Defunding Planned Parenthood Will Be Part Of Obamacare Repeal Bill, Ryan Says
Republicans plan to strip the women's health organization of federal money as part of its effort to repeal the health law, according to the House Speaker.
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP Makes Fresh Effort To End Federal Funding For Planned Parenthood
That bill will use a budget maneuver known as reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass legislation with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes typically needed. A similar clause stripping hundreds of millions of dollars away from Planned Parenthood appeared in a similar 2015 reconciliation bill, which passed both chambers of congress but which President Barack Obama vetoed. (Hackman, 1/5)
The Associated Press:
Ryan: GOP To 'Defund' Planned Parenthood In Obamacare Repeal
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday Republicans would strip federal dollars for Planned Parenthood as part of the GOP effort to repeal the health care law, prompting an outcry from the century-old organization and Democrats promising to fight the move. Ryan spoke a day after a special House panel issued a report criticizing the organization, which provides birth control, abortions and various women's health services, for its practices regarding providing tissue from aborted fetuses to researchers. (Taylor, 1/5)
CNN:
Paul Ryan: GOP Will Defund Planned Parenthood
A push by Republican congressional leaders to defund Planned Parenthood could threaten passage of their top-priority legislation to repeal Obamacare because of opposition to the anti-abortion provision by two key GOP senators. House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Thursday that Republicans will move to strip all federal funding for Planned Parenthood as part of the process they are using early this year to dismantle Obamacare. (Walsh, Barrett and Raju, 1/5)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Ryan: GOP To ‘Defund’ Planned Parenthood In Obamacare Repeal
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that Republicans would cut federal money for Planned Parenthood as part of their repeal of Obamacare — a move that could affect 50,000 Wisconsin patients of the group. Planned Parenthood has 21 clinics in Wisconsin providing services such as contraceptives, screening for cervical cancer and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, with the majority of its patients covered through state and federal Medicaid programs. (Stein, 1/5)
CQ HealthBeat:
Republicans Seek To Defund Planned Parenthood In Repeal Bill
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Thursday said Republicans would act to defund Planned Parenthood in upcoming legislation to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature health law. “The Planned Parenthood legislation would be in our reconciliation bill,” the Wisconsin Republican said at his weekly news conference in response to a question regarding how the GOP would seek to defund the women’s health care organization. A provision to defund Planned Parenthood for one year was included in the bill that Congress cleared last year to repeal the 2010 health care overhaul (PL 111-148, PL 111-152) that Obama vetoed. (Williams, 1/5)
Planned Parenthood, Democrats, and at least one Republican, voice objections to the move —
Morning Consult:
Democrats Vow To Fight Planned Parenthood Defunding
Abortion rights groups and Democrats are girding for another battle over Planned Parenthood after House Speaker Paul Ryan said the House GOP conference plans to include provisions to defund the women’s health service provider in its legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. ... While the GOP may be able to pass their plan in the House without support from Democrats, it could prove a roadblock to Obamacare repeal in the Senate. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, told reporters Thursday she was “not happy” about Ryan’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood. (Yokley, 1/5)
The Hill:
GOP Senator: Don't Link Planned Parenthood To ObamaCare Repeal
Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) is signaling she doesn't want congressional efforts to repeal ObamaCare tied to ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood. "Obviously I'm not happy to hear that the Speaker wants to include defunding of Planned Parenthood, an extremely controversial issue, in the package," Collins told reporters on Thursday. But she stopped short of saying the provision, if included, would force her to vote against the measure, pledging that she would "wait and see what happens." (Carney, 1/5)
The Hill:
Top Dem Senator To Trump: Weigh In On Planned Parenthood Fight
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to weigh in on a looming fight over Planned Parenthood. "I would ask the president elect to Twitter very loudly tomorrow morning ... that he stands behind women and that he wants to see the House back down," the No. 3 Senate Democrat told reporters. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said earlier Thursday that the House's ObamaCare repeal bill will defund the organization, though federal dollars are already prohibited from being used to cover abortions. (Carney, 1/5)
The Hill:
Planned Parenthood Launches National Campaign To Take On Trump, GOP
Planned Parenthood on Thursday launched a national effort aimed at pressuring the incoming Donald Trump administration and GOP to abandon efforts to "defund" the organization. Planned Parenthood, which has long been opposed by conservatives because it provides abortions in addition to other women's healthcare services, has planned nearly 300 events in 47 states that will include marches, rallies, letter-writing campaigns and other activities over the next few months. (Hellmann, 1/5)
In another funding issue, advocates are starting to express concerns about National Institutes of Health funding —
Stat:
NIH Backers Fear Research Funding Will Falter
For advocates of the National Institutes of Health, this is their worst fear: Come April, when Congress needs to fund the federal government again, they’ll be so busy with other issues that they’ll simply pass a stopgap spending bill that lasts until October. And that would likely mean another year of flat funding for the NIH. For the scientists and companies invested in medical research, nothing could be worse. It’s early yet, but lobbyists around town who want to see more dollars for NIH cite several reasons to be concerned. (Scott, 1/4)
