AIHouse Rules Committee sets floor rules for pregnancy-related and Minnesota mining bills

House Rules and Floor ProcedureHouse Rules · 2026-01-20 · 119th Congress
The House Rules Committee met to set the terms of floor debate for three measures: H.R. Begins at 0:05:00
Transcript
Highlights

Title

House Rules Committee sets floor rules for pregnancy-related and Minnesota mining bills

Purpose

The House Rules Committee met to set the terms of floor debate for three measures: H.R. 6945 (Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act), H.R. 6359 (Pregnant Students' Rights Act), and H.J. Res. 140, a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn a Bureau of Land Management public land order withdrawing mineral development near the Superior National Forest/Boundary Waters in Minnesota. Republicans framed the bills as expanding support for pregnant women, students, and domestic mineral security, while Democrats argued the package redirects funding to unregulated "crisis pregnancy centers," weakens abortion-related information for students, and reverses environmental protections for the Boundary Waters. The committee heard witness panels, debated amendments, and voted on rules for each bill. Begins at0:05:00

Who spoke

The Chair0:05:00: Opened the meeting by outlining the three measures under consideration, describing H.R. 6945 as redirecting TANF funds to pregnancy resource centers0:05:29, H.R. 6359 as requiring colleges to inform students of pregnancy-related rights0:06:14, and H.J. Res. 140 as disapproving a Biden-era land withdrawal near the Superior National Forest0:06:57.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Ranking Member0:09:09: Argued the week's agenda helps "the powerful while doing nothing" for regular families, calling H.R. 6359 and H.R. 6945 vehicles to redirect resources to "anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers"0:09:28; devoted much of his opening statement to criticizing President Trump's rhetoric on Greenland and NATO and tariff policy0:11:271:39:13; later pressed Rep. Smith on oversight of pregnancy centers and repeatedly questioned Republicans' inaction on expiring tariffs and health-insurance tax credits1:41:04.

Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN)0:16:53: Testified in support of H.J. Res. 140, saying critical mineral demand is projected to rise 50% by 20400:17:37 and that the Duluth Complex contains the largest untapped U.S. copper-nickel deposit, with 95% of the nation's nickel reserves0:19:29; said former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's 2023 withdrawal covered 225,504 acres and was not properly transmitted to Congress0:18:340:19:56; cited an estimated 2,200 direct mining jobs versus seasonal tourism jobs paying less0:37:30; noted the proposed mine's owner is a Chilean company and its copper would currently be smelted overseas, including possibly China0:49:19.

A witness testifying against H.J. Res. 1400:22:49: Called the resolution an "outrageous abuse" of the Congressional Review Act, arguing the Boundary Waters is the nation's most-visited wilderness area and that mining would risk permanent pollution of the watershed0:23:150:24:36; said the withdrawal is popular in Minnesota and that mineral security concerns do not require reopening this specific area0:26:46.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)0:31:57: Questioned whether reversing the land order would let future administrations bypass normal regulatory review before allowing mining0:32:56, warning that repealing the order without a similar process "sweeps away" the work of balancing affected interests0:35:12.

Rep. Jack0:36:09: Asked Stauber to walk through the economic and labor benefits of allowing the mine to proceed, citing a Canadian gold mine permitted within three years as a comparison0:39:06; noted building-trades unions in the Iron Range support the project0:38:17.

Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA)0:44:02: Pressed Stauber on how many tourism-related jobs could be lost if mining polluted the Boundary Waters watershed, contrasting the 2,200 estimated mining jobs with a larger recreation economy0:46:540:47:51.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Education & Workforce Chairman0:52:20: Introduced H.R. 6359, saying pregnant students often don't know what Title IX accommodations (excused absences, etc.) are available to them0:52:45, and that the bill requires colleges to share information on campus and community resources0:53:17.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Education & Workforce Ranking Member0:54:10: Argued the bill provides only one-sided information steering students toward carrying a pregnancy to term while omitting information on miscarriage care or medically necessary abortion0:56:251:11:01; cited data that pregnancy-related complications requiring hospitalization rose more than 50% in some states after abortion bans0:55:22; compared the bill to telling a cancer patient about only one treatment option1:11:53; also noted OCR has lost roughly 5,000 staff and has thousands of open Title IX complaints, undermining enforcement of any new disclosure requirement1:04:50.

Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), Ways & Means Chairman, witness1:24:38: Testified in support of H.R. 6945, saying pregnancy resource centers aided nearly 2 million people in 2024 with an estimated value over $400 million in services1:24:381:25:04, and that states such as Nebraska should be allowed to use TANF funds for such centers.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)1:26:34: Opposed H.R. 6945, saying the bill would exempt states from oversight of TANF dollars going to "crisis pregnancy centers" that use deceptive tactics and provide false medical information1:27:501:28:38; cited a study finding fewer than half of surveyed centers gave medically accurate information1:30:33; described specific cases including a Massachusetts woman with a missed ectopic-pregnancy diagnosis and a Kentucky whistleblower complaint2:05:252:06:27.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)2:07:57: Defended pregnancy resource centers as providing free diapers, classes, and long-term family support, describing a personal account of a family helped over many years2:08:292:13:05; argued centers must already follow state licensing and medical-practice laws2:11:18.

Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), witness2:29:41: Opposed H.R. 6945, saying the administration has withheld TANF funding from certain states and that child-care instability increases risk of child maltreatment2:33:382:34:08; said hundreds of nonprofits in Illinois are affected when TANF funds are delayed2:33:38.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), witness2:36:22: Offered a "committee amendment" on H.R. 6945 aimed at securing TANF child-care funding, saying TANF was designed to help parents work rather than fund unrelated "shoehorned" purposes2:37:222:39:56; described law-enforcement-style visits to child-care centers in Minnesota, Washington and Maine demanding records2:37:492:38:18.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA)2:47:42: Moved the rule providing floor consideration for H.R. 6945, H.R. 6359, and H.J. Res. 140, each under a closed or structured rule waiving points of order2:47:42.

Key moments

Stauber said the 2023 land withdrawal covers 225,504 acres in an area containing 95% of U.S. nickel reserves and the largest untapped copper-nickel deposit, and quoted former Secretary Deb Haaland as saying "there were [no] critical minerals" there0:19:020:19:56.

Stauber acknowledged, under questioning from Rep. Randall, that the mining company behind the project is Chilean-owned and its copper would currently be processed overseas rather than in the U.S.0:49:190:49:48.

Scanlon warned that overturning the order without a comparable regulatory process sets "a terrifying precedent," saying decades of new scientific understanding about watershed pollution could be ignored1:34:170:35:12.

On H.R. 6359, Rep. Scott argued the bill only lists information supporting carrying a pregnancy to term while omitting information on miscarriage care or medically indicated abortion, comparing it to telling a cancer patient about only one treatment0:56:251:11:53; Walberg responded the bill "reaffirms Title IX" and does not prohibit sharing additional information1:17:30.

Rep. Chu cited a study finding fewer than half of surveyed pregnancy centers gave medically accurate information, and described a Massachusetts case in which a woman's ectopic pregnancy was reportedly missed at such a center1:30:332:05:25.

Rep. Fischbach and Chairman Smith both argued crisis pregnancy centers already operate under existing state licensing and medical-practice laws and should not be singled out for extra TANF restrictions2:11:180:32:26.

Rep. Danny Davis testified that HHS withheld TANF payments from certain states, calling it unlawful, and said hundreds of Illinois nonprofits and families were affected by disrupted child-care funding2:32:182:33:38.

Rep. Gwen Moore's amendment described federal agents allegedly visiting child-care centers in Minnesota, Washington, and Maine demanding records and access to children, which she said intimidates TANF-funded child-care providers2:37:492:38:41.

A Republican-offered amendment on H.R. 6945 to bar TANF funds from any pregnancy center found by a state to have provided "misleading" medical information failed on a roll-call vote2:50:092:51:45.

McGovern pressed Chairman Smith on why a Republican-led "working group" on tariffs, promised months earlier, had reportedly never actually met, and noted the House majority had blocked four separate votes on resolutions to terminate the tariffs1:42:221:52:01.

Metadata

Official titleH.R. 6945 – Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act; H.R. 6359 – Pregnant Students’ Rights Act; H.J. Res. 140 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN.
CommitteeHouse Rules
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
Date2026-01-20
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript387 caption blocks · 12,224 words · 2:53:24 runtime
EventCongress.gov 118886