The $1.1 trillion spending bill that passed in the House Friday morning did not block funds to Planned Parenthood — a measure greatly missed by some conservative Republicans, who vowed to look for new strategies to address the issue next year, according to The Hill.
The move to allow states to defund Planned Parenthood was one of three items on the agenda for the conservative Freedom Caucus and the Pro-Life Caucus. They also pushed to protect insurance plans that do not cover abortions on a moral basis under the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act and to cut funding for the United Nations Population Fund, according to the report.
None of the requests were met in the omnibus spending package, except funds were cut 7 percent to the United Nations Population Fund, which Republicans say helps support a "coercive birth limitation policy" in China, according to the report.
However, Republicans are still working on ways to defund Planned Parenthood. The investigative committee formed this summer to look into allegations Planned Parenthood sells fetal tissue continues to hire staff, despite that no evidence supporting the allegations has surfaced, according to the report. When House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was asked about the issue he mentioned the reconciliation bill set to hit the President's desk in January, according to the report.
"It's in the reconciliation bill. The reconciliation bill was the vehicle we chose long ago. We could get that through the Senate. We knew we couldn't get it through the Senate in any other way," Speaker Ryan said, according to the report.
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