Twenty-eight House Republican legislators – all men – are pledging to defund Planned Parenthood, including shutting down the federal government as a form of protest.
A letter circulated by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), contains signatures from House Republicans who’ve pledged to vote against any bill that funds the government if it also funds Planned Parenthood. To avoid a shutdown, Congress must fund the government by September 30.
The letter says in part, “We must act to fully defund Planned Parenthood. Please know that we cannot and will not support any funding resolution – an appropriations bill, an omnibus package, a continuing resolution, or otherwise – that contains any funding for Planned Parenthood, including mandatory funding streams.”
The legislators cited the deceptively edited undercover videos released by the anti-abortion group Center For Medical Progress which shows doctors discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue. No evidence of wrongdoing has turned up in any of the investigations, and the family planning organization maintains no laws have been broken.
Planned Parenthood receives approximately $500 million in government funding, and the Hyde Amendment prevents any of those monies from being used for abortions. That hasn’t stopped anti-abortion extremists from promoting falsehoods in an effort to defund the organization.
Just last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) conceded the GOP didn’t have enough votes to defund PP, but if the pledge receives enough signatures, House Republicans will have the ability to shut down the government.
As signatures increase, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) leads the effort in the Senate to stall the must-pass federal budget bill with the same intention to defund PP.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters, “If we shut down government, it will be because you have willful Republicans who are prepared to take the government hostage to attain their ends. It will not be a stumble; it will be a considered objective, and a number of them have said so publicly.”
The twenty-eight House Republicans threatening a shutdown are: Mulvaney, Jim Jordan (Ohio), John Fleming (La.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), Trent Kelly (Miss.), Keith Rothfus (Pa.), Raúl Labrador (Idaho), Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Trey Gowdy (S.C.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Curt Clawson (Fla.), Jim Bridenstine (Okla.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Randy Weber (Texas), Scott Perry (Pa.), Steven Pearce (N.M.), Trent Franks (Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Ted Yoho (Fla.), Jody Hice (Ga.), David Rouzer (N.C.), Dave Brat (Va.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Mark Walker (N.C.), Brian Babin (Texas), David Schweikert (Ariz.), and Matt Salmon (Ariz.).
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