ABORTION/HEALTHCARE/HOUSE OF REPS/OBAMACARE(ACA)/PLANNED PARENTHOOD: “House Republicans are demanding a series of controversial abortion and health care policies in the annual health spending bill, setting up a showdown with Democrats and threatening passage of an omnibus spending package to keep the government open.
Democrats are vowing to block the slew of long-sought conservative priorities. The riders would cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, eliminate a federal family planning program and ax the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, according to sources on Capitol Hill. Republicans also want to insert a new prohibition on funding research that uses human fetal tissue obtained after an abortion.
The dispute has stalled negotiations on such other health issues as how much to spend on the opioid epidemic and prompted discussions about buying negotiators more time, with short-term government funding set to expire on March 23 and many of Congress’ other spending panels nearly finished with their bills…
That breakdown would be a blow to House GOP leaders, who have worked closely with appropriators to ensure each of the 12 panels in charge of discretionary spending finish ahead of that deadline to avoid any eleventh-hour brinkmanship.
Top Democrats, including Murray, say they will block the GOP women’s health riders.”
-Jennifer Haberkorn and Sarah Ferris, “Planned Parenthood defunding threatens government spending package,” Politico, Mar. 7, 2018 02:32pm