Bipartisan congressional negotiators agreed Sunday to fund Planned Parenthood through September in a $1.070 trillion package that would help Congress avoid a so-called “government shutdown.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the agreement reflects the principles of his party.
“This agreement is a good agreement for the American people, and takes the threat of a government shutdown off the table,” Schumer said, reports The Hill. “The bill ensures taxpayer dollars aren’t used to fund an ineffective border wall, excludes poison pill riders, and increases investments in programs that the middle-class relies on, like medical research, education, and infrastructure.”
“The deal, if passed by the full House and Senate, would also keep funding for Planned Parenthood through September and add $2 billion to the National Institutes of Health,” the New York Post observes.
As a candidate for the presidency, Donald Trump outlined four policy commitments in a letter to national pro-life leaders:
- Nominating pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Signing into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would end painful late-term abortions nationwide
- Defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions and reallocating their funding to community health centers that provide comprehensive health care for women
- Making the Hyde Amendment permanent law to protect taxpayers from having to pay for abortions
“The Republican House can pass and send to the Republican Senate a bill that funds the border wall but not Planned Parenthood,” writes CNSNews.com editor-in-chief Terence Jeffrey. “Or they can pass one that funds Planned Parenthood but not the border wall.”
“The former course of action would fulfill the campaign promises that got their president elected,” he adds. “The latter would appease congressional Democrats and the liberal press.”