Senate Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood, Obama Promises Veto

Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would have restored Planned Parenthood funding and created a $1 billion women’s health care clinic safety fund, fully paid for by a new tax on millionaires.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are pushing toward Senate approval of legislation demolishing President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and halting Planned Parenthood’s federal money, setting up a veto fight the GOP knows it will lose but thinks will delight conservative voters.

“This is their chance, and President Obama’s chance, to begin to make amends for the pain and hurt they’ve caused” by the law, which Republicans blame for rising health care costs. He says that’s what the American people want and that’s what they deserve. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told NPR before the vote took place.

All of that is expected to take place over the next two days – with a final vote on the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act as early as Thursday or Friday. Conservative group Heritage Action had also slammed the House version, but now supports the Senate version because Republicans plan to go even further by including a delay of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies until 2018, among other things.

The bill would also terminate the roughly $450 million yearly in federal dollars that go to Planned Parenthood, about a third of its budget. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who is challenging former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.

Republicans see the votes as a prime opportunity to excite the base as the country enters an election year. Several senators may vote no because it only repeals parts of the Affordable Care Act.

Do away with the taxes imposed to cover the law’s costs, including levies on the income of higher-earning people, medical devices, and tanning salons.

Lee said Wednesday he supports the measure, saying the bill came as close to repealing the health law as Senate rules allow and “lays the groundwork for Obamacare to be erased from the books altogether”.

Planned Parenthood provides almost three million women with essential health services, including birth control, pap smears, and cervical cancer screenings.

Meanwhile, Democrats used the “vote-a-rama” on a litany of amendments to sharpen next year’s campaign attack ads. They were Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Sen Mark Kirk of IL and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida – voted “no”.

Under the bill, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England would not receive federal assistance for the 21 offices it operates in Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as in Biddeford, Sanford, Portland and Topsham.

The federal funding is mainly paid out to the health service provider to reimburse it for treating people who use Medicaid.