Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. I appreciate the time you took to contact my office on this important issue and welcome the opportunity to respond.
As you know, there has been a great degree of disagreement over which provisions should be included as part of any healthcare reform package. H.R. 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act, has a number of questionable provisions - two of which created government programs which would federally subsidize elective abortions.
Once Speaker Pelosi realized that these controversial provisions had produced an uprising from pro-life Democrats that would be strong enough to prevent final passage of her health care bill, she reluctantly allowed a vote on the Stupak/Pitts Amendment. This amendment would prevent insurance plans that receive federal subsidies from covering abortion. You will be happy to know that this amendment passed the House with bipartisan support on November 7, 2009, and was included in the text of H.R. 3962.
While I remain firmly opposed to H.R. 3962, you will be happy to know that I voted in favor of this important bipartisan, pro-life amendment. No matter where a Member falls on the political spectrum, it is abhorrent to think of taxpayers being forced to pay for abortions. Moving forward, you can be certain that I will oppose any health reform bill that funds abortions with taxpayer subsidies.
Throughout my tenure in public service, I have always kept an open door and an open dialogue with my constituents. As Congress addresses the many challenges facing our nation, I hope you will continue to share your thoughts and views with me. Accordingly, I encourage you to visit my Web site at http://brown-waite.house.gov to email me and find useful information about our 5th Congressional District.
It is my honor and privilege to serve the people of Florida's 5th Congressional District and my offices and staff are here to provide you with any assistance you may need.
Sincerely,
Ginny Brown-Waite
Member of Congress
