The same week he was sworn in, Rep. Cliff Bentz, Oregon’s newest member of Congress from the 2nd district, signed a letter to Congressional leadership pledging support for the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment is a long-standing bipartisan policy preventing federal tax dollars from funding abortions – a policy that President Biden supported until his recent run for President.
In the letter, Bentz and 199 other pro-life members of Congress pledged to vote against any “government funding bill that eliminates or weakens the Hyde Amendment or other current-law, pro-life appropriations provisions.” Bentz, an attorney from Ontario, has been true to his commitment, voting against two COVID-19 relief packages that did not include Hyde protections.
Congressional leadership continues to push policies that expand abortion and limit the rights of pro-life Americans to advocate for pro-life policies. There have been five votes deemed “scorecard” votes by the National Right to Life Committee. In all five, Bentz voted pro-life. This record is especially noteworthy, as the current House leadership is doing their best to frame issues in ways that obscure the impact on abortion policy.
“I hope that Oregonians will recognize the steady and consistent leadership of Congressman Bentz,” says Lois Anderson, the executive director of Oregon Right to Life. “He is thoughtful, deliberative and steadfast in his commitment to the protection of human life from fertilization to natural death.”
