HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Jun 24, 2008 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement today after Democratic leaders abruptly pulled the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act (H.R. 5876) from the House floor after many rank-and-file Democrats prepared to support a Republican motion to recommit proposal to ensure that a residential treatment facility under the bill would have to obtain parental or legal guardian consent before giving children any new prescription medication, including contraception:

“The Democrats in charge of this Congress continue to prove just how out-of-touch with the American people they really are.  Rank-and-file Democrats were prepared to join with House Republicans in support of parental rights, but the Democratic leadership thwarted their will – and, frankly, the will of the American people – by abruptly pulling this bill from the House floor.  Let’s be clear: the Democratic leadership stood firmly against the rights of parents today.  The Republican motion simply would have required certain residential treatment facilities to obtain parental consent before providing their children medication or contraception.  The House Democratic leaders were so opposed to this simple and straightforward change to the legislation – and one that an overwhelming majority of parents would support – that they derailed a key piece of legislation in order to block it.  That’s not the kind of leadership the American people expect from their leaders in Washington.”

NOTE: Under the bill, parents are required to disclose to the facility in writing all medications their child is taking.  However, the bill does not contain any safeguards to ensure that parents give consent to any new or changed medication by the treatment facility during the stay of their child.

House Democratic leaders have pulled nine bills from the House schedule since the start of the 110th Congress.  Following is a brief summary of each.

March 22, 2007: District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (H.R. 1433) – Democrats abruptly pulled the bill from the House floor to avoid voting on a GOP motion to recommit to restore Second Amendment rights to D.C. residents.

September 14, 2007: Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 811) – Democrats placed this measure on the official House schedule for the week of September 17, 2007.  However, the bill was pulled from the schedule after it drew unexpected opposition among House Democrats.  Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) told the Washington Post the bill would “inadvertently cause more disenfranchisement than it would solve.”  The measure has languished ever since.

October 17, 2007: Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act (H.R. 3773) – Democrats abruptly pulled the bill from the House floor to avoid voting on a Republican motion to recommit that would ensure our intelligence community can conduct surveillance on Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda, or any other foreign terrorist organization targeting America for attack.

February 26, 2008: Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act (H.R. 3251) – Democrats abruptly pulled this bill from the House floor to avoid voting on a Republican motion to recommit that would ensure every American citizen – including those who reside in public housing – can exercise his or her Second Amendment rights.

February 27, 2008: Establishing within the House of Representatives an Office of Congressional Ethics (H. Res. 895) – Because of internal dissention within their own caucus and a stronger alternative put forth by Republicans, Democratic leaders pulled the outside ethics entity proposal from the schedule because it does not have sufficient votes for passage.

March 5, 2008: Bipartisan Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Modernization Bill (S. 2248) – Despite hamstringing our intelligence officials by blocking the bipartisan Senate FISA bill since the Protect America Act expired three weeks ago, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) pulled FISA legislation from the House schedule and postponed consideration until next week.

March 5, 2008:  Establishing within the House of Representatives an Office of Congressional Ethics (H.Res. 895) – Because of internal dissention within their own caucus and a stronger alternative put forth by Republicans, Democratic leaders again pulled the outside ethics entity proposal from the schedule because it does not have sufficient votes for passage.

March 6, 2008: Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act (H.R. 2857) – Democrats abruptly pulled the bill from the House floor to avoid voting on a GOP motion to recommit that would bar murders and sex offenders from volunteering through any federally-funded national service positions, including Americorps. 

June 24, 2008: Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act (H.R. 5876) – Though rank-and-file Democrats were prepared to join Republicans in support of a proposal to promote parental rights, the Majority pulled the bill to avoid voting on the GOP motion to recommit that would ensure that a residential treatment facility under this bill would have to obtain parental or legal guardian consent before giving children any new prescription medication, including contraception.

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