00:00I move that the committee report in favor to the House.
00:03The clerk will report the bill.
00:04H.R. 34.
00:05Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and opened for amendment at any point.
00:08The chair now recognizes the gentlelady from Wyoming, Ms. Hageman, for an opening statement.
00:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:15I speak in favor of H.R. 3492, the Protect Children's Innocence Act.
00:22Mr. Chairman, today we are facing one of the greatest crises of our time,
00:26child abuse disguised as medical intervention.
00:30Children are being coerced by adults in positions of authority
00:33into life-altering gender transition procedures
00:37without a full understanding of the meaning or impact.
00:41Democrats have embraced an extreme position on gender
00:44and the biological differences between boys and girls and men and women.
00:49They are clearly more interested in promoting radical leftist policies
00:54than protecting children from harm.
00:57The radical left has deliberately distorted the public debate
01:00surrounding what they refer to as gender-affirming care,
01:04which is really nothing of the sort.
01:07Instead of accurately describing the procedures as harmful,
01:10life-altering, and barbaric, which they are,
01:13the left deceptively frames the procedures as being necessary
01:16to improve the health and well-being of children.
01:19By advocating for these procedures and this level of medical intervention,
01:24Democrats are indoctrinating children
01:26and encouraging them to make life-altering decisions about their body
01:30involving hormones and surgery, jeopardizing their health.
01:35Let's call this for what it is.
01:37So-called gender-affirming care is the genital mutilation
01:41and chemical castration of children.
01:44It is not life-saving care.
01:46It is child abuse.
01:47All evidence points to the fact that these barbaric procedures,
01:51including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries,
01:54are a form of genital mutilation.
01:57More and more individuals who were convinced to go down this road
02:00are now coming forward to share their horrific experiences
02:03of being used as experiments of the medical establishment.
02:07The majority of these brave individuals are girls and women.
02:11The first rule of medicine is do no harm,
02:14yet those in the medical community
02:15performing these grotesque procedures on children
02:18are committing serious harm.
02:20Thankfully, doctors across the United States and in other countries
02:23are also beginning to take a stand
02:25against those in the medical community
02:27who insist that these are, quote,
02:29life-saving procedures and should not be questioned.
02:33Thankfully, my friend and colleague,
02:35Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene,
02:37stepped up and introduced the Protect Children's Innocence Act.
02:40I thank Representative Greene for her important work on this legislation
02:43and for her tireless efforts to protect our children from this evil.
02:48The Protect Children's Innocence Act
02:50will hold those accountable who perform
02:52or attempt to perform genital mutilation
02:55or chemical castration on children.
02:58The bill expends cover defenses to include the bodily mutilation
03:02and the chemical castration of a minor.
03:05Victims are protected by ensuring that they cannot be arrested
03:08or prosecuted if one of these or other prohibited procedures
03:12are performed on them.
03:14This issue is really quite simple.
03:16Do not force children into making decisions
03:18they will not be able to reverse.
03:21Do not make these children lifelong patients
03:23dependent on the medical system.
03:25A civilized society protects its children first
03:29and that is what this bill does.
03:31In short, do not abuse our nation's children.
03:34I urge my colleagues to support this legislation
03:37and I yield back.
03:41The gentlelady yields back.
03:42The gentleman from Maryland is recognized.
03:43Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
03:46We know that one of the basic tactics
03:49in every authoritarian's playbook
03:51is to pick out a small minority group in society
03:54and scapegoat them.
03:56Castigate them.
03:57Demonize them.
03:59Deny them basic rights and freedoms.
04:00Dehumanize them.
04:02Deny their very existence.
04:03Jews and gypsies in Nazi Germany.
04:06Christians in Pakistan today.
04:09African Americans in Jim Crow America.
04:12Gay people in Putin's Russia.
04:15Uyghurs and Tibetans in China.
04:18Just pick out a minority
04:19and mobilize the society against them
04:22and you won't have to answer tough questions
04:25about your own authoritarianism,
04:27your own corruption.
