House Speaker Paul Ryan said during a Tuesday press briefing that “Planned Parenthood is not funded” in the current budget deal, clashing with statements made by other Republicans Monday.
Just yesterday, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said that the spending bill “absolutely” funds Planned Parenthood and that the House is more focused on defunding the organization through a budget reconciliation bill later this year.
“If you’re a lawmaker serious about voting to defund Planned Parenthood, then your opportunity to do that is in the AHCA…we decided not to fight the Planned Parenthood battle on this funding bill because it’s contained in the AHCA, which we hope to take up this week as well,” Mulvaney explained.
During Tuesday’s briefing with Ryan, a reporter mentioned that conservatives are “disappointed” that Planned Parenthood remains funded in the spending bill.
Ryan began his response by ensuring that defunding would be in the reconciliation bill, echoing what Mulvaney said previously.
“Look at what all of our pro-life groups are saying. The Planned Parenthood legislation needs to be in the reconciliation bill as it is, because that’s how you get it into law,” Ryan stated.
However, Ryan also asserted that the spending bill itself doesn’t fund Planned Parenthood.
“This bill does not have funding for Planned Parenthood,” he said. “That’s important. The reconciliation bill advances the pro-life cause even further.”
“These two efforts in conjunction with one another advance our cause and our principles quite a bit,” he finished.