Posted on 09/18/2015 11:54:31 AM PDT by markomalley
The House voted Friday to block hundreds of Planned Parenthood clinics from getting federal funds for one year, a vote that was meant to deliver a strong rebuke to the country's largest abortion provider, and also help avert a government shutdown.
The measure passed 241-187 Friday morning with the support of just two Democrats, and three Republicans voted against it. It would halt roughly $500 million in federal funds, mostly through Medicaid and family planning dollars, to nearly 700 Planned Parenthood clinics around the country, unless the chain of women's health clinics agrees to stop offering the procedure.
It's similar to a bill Senate Republicans attempted to hold a vote on last month, although that one didn't set a one-year time limit and it explicitly clarified that federal funds would be made available to community health providers instead.
House Republicans were also joined by five Democrats Friday to pass a separate measure from Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., which would let states strip Medicaid funds from health providers suspected of violating a 2002 law extending legal protection to an infant born alive after a botched abortion. That bill passed 248-177.
The White House has said it would veto both bills.
The Planned Parenthood defunding measures were prompted by undercover footage from anti-abortion investigator David Daleiden highlighting how some of its clinics supply aborted fetal tissue to human tissue companies. The videos have sparked outrage among abortion opponents and reinvigorated efforts to strip the group of federal funds.
"Some of my colleagues have tried to dismiss these videos even without ever watching them," said Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., the bill's sponsor. "I did watch these videos and I saw full conversations of Planned Parenthood employees in their own words discussing potentially law-breaking activities."
The videos don't prove Planned Parenthood broke any laws, but they do raise questions. Republicans, who are probing the group through congressional investigations, insist there's enough uncertainty to defund the group immediately, and the bill is designed to stop funds while congressional committees investigate.
"There are more than enough lingering questions to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to this abortion giant until this work is complete," Black said.
Republican anger is so great that many say they won't support a bill to fully fund the government unless it prohibits Planned Parenthood from any federal dollars. The House could vote on a government funding bill by next week.
By holding the stand-alone vote this week, Republican leaders bought themselves some time to resolve their intra-party, conservative-led dispute on whether some will insist on additional defunding language in the funding bill.
After Friday's House votes, the Planned Parenthood fight will move to the Senate, which is expected next week to consider a spending bill with a defunding measure attached, although Republicans admit they'll almost certainly fall short of the 60 votes needed to pass it. Then the major question will be whether Republican and Democratic leaders in both chambers can negotiate a spending bill if conservatives don't give any ground.
House Democrats were outraged by the Friday vote, and defended Planned Parenthood's work providing non-abortion healthcare services to poor women. They also accused Republicans of pushing the issue to shut down the government.
"Let's not continue this deception," said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "The Republicans just want to shut the government down if we don't defund Planned Parenthood, that's what this is all about."
Planned Parenthood is already prohibited by federal law from using taxpayer dollars on most abortion services, and half of its clinics don't perform abortions at all. But Republicans say that's a minor distinction since federal funding is the group's largest pot of money.
Abortion-themed debates are typically highly charged in Congress, but lawmakers appeared especially at odds Friday, as they bashed each other for their respective positions.
"We are seeing shamelessness here on the floor today," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.
"I will never be ashamed of standing up to defend life, ever," replied Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Worthless! Even IF it gets passed by the senate 0bozo will veto it
It will be “vetoed” by McWorm, first.
“”We are seeing shamelessness here on the floor today,” said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.”
Hardly competes with her explanation for why a magazine ban is a good idea:
“These are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them, so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high-capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.”
And yes, she does deserve to be slapped in the face with this every time her name comes up.
Can we at least try? We can’t live with this atrocity.
I thought the House dictates funding. Period. That the Senate OR the president has no veto rights. I’m wrong I guess.
Thanks for posting this. I had no idea she had said it. When I think of the dumbest Dumbcrap, Barbara Boxer, Barbara Mikulski, Patty (”after all, salmon are vegetables, too”) Murray and Amy (”it is the role of gov’t. to make people happy”) Klobuchar.
Correct-a-mundo!!
Oh you’re not a republi can’t ?
JOHN BOEHNER: The Very Best DemocRAT Speaker Ever!
DING!
DING!
DING!
WE HAVE A WINNER FOR POST OF THE DAY!
New Word For FR Lexicon!
Republican't
How about Republiwon’t?
Obama vetos, Government shutdown is on him. GOP Should buy TV time that Obama caused the shutdown of these Planned Parentood hags and their Mengele acts.
Kick ‘em all out. Cowards!
Okay, I don’t understand. Isn’t this backward. Doesn’t the house have to vote to fund PP? Is funding of PP the default mode?
Start praying.
REALLY? You can only stop the funding for MURDER of the INNOCENT for 1 Year!!! THIS IS A DISGRACE!
And Yet there still is no Definite “We Will Not Fund Planned Parent hood MURDERERS” from the GOP. This is the Most Basic Message and the Easiest to give, yet they CANNOT do it!!!
EVIL! Murder of the Innocent!
Life Begins at Conception, for without that single moment in time, when Man, Women, and God Intertwine, No other Moment is possible for that Individual!
More Evidence of the Evil Planned Parenthood and a story that has repetition to it. How can anyone protect such EVIL???
PLANNED PARENTHOOD is EVIL, It was Started with EVIL Intent and it is living up to its INTENT!
ALL LIVES MATTER!!!
Read the Words and Open you Minds and Hearts the TRUTH is EASY to Understand!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are LIFE, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
From the The Declaration of Independence.
The Enemy is within and until we deal with that Enemy we will Never be able to Deal with the Enemy’s outside the Nation!
God Bless
Better than nothing and far more than I expected considering the foul leadership, now it goes to the weak and beggarly we can’t do that Senate, obama will veto, in the words of the teary eyed head shaking Linda Grahmnasty... we can’t, we can’t, we just can’t do it.
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