Efforts to pass a government funding bill by the end of September has ground to a halt over a fight between Republicans and Democrats over Planned Parenthood funding.
Senate Republican leaders had hoped to hold a vote this week on legislative package funding the government until December 9. The plan was to use that bill to direct money to fight Zika, a mosquito-transmitted virus that has spread in southern states.
But Republican leaders said Tuesday there is no deal yet, and a GOP leadership aide confirmed to the Washington Examiner that party lawmakers are struggling with how or whether to change language in the bill so that federal funding for Zika could be accessed by Puerto Rican clinics affiliated with Planned Parenthood. Many Republicans have insisted on that language, but that’s the same language that prevented passage of a Zika funding bill over the summer.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that lawmakers “are making good progress resolving all the moving parts,” but he refused to say whether the Senate would vote on the measure this week as he had originally hoped for.
Senate Democrats Tuesday chided the Republicans for the delay and for the party’s internal dispute over the Planned Parenthood issue.
“We thought we had something last Friday,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “But what stood in the way? The old famous Planned Parenthood. They couldn’t move forward without doing something there. That’s not positive.”
Reid said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a key negotiator, was “waylaid on his way to explaining the bill by those who feel Planned Parenthood should continue to be a victim.”
A Blunt spokesman did not confirm Reid’s story.
“Honestly, we have absolutely no idea what the minority leader is talking about,” the aide said. “But that’s not at all unusual most of the time.”
Republicans, though, have declined to provide detail about the internal discussions.
“Talks are ongoing and we hope to reach an agreement soon,” one GOP aide working on the spending side of the deal told the Examiner.
Republicans are attempting to word the legislation in a way that keeps Democrats satisfied on the Planned Parenthood issue without losing the support of their own party, but it has proven difficult so far.
Most Republicans are opposed to providing additional federal funds to Planned Parenthood because, in addition to medical care and contraceptives, it is a leading abortion provider. Opposition is particularly strong among House GOP lawmakers, whose support will be critical if the must-pass bill is to clear Congress and make it to President Obama’s desk.
“We are not going to carve out an earmark for Planned Parenthood,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told the Examiner.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are dug in on their opposition to a bill that excludes money for the Puerto Rican clinics associated with Planned Parenthood.
Time is running out. The fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and that is when the federal government will run out of money and a stop-gap measure must become law.
Republicans in both chambers had hoped to finalize a deal much sooner so lawmakers could return home to campaign ahead of the November election. But now, the timing is uncertain.
“When something is done we’ll talk about it,” a GOP aide said.
