The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a stop-gap budget measure on Thursday, which leaves federal funding at the status quo, including the provisions outlined in Obamacare and the millions endowed to the abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
The bill provides for over $1 trillion in funding to the federal government for the next six months, and is part of a deal that was reached in July between House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The agreement was introduced after none of the 12 spending appropriations bills presented to the floor passed Congress, and was an effort to eliminate any argument about the federal budget or the specifics of the use of funds until after the election.
While its text mandates that no new spending programs be implemented, the bill leaves existing government spending virtually as is.
However, in doing so, the measure leaves in place all of the requirements in Obamacare that surround abortion coverage and sterilization, forcing Americans to pay for the contraceptive coverage of those that share their insurance plan. Additionally, some note that lawmakers made no attempt to include an amendment that would revoke the funds delegated to Planned Parenthood before bringing the measure to the floor for a vote. According to reports, the abortion provider received $487.4 million in federal funding from 2009-2010.
Barack Obama had advised Congress that making any budget cuts would be “deeply destructive” and urged legislators to ensure that the measure made it to his desk. Therefore, the bill passed 329-91 with the majority approval of House Republicans.
In light of its passage, some are finding it hypocritical that while House Speaker John Boehner has been an outspoken critic of Obamacare, he agreed to fund its provisions via the budget bill. He had previously called the healthcare measure an “unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country,” opining that it violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The stop-gap measure will now move to the Senate for approval, which is expected to vote on the proposal next week.
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