GOP to form special panel investigating Planned Parenthood
As the fight to defund Planned Parenthood threatens to shut down the federal government, House Republicans are launching a new investigation into the women's health organization, forming a select congressional panel to examine its abortion services.
"We have all been so shocked and outraged by the videos portraying the grisly practices of Planned Parenthood," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, said in a recorded address Saturday.
In response to anti-abortion activists' undercover footage of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the use of fetal parts for medical research, Blackburn announced a GOP-led initiative to "establish a new select subcommittee that will focus its full attention, resources and subpoena power on getting to the bottom of these horrific practices."
The Tennessee congresswoman also promised that Republican leaders would activate a procedural budget tool called reconciliation, which would require only a simple majority for bills to pass the Senate.
"Twice now, Senate Democrats have blocked our efforts to restrict funding to Planned Parenthood," Blackburn said. "They defend the organization and its practices even though they freely admit they haven't watched the videos. And that's - that's wrong."
Planned Parenthood has become a legislative target for Republicans in recent weeks. The House voted earlier this month to block federal money from flowing to Planned Parenthood -- though the bill, which faces mounting Democratic opposition, has little prospect of passing through the Senate.
Republicans are also hoping to tie the defunding measure to a federal spending bill -- legislation necessary to keep the government operational. If the funding bill doesn't get passed by Wednesday because of Planned Parenthood riders, the congressional gridlock could mean a federal government shutdown.
"To protect all taxpayers, we will redouble our efforts to ensure that you are not forced to fund this organization," Blackburn said.
She further highlighted Pope Francis' recent visit to Congress, when he spoke of defending "human life at every stage of its development."
"The pope's words have strengthened our resolve to continue the fight for the protection of human life," Blackburn said.
In his own video, President Obama tackled another health issue and its ties to crime: prescription drug abuse.
"With no other disease do we expect people to wait until they're a danger to themselves or others to self-diagnose and seek treatment," Mr. Obama said in the statement released Saturday. "So we should approach abuse as an opportunity to intervene, not incarcerate."
The president made a case for reforming jailing practices over nonviolent drug offenses.
"Getting smarter about how we address substance-use disorders is a vital part of reforming our criminal justice system," he said. "Rather than keep spending billions of taxpayer dollars on needlessly long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, we could save money and get better outcomes by getting treatment to those who need it."
The president also commemorated this week's National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, when various collection sites in cities would be set up for any expired and unwanted medication.
He paid particular attention to the potential for abuse of such drugs, saying their misuse often "takes a terrible toll on too many families in too many communities."