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Democrat Laments Abortion Bill Co-Sponsoring Debacle

By Matt Fuller and Hannah Hess and JM Rieger

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Co-sponsoring a bill in Congress doesn’t really mean all that much. But — maybe — it ought to mean a member has agreed to sign on, and will actually sign. At least, that’s the argument Washington Democrat Adam Smith made on the House floor Wednesday. Smith took to the House podium to lambaste co-sponsorship practices after he was accidentally listed as a co-signer of GOP legislation, authored by Tennessee Republican Diane Black, that would prohibit certain funds to abortion clinics. Smith says he never consented to being listed as a co-sponsor — and first found out about the mishap after a pro-life group started praising him. “I just rise about a particular issue that happened to me, and I’m sure has happened to other members that you might not be aware of,” Smith said on the floor Wednesday. “Other members can sign you on to a piece of legislation without your consent.”

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