Call the House switchboard, 202-224-3121 (the operator can tell you who your member is, if you don’t know). Tell your Congressman to support Amendment No. 11 to CR1 and defund
Planned Parenthood.
ACTION ITEM
The Continuing Resolution (see explanation below) is being
debated RIGHT NOW, so you need to act now. Pick up the phone and call
your member of Congress at the House switchboard, 202-224-3121 (the
operator can tell you who your member is, if you don’t know). Tell
your Congressman to support Amendment No. 11 to CR1 and defund
Planned Parenthood.
Can We Really Defund Planned Parenthood?
Absolutely. Planned Parenthood is in deep trouble, its image
tarnished by repeated scandals. Most recently, Live Action has
documented Planned Parenthood workers in Virginia, New York, New
Jersey, and Washington, D.C., willingly helping “sex
traffickers” in their dirty business. Ordinary citizens are
outraged. We at PRI, along with other pro-life groups, believe that
now is the time to turn out the lights at Planned Parenthood once and
for all.
Lawmakers, especially the new crop of congressmen elected in
November, are absolutely committed to hitting Planned Parenthood where
it lives: in its pocketbook. They know that half of Planned
Parenthood’s income comes from us, the American taxpayer. They also
know that if the Medicaid reimbursements, government grants and
federal contracts dry up, Planned Parenthood dies.
Planned Parenthood is Running Scared
Planned Parenthood is no stranger to attacks but, this time around,
the abortion giant knows that it is on the ropes. The president of the
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Cecile Richards, has
released a YouTube video virtually pleading with her supporters to
help.
Watch it here.
You can almost hear the fear and desperation in Richards’
voice.
What is the Continuing Resolution (CR 1)?
The Pelosi Congress left town last December without passing a
budget for the current fiscal year, which runs from October 1, 2010 to
September 30, 2011. The new Congress, sworn in this January, is
debating passage of what is called a “Continuing
Resolution” to avoid a government shutdown. This bill is called
Continuing Resolution 1, or CR1 for short.
There are several provisions already in CR 1 that would hurt
Planned Parenthood and other anti-people groups:
- The Title X family planning program is eliminated. PP
receives $75 million a year from this program alone. - The
Mexico City Policy, denying population control funding to
nongovernmental organizations that promote or perform elective
abortions, is included. This would deny PP tens of millions of
dollars. - A $55 million earmark for UNFPA, which is involved
in China’s one-child policy, has been stripped away. Some of this
money also goes to PP.
Two proposed amendments to CR 1 would further cripple PP at home
and abroad:
- Amendment No. 11, proposed by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), would
prohibit any of funds allocated by CR 1 from going to Planned
Parenthood. The amendment is brutally clear: “None of the funds
made available by this Act may be made available for any purpose to
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any of the following
affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of American, Inc.”
and goes on to list by name all Planned Parenthood Affiliates in the
United States. If passed, the Pence Amendment would bar any federal
money from going to Planned Parenthood until the end of this fiscal
year. - Amendment No. 262, submitted by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH),
would eliminate the entire budget for international population
control, family planning and reproductive health, some $440 million in
all. Much of this money goes to PP affiliates in countries around the
world.
Planned Parenthood’s supporters in Congress are so shellshocked
that they did not even, as expected, introduce their own amendments to
restore funding for Title X and other programs. They knew they would
lose!
Don’t Confuse Obama’s New Budget for 2011-2012 with CR 1
In addition to Continuing Resolution 1, Congress is also beginning
to address next year’s budget (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012).
Obama’s 3.7 trillion dollar budget contains many goodies for Planned
Parenthood that pro-life congressmen will be seeking to cut as
well.
But the Issue Now is CR 1
If we work together, we can defund Planned Parenthood and cripple,
if not kill, the biggest abortion provider in the U.S. Even if you
have never called your congressman before, please do so now. Our
message is simple: NO MONEY TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
