(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on Friday at an event marking the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion, that there is a majority in Congress who want to stop giving federal funds to Planned Parenthood but the “missing ingredient” is a president who is pro-life.
“Right now there’s not a two-thirds vote in Congress, but we have proven there is a majority in Congress – both House and Senate,” Scalise said when asked by CNSNews.com about the significance of the planned vote in the House to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the reconciliation bill that would have stopped federal funding of the nation’s largest abortion provider for one year.
“And so that’s the missing ingredient right now is getting a president who is pro-life – who will sign that bill into law,” said Scalise, who was one of the speakers at the Family Research Council’s ProLifeCon 2016 event.
Scalise said that although there is not the needed two-third required majority in either the House or the Senate to override Obama’s veto, the passage of the reconciliation bill puts members on “record” for their position on defunding Planned Parenthood so that Americans can see “how every single House member and every single senator voted specifically on the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood.”
“I’m not talking about a bill that combines $4 trillion worth of things, including some items,” Scalise said. “I’m talking about a single, stand-alone vote on Planned Parenthood.
“We had that vote, and you can see where every member of Congress stands on that one issue,” he said, “and again it underscores to the country that if you had a president that was willing to sign it, you could actually get it into law, not just on his desk.
“We all know how our system of government works. If a president vetoes a bill, you need a two-third vote to override it,” Scalise said. “Right now there’s not a two-third vote in Congress, but we have proven there is a majority in Congress – both House and Senate -- and so that’s the missing ingredient right now is getting a president who is pro-life, who will sign that bill into law.”
On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced that the House would vote next Tuesday to override Obama’s veto of the reconciliation bill.
“Next week’s vote comes just days after the annual March for Life,” Ryan said in a press release. “Tens of thousands of participants will fly in from across the country, from all different walks of life, to rally in support of the unborn.
“This year’s march brings a renewed urgency following the gruesome videos released last year, which showed Planned Parenthood and its affiliates casually discussing trafficking in baby body parts,” the press release stated.
“Here in the House, we have established a special panel focused on investigating this practice,” Ryan said. “In the meantime, we don’t believe taxpayers should fund any organization potentially complicit in these disturbing allegations.
“That’s why this bill defunds Planned Parenthood and redirects that money to community health centers,” he added.