Scott Brown Says No To Cuts In Planned Parenthood Funding

Not surprisingly, many of the budget cuts that sailed through the House aren’t being received too well in the Senate. The latest indication of that is Scott Brown’s announcement that he would not support the complete cut-off of Federal funding to Planned Parenthood:

WASHINGTON — US Senator Scott Brown opposes a House Republican plan to cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the womens’ health service provider, and today urged budget negotiators to reach a compromise.

“I support family planning and health services for women,” Brown, a Bay State Republican, said in a statement. “Given our severe budget problems, I don’t believe any area of the budget is completely immune from cuts. However, the proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning goes too far. As we continue with our budget negotiations, I hope we can find a compromise that is reasonable and appropriate.”

House Republicans have sought to eliminate all federal grants and contracts with Planned Parenthood, some $300 million, because the agency provides abortion services. By law, none of the federal money can be used to pay for abortions, but abortion-rights opponents have argued that any financial support for Planned Parenthood frees up other money that could be used for abortions.

Expect another denunciation of Brown from the right shortly.

 

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Axel Edgren says:

    Hee-hee.

    Good on Brown.

  2. reid says:

    Okay, the Democrats can suggest doubling the budget for PP, and then they can all compromise in the middle. Fair enough?

  3. Murray says:

    What surprises me is that anyone on the right is surprised by Brown’s independence. The guy is a typical north-eastern Republican who won by staying clear from the Tea Party crowd and because his opponent was a catastrophe.

  4. Wiley Stoner says:

    I do not believe Mr. Brown will be able to count on my financial support this time around.

  5. mantis says:

    I do not believe Mr. Brown will be able to count on my financial support this time around.

    Ha. You got played, dumbass.

  6. Tsar Nicholas says:

    Let’s put aside the related social issues for a moment. In this era of trillion dollar budget deficits, shouldn’t we be cutting off all funding for what amounts to a special interest group? Why aren’t the Internet’s putative “deficit hawks” jumping all over Brown merely on the federal spending aspect of this item alone?? Hmm.

  7. Franklin says:

    Yes, women’s health is a “special interest group.”

  8. Noed says:

    What Tea Party and Republicans are not realizing is that with the changes in abortion law and the defunding of PP, we will soon enjoy a population explosion of the poorest most disenfranchised communities in the Nation. And, the same people who are pushing this agenda do not want any medical or social services provided to the poor either. What on earth do they think is going to happen in this scenario?

    I heard some idiot on AFR yesterday saying that the Democrats can’t look into the future to see what their policies are doing – in regards to a Governor who said no to a proposal to sell off energy assets and agree that the entire state could only buy energy from that one company three years. He laughed at the Governor and stated that Democrats cannot see the big picture. (Yet he can’t see the potential for that to go bad?)

    Theirs is a totally emotional debate which boils down to only one thing. They believe that Freedom of Religion means that they can base all laws on the Bible. I am a Christian, but I do understand the separation of church and state.

    Lord, help us!