Providing For Consideration Of Establishing A Select Investigative Panel Of The Committee On Energy And Commerce

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CUMMINGS. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

As the ranking member of the Select Committee on Benghazi and the House Oversight Committee, I rise in
Mr. CUMMINGS. So, again, why do we need this new panel? Based on Planned Parenthood's exemplary record of cooperation, the tens of thousands of pages of documents the organization has produced in response to congressional requests, and the lack of any evidence that the group has violated any laws, there is simply no legitimate basis to adopt this proposal.

strong opposition to this proposal by House Republicans to establish yet another new select panel to ramp up their baseless and politically motivated attacks against Planned Parenthood.

Last week two senior Republicans, both of whom are now competing to become the next Speaker of the House, made stunning admissions on national television within 24 hours of each other.

First, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy admitted that House Republicans established the Benghazi Select Committee to use millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to damage Hillary Clinton's bid for President.

The next day the chairman of the Oversight Committee, Chairman Chaffetz, admitted on national television that there is no evidence that Planned Parenthood has violated any laws, despite months of investigations.

Let me repeat that. The chairman of the chief investigative committee that has been investigating Planned Parenthood for months admitted on national television that there is no evidence that Planned Parenthood violated any laws. His admission is consistent with the findings of multiple State investigations in Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and South Dakota, all of which have cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing.

I ask my colleagues, if the top investigator in the House of Representatives says there is no evidence against Planned Parenthood, why in the world are we considering a proposal to set up a new select panel? I think the answer is the same here as it was with Benghazi. It is simply politics.

These stark Republican admissions obviously argue against continuing with these taxpayer-funded political attacks. Yet, House Republicans are proposing exactly the opposite.

They have already squandered more than $4.5 million on the Benghazi Select Committee in one of the longest, least productive, and most partisan congressional investigations in history.

Now they want to use the same terrible model to attack the rights of millions of women across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings, breast exams, and other critical healthcare services every year.

Planned Parenthood has cooperated with every aspect of the congressional investigations to date. They have produced tens of thousands of pages of documents. Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards testified voluntarily for nearly 5 hours before the Oversight Committee. Even Chairman Chaffetz conceded that she has been ``very cooperative with the investigation.''

Mr. CUMMINGS. So, again, why do we need this new panel? Based on Planned Parenthood's exemplary record of cooperation, the tens of thousands of pages of documents the organization has produced in response to congressional requests, and the lack of any evidence that the group has violated any laws, there is simply no legitimate basis to adopt this proposal.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source