WASHINGTON, D.C.– (ENEWSPF)–June 8, 2016. Today, Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky and leading Democratic members introduced a resolution to disband the Select Investigative Panel, which was established by House Republicans as a political weapon to attack women’s health, target health care providers, and intimidate scientists seeking to understand and ultimately cure life-threatening diseases. Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Diana DeGette, Jackie Speier, Suzan K. DelBene, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Frank Pallone, Jr., John Conyers, Elijah Cummings, and Louise Slaughter are original cosponsors of the legislation.
“This Select Panel is a dangerous attack on women, their health care providers and scientific research,” said Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky. “This McCarthy-like Republican witch hunt is putting lives not just livelihoods at risk. Today, I stand with my colleagues to introduce a resolution that will disband this partisan Republican Select Panel without further delay before more damage is done and more lives are put at risk.”
“Ever since its creation, Republicans’ Select Panel to Attack Women’s Health’s sole purpose has been to drive an outrageous campaign of misrepresentation and intimidation,” said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. “Now, Republicans are engaged in abuses that have not been seen on Capitol Hill since the days of Joseph McCarthy. Republicans’ Select Panel is disgraceful, dangerous, and should be disbanded immediately.”
“The Oversight Committee already spent months investigating allegations against Planned Parenthood and concluded that they were completely baseless, and Chairman Chaffetz conceded on national television that we found no wrongdoing whatsoever,” said Ranking Member Cummings. “Yet, to this day, neither the Oversight Committee nor the Select Panel has taken testimony from David Daleiden—the radical extremist whose group engaged in a host of potentially illegal activities targeting Planned Parenthood and other health care providers. There was absolutely no reason for House Republicans to set up yet another taxpayer-funded panel to attack women’s health and women’s rights, and its actions to date have been disgraceful. It is time to bring this abuse to an end.”
“The Select Panel has never been fair or fact-based. Every day that its baseless investigation continues, tax dollars are wasted and women, scientists, and health care providers are put at risk in a way that smacks of Joseph McCarthy. It’s beyond time to finally end this dangerous, partisan witch hunt,” said Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules.
“The Select Panel’s dangerous and outrageous actions must come to an end,” said Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Pallone. “This panel should have never been created in the first place, but the panel’s attempts to use the playbook of Senator Joe McCarthy are a disgrace and should not be allowed to continue.”
“The Select Panel serves little worthwhile function,” said Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. “Its principle purpose appears to be to engage in sustained attacks on women’s health care and rights. I’m particularly concerned about the Select Panel’s continuing recent publication of unredacted researcher and clinical staff names. This appears to be an effort to intimidate medical providers and may well put lives at risk.”
Source: http://www.schakowsky.house.gov