04:29Mr. Chairman,
04:30I had a very disturbing meeting
04:32at the beginning of this Congress
04:33with parents of transgender kids
04:36who came to see me from my district
04:38and I was prepared for them
04:40to be lobbying me on this or that
04:42and I began to talk about different legislation
04:44and they said,
04:45no, we know that you're with us on the legislation.
04:48We're here to ask you
04:50how far you think this campaign is going to go
04:53because a lot of families
04:55have started to leave the country
04:57and are talking about leaving the country,
04:59going to Spain or Portugal or France,
05:02somewhere where their families can feel safe.
05:04And so I was so taken aback
05:07by the conversation
05:08and their true alarm
05:10and what they're reporting about their kids
05:12that I have followed this issue very closely
05:15since the new administration started.
05:19And indeed,
05:20the campaign of demonization
05:23and vilification and scapegoating
05:24began on the very first day in office.
05:26President Trump issued an executive order
05:29denying the very existence
05:31of transgender Americans.
05:33That's an order that George Orwell
05:37would have recognized well.
05:39He purged government websites
05:42of any reference to transgender Americans,
05:44just disappearing them.
05:46He issued an executive order
05:48directing that Americans
05:49serving honorably in the armed forces
05:51for years or decades
05:53be summarily kicked out
05:55for being transgender.
05:57That's right.
05:58A guy who avoided military service himself
06:00because of his serious problem
06:03with bone spurs
06:04and who told Howard Stern
06:07that his Vietnam
06:09was trying to avoid
06:10sexually transmitted diseases
06:12at the discos and clubs
06:14of Manhattan
06:15is now kicking out of the military
06:17thousands
06:18of honorable, patriotic Americans,
06:23more than a thousand,
06:25at least,
06:26who've already been kicked out.
06:27People who have faithfully
06:28and bravely served their country
06:30because of Donald Trump's intent
06:34and determination
06:35to scapegoat these people.
06:37He's threatened to defund schools
06:39just for supporting trans students.
06:41He's trying to bully schools
06:43into banning trans girls
06:44from playing sports
06:45with other girls.
06:47And understand what the Biden policy was.
06:49The Biden policy
06:50was to leave it to the school districts.
06:52No categorical ban
06:55on transgender kids
06:56across the country,
06:58across different school districts,
07:00but it's up to each
07:00elementary school,
07:02middle school,
07:03high school
07:03to work out
07:04those issues for themselves.
07:06Trump's ordered
07:07transgender women
07:08incarcerated
07:08in women's facilities
07:10to be immediately
07:10transferred out
07:11and placed in male facilities,
07:14putting their bodily safety
07:16into jeopardy.
07:19Today,
07:20during Pride Month,
07:21no less,
07:22which is not to imply
07:23that our colleagues
07:24are necessarily celebrating
07:25Pride Month,
07:26but our colleagues
07:28go one step further now
07:29in this cruel campaign.
07:31They seek to deny
07:32transgender youth
07:33access to potentially
07:36life-saving health care,
07:37access to the treatments
07:38and medications
07:39prescribed to them
07:40by their physicians
07:42in accordance with the wishes
07:44of their family,
07:46their parents.
07:48And they do this
07:48while they try to pass
07:50the big, beautiful bill
07:51that will cut health care
07:52to more than 14 million Americans.
07:57For the life of me,
07:58I don't understand
07:59how a party
08:00which prides itself
08:01so much
08:02on the individual's right
08:04to make his or her own decisions,
08:06the family's right
08:07to make the decisions
08:08for their own kids,
08:09so much so
08:10that they would
08:11reject
08:12the obligation
08:14of anybody
08:14to get a vaccine
08:15in the country
08:16at this point
08:17for any purpose.
08:18I understand
08:18it's a principled position.
08:20Now you want to say
08:21that you're going
08:22to make a decision
08:23for a family
08:24and their kids
08:25about how they're
08:27to be raised
08:27and what health care
08:28they need?
