Republican lawmakers have pledged to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, and activists are hoping that it happens soon. But those who want to see it wrapped into the budget reconciliation bill may be disappointed.
“It actually doesn’t save money,” said Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus and a longtime supporter of stripping funding from the organization. “I just don’t see how that fits into the current reconciliation discussion.”
Removing funding from Planned Parenthood has long been a goal for conservatives in Congress. In 2015, the House Freedom Caucus members declared that they would not support any spending bills that did not contain language slashing money from the organization — and threatened to shut down the government over it. So, it makes sense to activists that Republicans — now that they control both chambers of Congress and the White House — would want to defund Planned Parenthood at the first opportunity.