-dollar abortion industry.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, one who signed the letter, noted it has been endorsed by a host of organizations, including Americans United for Life and the Alliance Defending Freedom.