With the bill headed to the President Obama’s desk the deadline for a long-term funding measure moves to December 11.
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Obama hailed the congressional action.
House Republicans’ flirtation with a government shutdown over their goal of defunding Planned Parenthood isn’t just about Planned Parenthood, but a broader policy agenda that is anti-women’s health, a top progressive House Democrat told Yahoo News Wednesday. And even if the Senate had acted, the House would still have been unable to, getting snarled in attempts to defund Planned Parenthood through the budget process. They say Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains will “pink out” in response to Congress trying to strip them of critical federal funding.
Had the government shutdown, as it did in 2013 over a budget impasse, hundreds of thousands of federal workers could have been furloughed, and government facilities and agencies would have been shuttered temporarily – potentially costing the USA economy billions of dollars.
A Denver spokesperson for the group said politicians in Washington are attacking women’s health care. A few argued that his resignation decreased the odds of a shutdown: The Ohio congressman had been under intense pressure from party members who threatened to give him the boot if he presented any legislation to fund the government without a provision to defund Planned Parenthood.
Tuesday’s hearing came in response to a series of edited, undercover videos posted by an anti-abortion group that purportedly show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal tissue.
Appalled arch-conservatives called for a ban on federal funding for the organisation, and sought to use negotiations over spending as leverage to achieve their goal.
She continued by noting that the House Republican budget cut Title X funding and also slashed by 80 percent money that goes toward a teen-pregnancy protection program, “which means there’s no comprehensive sex education, there’s no sex education and yet there’s no abortion“, Schakowsky said.
The procedural rule governing debate on the bill passed 239-187, with only three Republicans voting against it. But after Senate Democrats rejected the effort last week and it became clear the issue was a non-starter, GOP leaders made a decision to take out the measure. In addition to avoiding another shutdown in December, Democrats and Republicans will also soon have to negotiate a potential raise of the debt ceiling.
Boehner’s departure is set for October 30, and the big question is how hard he will push for Republican priorities, which include boosting defense spending, before he exits Congress.
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For U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., the overriding issue was excessive government spending, not Planned Parenthood funding. Democrats demanding a new budget deal have blocked work in the Senate, while a fight over the Confederate flag halted work in the House with only six of the 12 annual spending bills having passed.
