Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today voted against a budget reconciliation bill being used to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to block funding for Planned Parenthood for one year.

“The continuous attacks on women’s access to healthcare are not only unconscionable, but also a huge waste of time,” DelBene said. “Rather than voting on something we know the President will veto, we should be working on the demands of the American people, such as reauthorizing the Highway Trust Fund, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Export-Import Bank. Instead, we’re spending more time on dangerous legislation that would have a devastating effect on women’s access to preventative care.”

This is the 18th vote Congress has taken this year to limit women’s access to healthcare and the sixth vote to defund Planned Parenthood. 

More than 55 million women across the country are saving on their healthcare costs because of the contraceptive coverage provisions of the ACA. And each year, Planned Parenthood health centers provide essential healthcare, such as cancer screenings and immunizations, to 2.7 million patients.

Due to a lack of support for their partisan measures, Republicans are using a procedural maneuver known as reconciliation to send this legislation to the President’s desk. A budget reconciliation bill needs only a simple-majority to advance in the Senate, instead of 60 votes.

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