08:29Big brother
08:30loves their children
08:31more than they do?
08:32Is that what you're telling us?
08:34I mean, give me a break.
08:36The so-called
08:36Protect Children's Innocence Act
08:38introduced by that
08:40famous advocate
08:41of public health
08:44and children's safety,
08:45Marjorie Taylor Greene,
08:46would make it a crime
08:48for doctors
08:49just to care
08:50for their transgender patients
08:52in accordance
08:53with the wishes
08:53of their families.
08:56All major medical associations
08:57in America agree
08:58evidence-based
08:59gender-affirming care
09:00is necessary
09:01and in many instances
09:02life-saving
09:04for transgender youth.
09:06And while my colleagues
09:07across the aisle today
09:08will likely tell you
09:09there are young people
09:10across the country
09:11being mutilated
09:12by evil, malicious doctors,
09:14that is not
09:15the real story.
09:17Like all medical care,
09:19gender-affirming care
09:20is tailored to the age
09:21and the unique needs
09:23of individual patients
09:24in consultation
09:25with the families,
09:27medical doctors,
09:29mental health professionals.
09:31And I'm sorry,
09:31I trust them more
09:33than I trust
09:34Marjorie Taylor Greene
09:35who has shown nothing
09:36but a spectacular
09:37disrespect
09:38for scientific
09:40professionalism
09:41and expertise
09:42in the United States
09:43of America.
09:45Let's not turn
09:46the Congress
09:47of the United States
09:47into a supreme
09:48medical board
09:50for the country
09:51that will override
09:52not only
09:53the states
09:54and the localities
09:56and the medical associations
09:57and the physicians
09:58but even the wishes
10:00of the parents.
10:01I wish one of my colleagues
10:04would explain that to me
10:05how you expect
10:06Big Brother
10:07to make better decisions
10:09than the families
10:10of the kids involved
10:12in this situation.
10:13It is to elevate
10:14your ideological dogma
10:17over the needs
10:18of real people.
10:21Let's stop attacking
10:22transgender kids.
10:24Let's instead fight
10:26to support the programs
10:27all of us need.
10:29My colleagues voted
10:30for a bill
10:30that threatens health care
10:32for over 37 million children
10:34who rely on Medicaid
10:35and CHIPS,
10:37the Children's Health
10:38Insurance Program.
10:39They supported
10:40cutting benefits
10:41for nearly 15 million children
10:43who rely on SNAP benefits
10:45to get adequate nutrition
10:47in America.
10:48They want to gut
10:48the Department of Education
10:50which ensures
10:51nearly 26 million
10:52low-income students
10:53and 7.5 million students
10:55with disabilities
10:56will have access
10:57to meaningful
10:58educational opportunities.
11:00If we want to talk
11:01about children in America,
11:03let's talk about
11:04children in America.
11:06Let's not demonize
11:07and scapegoat
11:08less than one-half
11:09of 1% of the population.
11:12Somewhere around
11:13a million people
11:14in America
11:14are transgender.
11:16So let's not pounce
11:18on them
11:18and demonize them
11:19and vilify them
11:21and the people
11:21who love them
11:22and who are trying
11:23to take care of them.
11:24This so-called
11:26Protecting Children's
11:27Innocence Act
11:28from Marjorie Taylor Greene
11:29is the latest effort
11:31to attack,
11:33demean,
11:34scapegoat
11:34transgender Americans.
11:36I won't stand for it.
11:37I urge all of our colleagues
11:39to oppose this
11:40and I yield back.
11:45Without objection,
11:46all other opening statements
11:47will be included
11:47in the record.
11:48The chair now recognizes
11:49the gentlelady from Wyoming
11:50to offer an amendment
11:50of the nature of a substitute.
11:52Mr. Chairman,
11:52I have an amendment
11:53at the desk.
11:54The clerk will report
11:55the amendment.
11:57Amendment in the nature
11:58of a substitute.
11:58Without objection,
11:59the amendment
11:59is moved.
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