WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) today voted to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal harmful Obamacare provisions by supporting the passage of H.R. 3762, Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act.  The legislation passed the House by a vote of to , and now awaits action from President Obama. 

“With my vote, the House sent a bill straight to President Obama’s desk that defunds Planned Parenthood and repeals most of Obamacare’s most harmful provisions,” said Congressman Austin Scott.  “By doing this bill through the ‘reconciliation process’, which can only be done once a year, we were able to bypass the 60 vote rule in the Senate and force them to take a vote on defunding Planned Parenthood- something the Senate has never done.  Prohibiting federal funds from going to abortion providers and protecting the unborn at all stages of life are battles I have been fighting long before the atrocious Planned Parenthood videos were circulated.   I am proud to retain the 100% rating that National Right to Life has given me, and I will continue to support pro-life legislation throughout my time in Congress. 

“The Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act is the first bill to make it to the President’s desk that not only defunds Planned Parenthood by eliminating mandatory spending to the organization for one year, but also broadly repeals his harmful healthcare law.  As the House moves forward this year, I want to focus on turning conservative ideas into conservative solutions that benefit American citizens and Georgians back home- not on Obama’s failures or distraction attempts.”

H.R. 3762 reduces the overall size and scope of the federal government by repealing major Obamacare provisions and prohibiting taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.  Specifically, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act repeals the employer and individual mandates, as well as taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act like the “cadillac” and medical device taxes. 

The reconciliation act places a one-year moratorium on federal mandatory funding for Planned Parenthood, blocking federal funding for the organization under Medicaid, CHIP, Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant program. Instead, the legislation provides mandatory funding for the Community Health Center Program for FY 2016 and FY 2017, which provides many critical health care services for women.  According to the Alliance for Defending Freedom and the Charlotte Lozier Institute, “there are currently 13,540 clinics providing comprehensive health care for women, versus 665 Planned Parenthood locations” across the nation.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that H.R. 3762 would reduce the deficit by a total of $516 billion over the FY 2016-2025 period. 

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