Rules Committee reports House Resolution 117 after 18-15 votes on amendment and final report

The Rules Committee voted to adopt Amendment A00220 to House Resolution 117 (Printer's No. 955) and then reported the resolution out of committee, with both votes recorded at 18 in favor and 15 opposed.

Committee members debated the language of the amendment, which the chair described as adding references to official studies and deleting a paragraph from the resolution. Some members said the amended language was intended to acknowledge documented disparities in maternal care; others said parts of the language could be read as casting a cloud over current providers serving underserved communities.

An unidentified committee member who spoke during debate said, “I would absolutely support a resolution honoring African American midwives and and what they have done as particularly in underserved areas in our population,” but added that the existing language “could cast a cloud over some of our current providers also working very diligently in underserved populations.” That speaker named Fulton County Medical Center and the Hyman area health center as examples of providers serving underserved areas. The speaker concluded, “Republicans will be a no on the amendment.”

The author of the amendment, speaking later, said the change “attempts to strike a balance between ensuring that there are no unintentional aspersions and more importantly, noting, as noted by numerous official studies, the genuine disparities that certain members of our community, including African Americans, unquestionably face, especially in the area of birth and midwifery.” The author said Democrats would vote in favor of the amendment.

The committee recorded the amendment vote as 18 ayes and 15 nays; the chair then called for a vote to report the resolution as amended. The secretary announced that all Democrats voted yes and Republicans voted no; the ayes totaled 18 and the nays 15. The committee reported House Resolution 117 as amended.

The chair described the resolution at the meeting as honoring “Black Midwest Day in Pennsylvania.” Comments from members during debate framed the resolution as honoring African American midwives and addressing disparities in maternal care. The record therefore contains differing characterizations of the subject of the resolution.

There were no recorded amendments beyond A00220, no roll-call listing of individual member votes in the transcript beyond the party-line description, and no direction issued for further staff work or implementation in the excerpted record. The committee adjourned after reporting the resolution.