After a conference meeting Monday, Sen. Mike Lee says he’s “very encouraged” by a new Senate GOP plan to defund Planned Parenthood and gut the Affordable Care Act.
Reports Roll Call:
Republican senators emerged from a conference meeting Monday evening generally enthused by the effort to gut as much of the health care law as is feasible under the chamber’s budget reconciliation rules.
And last Friday’s shooting at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado did not change plans to also use the reconciliation bill to halt Medicaid funding for organizations that provide abortion services. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid reiterated that Democrats would stand against such a course of action.
“Republicans in Congress have made it their mission to defund Planned Parenthood, which would irreparably damage this health provider’s care,” the Nevada Democrat said Monday. “Republicans have insisted on votes to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funding on two different occasions, neither of which was successful. But they’re still trying: Republicans want to stop Medicaid reimbursement for Planned Parenthood.”
Despite Democratic stances, if all Republicans stick together, the reconciliation bill, which is not subject to a filibuster, would pass.
As he left the meeting, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he was “very encouraged” by the emerging proposal that would roll back more of the Affordable Care Act than the version of the bill passed by the House. The chamber’s parliamentarian is expected to review the finished product Tuesday and debate could start soon after.
