On Friday, September 18, House Republicans voted 241-187 in favor of a bill that would cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Several days later, Senate Democrats blocked the bill from becoming law. This bill was the House’s latest response in a heated partisan debacle about Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood provides uninured or low-income men and women with affordable health services, such as birth control, Pap tests, breast exams, STI testing, and, most controversially, abortions. Three percent of all of Planned Parenthood’s health services are abortion related.
The current controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood involved several videos that surfaced in August. These videos depict Planned Parenthood as allegedly profiting from the sale of human fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood denies these allegations. Many Americans, especially House Republicans fighting to defund Planned Parenthood, refuse to support any program that offers abortions, let alone one under scrutiny for the possibility of trafficking fetal tissue.
How does this relate to this week’s potential government shutdown? Basically, by the end of the day on September 30, the United States Congress must pass a government-spending bill, or the government will shut down. A government spending bill allocates federal funding to different organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, for the upcoming fiscal year. Until Congress can agree on whether and how to allocate money to Planned Parenthood, they will be left in gridlock.
The House has already voted and approved a government-spending bill that will keep the government funded through December 11. This bill would reroute the 235 million federal dollars that Planned Parenthood receives annually to other women’s health groups in the upcoming fiscal year. Less than a week after the House approved this bill, the Senate voted 52-47 against it. This means that a new bill must be proposed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tried to avert a shutdown by proposing a new bill which would fund federal agencies, but does not include the divisive Planned Parenthood provision. It is unlikely, however, that this bill would become law: according to the Wall Street Journal, “a large portion of the House is unwilling to pass any spending bill that includes funding for Planned Parenthood.” This is where the potential for a shutdown arises.
If Congress fails to pass any type of spending bill, the government will shut down for the first time since October 2013. When the government shuts down, so do national parks, zoos, and museums. For example, sites like the Statue of Liberty or Yosemite would be inaccessible to visitors during a shutdown. Ultimately, a government shutdown is in our midst unless Congress can agree on a federal spending bill by October 1. Keep your eyes on the news to see what happens next!
Want to learn more? Check out these sites:
- http://www.wsj.com/articles/spending-bill-is-on-track-but-shutdown-threat-persists-1442959136
- http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/24/senate-democrats-block-bill-defund-planned-parenthood/72695166/
- http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/government-shut-down-planned-parenthood-120787
- http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/planned-parenthood-house-vote-one-year-defund-213828