Speaking before the committee, Democratic senator Ben Allen, co-author of the bill, said the amendments "struck a fair balance that provides more options for parents".
Introduced in 1789, what became the Fourth Amendment struck at the heart of a matter central to the early American experience: the principle that, within reason, "Every man's house is his castle," and that any citizen may fall into the category of the criminally accused and ought to be provided protections accordingly.
"This amendment strikes the balance of accomplishing more for the unborn than any other amendment the nation has ever seen, while protecting pregnant women and their right to true medical care.
My amendment strikes the appropriate balance of increasing Federal Reserve transparency while preventing political interference with monetary policy.
When the appropriations bill came to the House floor, Robin Beard, a Tennessee Republican, and I, along with others, offered an amendment striking the funds for the Hart.
Yet the amendment was struck down, first by the California Supreme Court and then by the U.S. Supreme Court, citing a principle established decades earlier by Justice Robert Jackson.
"The role of the federal government should be to audit the results, not to mandate," said Representative Peter Hoekstra, the Michigan Republican who offered the amendment to strike the provision.
The amendment was struck from the defense authorization bill by a vote of 59 to 41, after Republicans and a few Democrats rallied against it, calling the measure ill-timed, ill-advised and a backhanded attempt to change Cuba policy.
The Court also used the amendment to strike down a gerrymander in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).
The amendment was struck down by Graham and fellow Republicans by a count of 46-53.
