Democratic California Rep. Zoe Lofgren earmarked $2 million in federal taxpayer money for the renovation and relocation of a Planned Parenthood clinic in the omnibus spending bill currently working its way through Congress, according to analysis of the federal government’s budget by Open the Books.
Members of Congress sometimes agree to vote for a spending bill under the condition that it includes funding for an unrelated cause or project they’re interested in in a process known as earmarking. The omnibus bill for the federal government’s 2023 budget includes $2 million for a Planned Parenthood clinic at the request of Lofgren, according to Open the Books.
“Earmarks are member pet projects doled out to legally bribe congressmen for their votes on large spending bills,” Open the Books spokesmen said in a press release. (RELATED: Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife Gave More Than $250 Million To Planned Parenthood)
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Community Clinic would recieve two $1 million payments from the federal government for its relocation and renovation if the budget passes as part of Lofgren’s earmarks, according to Open the Books.
Staff work at a Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)
Lofgren’s other earmarks include payments of roughly $300,000 and $1 million to local initiatives supporting education, the police, solar energy, job training and environmental conservation, according to Open the Books. Planned Parenthood brings in about $500 – $600 million in federal funding on an annual basis.
The Hyde Amendment bars the federal government from directly funding abortions, but the federal government is still allowed to give money to abortion-centered organizations so long as the money goes towards operations and other non-abortion costs.
Congress has until Dec. 23 to pass the spending bill; the initial deadline was delayed Friday as no budget had been agreed on by members of Congress.
Planned Parenthood and Lofgren did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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