Bickering Over Abortion Continues Despite Democrats’ Lack Of Appetite To Spar With GOP On Spending Bill
Democratic lawmakers are showing little willingness to dig in over hot-button issues like immigration during such a politically charged election year, but abortion continues to be a sticking point. Meanwhile, conservative groups urge lawmakers not to include a health law "bailout" in the final spending bill.
The Washington Post:
Democrats Show Little Willingness To Fight GOP Ahead Of Spending Deadline
One brewing partisan fight concerns the perennial flash point of abortion politics. The parties are sparring over language pertaining to federal family-planning grants, as well as Republican policy provisions that would block funding for health-care providers that perform abortions, allow health-care providers to opt not to perform procedures they find morally objectionable and bar funding for scientific research using fetal tissue. House Republicans are rejecting a Senate-crafted compromise that seeks to prevent the Trump administration from changing the rules for awarding family-planning and teen pregnancy-prevention grants to favor groups that advocate sexual abstinence over other groups, including Planned Parenthood. Democrats are pushing to preserve that compromise in the final bill. (DeBonis, 3/12)
The Hill:
Conservative Groups Warn Against ObamaCare 'Bailout' In Spending Bill
A coalition of 15 conservative groups wrote to Congress on Monday to urge against including a “bailout” of ObamaCare in the coming government funding bill. The groups are putting pressure on lawmakers amid bipartisan negotiations on providing payments to health insurance companies with the goal of stabilizing markets and lowering premiums. But the conservative groups see those payments as a bailout for the health-care law. (Sullivan, 3/12)
