Posted on 08/30/2015 6:01:05 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
With each new release of undercover videos from Center for Medical Progress, political pressure has ramped up on Republican leadership in Congress to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Members of the House GOP caucus now say that a bill to at least stop funds for a year will be introduced after the recess, and leadership has committed to getting a floor vote on it:
House Republican leaders are planning a vote to freeze funding for Planned Parenthood this fall, according to GOP aides, a move that could help mitigate an inter-party battle and avoid a government shutdown.
“We’re encouraged to know there will be a vote this fall, whether it’s our bill or something that is similar,” a spokesman for Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) said Friday.
A bill to defund Planned Parenthood is expected to come up for a vote shortly after lawmakers return from recess, aides said. It would likely take the form of legislation from Black which would block federal funding to Planned Parenthood for one year, although leaders are still weighing their options.
The Hill’s Sarah Ferris calls this “a change of tune” for John Boehner, who wanted to wait for a Congressional investigation to finish before pushing a bill on defunding. Boehner feels that some Democrats may come with the GOP to cut off Planned Parenthood’s funding if the process played out to its conclusion. That’s certainly debatable — Democrats want to use this issue to revive the War on Women meme — but it may be why Black’s bill suspends funding for one year. That could be a compromise that will allow Congressional committees to continue their investigations. Don’t expect too many Democrats to buy that either, but it answers the demand coming from the rank and file to do something about Planned Parenthood.
Don’t expect a shutdown fight over it, though. Even Black doesn’t support that kind of a strategy, claiming that would invert the budget process:
“I’m not in the shut down government camp. That is not the way to get to the bottom of this issue, by shutting down the government,” the three-term lawmaker said. “It puts the president in charge instead of the legislature.”
A shutdown also wouldn’t cut off most of the federal funds that Planned Parenthood receives. It gets most of that cash through Medicaid reimbursements, which continue to operate as statutory entitlements even when shutdowns occur. (The same is true for Social Security and Medicare; expenditures for these entitlement programs are authorized by statute and not budget appropriations.) The rest of the funding comes from Title X family-planning programs for low-income women, which is appropriated and can be spent under conditions set by Congress in each budget year. Congress can do more through legislation to curtail all of it, or force Obama to veto it and explain why the federal government is funding a private enterprise that conducts organ harvesting for income.
Ferris says that the strategy on this effort won’t be fully set until after the recess. Let’s keep the pressure on.
More than ever and hard as it may be we gotta primary these GOPe frauds right out of office. Make them lame ducks and replace with patriots. A tall but necessary order. No more sending messages-—replace with messengers. Out with the old, in with the bold.
Like they repealed and defunded obamacare?
Reminds me of the cartoon character “Wimpy” whose tag line is “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
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“Wimpy” .... pun intended? LOL!
RE: Like they repealed and defunded obamacare?
How do you do that without going through a shutdown?
“House GOP leadership: We’ll vote to defund Planned Parenthood this fall”
Of course they will, because they know it will be blocked in the Senate. The only way to stop any part of obama’s agenda, is to omit its funding from spending authority bills and then keep repassing the same bills each time immediately after obama veto’s them and lay the blame on obama for shutting the government down.
Of course the spinless GOPe would never do that, because they think they can still dupe enough ignorant GOP voters into thinking that by passing meaningless bills that will never reach obama’s desk means they are trying really, really hard to stop obama, but it’s just not possible.
What does it mean to “freeze funding”? Does that just mean to keep funding at current levels? Congress should simply not include pp in the next budget.
Whenever I read about Republicans trying to pass legislation popular with their base, I can’t help think of a scene in the Simpson’s Movie. They erect a small wall to stop people from dumping in the lake. They call Cletus to test it. He is carrying a opossum, or rat, or something. He bumps into the waist high wall, and looks befuddled. He bumps into it a second time, and then says, “Aw caint, aw jest caint.”
I can’t help but think of this scene every time I watch McConnell try to pass legislation that isn’t favored by Democrats.
Bingo! The GOPe believe they can fool us yet again with another doomed show vote. They chickened out of attaching an amendment to a recent "must pass" transportation funding bill, opting instead for a rigged Senate show vote in which McConnell himself voted against defunding the death camps. Ted Cruz is right - the Republican leadership is playing for the other team.
Has anyone ask why this Fall? Why not now?
Yes, this is a ‘Show Vote’ because it will be a standalone bill that Obama can easily veto. It won’t be attached to any must-pass bill such as the Highway Bill or the upcoming Budget/CROmnibus Bill.
And yes, it is correct to point out that Boehner will back this doomed stand-alone bill to distract from a vote to remove him from the Speakership.
Nevermind..i get it..budget cycle.
Still, they accomplished ANYTHING in the last decade of note?
What has changed that would lead anyone to believe they will accomplish this or anything else..???
Public hanging is to good for most of them.
RE: Has anyone ask why this Fall? Why not now?
Congress is not in session.
Especially when it get framed in the press as: a vote to hurt womyn’s health. Someone should counter it is akin to saying Germany had a population crisis in the 30s so they opened concentration camps.
By the way, attaching Mike Lee’s amendment the to the Senate version of that “must pass” bill required only 10 votes — but there were not even ten righteous men found in the Senate on that day. Sound familiar? Prepare for the judgment of a righteous God!
Yep, got it.
Agent Orange?
It already has a nasty reputation and no one can convince me that Boehner is not an Obama operative.
Donald Trump can bring the Press to bear responsibility if they run with it as an attack on Women’s Health.
Donald Trump’s wife Melania is from central Europe where Christianity is still strong and abortion on demand is still viewed as a horror. I will bet she is very conservative on this issue and doesn’t buy for a minute the twisting of ‘abortion’ on demand into a ‘women’s health’ issue.
I will bet Melania, who bore with Donald a 9-year old son, has been a force in his conversion to pro-life.
I detect the faint whif of BS to that claim.
Of course. They’ll do yet another show bill. Because the so called pro life gop will not tie it to the budget, planned infanticide will continue to be funded.
Understanding the scum that runs the gop isn’t that hard. Just think like coward and a traitor and it becomes pretty obvious as to what they’ll do.
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