A key provision to block Medicaid funding to abortion provider Planned Parenthood will remain in the One Big Beautiful Bill after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled on Monday that the language indeed complies with the chamber’s strict budget reconciliation rules.
The provision, which would bar Medicaid reimbursements for one year to “prohibited entities” that perform abortions was revised late Friday by GOP leaders in an effort to meet the criteria of the Senate’s Byrd Rule, which the Parliamentarian is supposed to follow. That rule limits what can be included in reconciliation bills, which are bills that can pass with a simple majority and cannot be filibustered.
The language does not specifically name Planned Parenthood, but it is the only national organization impacted by the restriction.
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine broke from Republicans and joined Democrats in supporting an amendment by Washington Democrat Sen. Patty Murray that would have restored the funding. The Murray amendment was defeated 49-51.
On Tuesday morning, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said she is the ground at the Capitol for the Senate vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill, “a historic move to end forced taxpayer funding of Big Abortion. If it passes, it’ll be the biggest pro-life victory since Dobbs!”
The Parliamentarian’s ruling clears the path for Senate Republicans to include the one-year Planned Parenthood funding ban in the final bill, which they aim to pass using the reconciliation process without needing Democratic support. As of this writing, the Senate is moving into its 28th hour of voting on amendments to the bill, as Democrats seek to abort the bill entirely. Vice President JD Vance is on hand to break a possible tie vote.
Politico reported Monday that “Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s ability to pass the “big, beautiful bill” is hinging on Sen. Lisa Murkowski.”
Murkowski has been the subject of “an intense whip effort by GOP leaders over the past couple of hours as they try to offer her reassurances on Medicaid and food assistance. Thune, Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso talked to Murkowski on the floor for roughly an hour overnight. Thune and Murkowski huddled briefly in his office, and they were mum on details when they emerged shortly before 4 a.m.,” Politico reported.
Murkowski was holding out in an attempt to get more Medicaid money for Alaska and to preserve grants for so-called green energy.
How can Murkowski and Collins “break with Republicans” when they aren’t “with Republicans” to begin with?
Lisa Murkowski is all over the map. She lacks direction. She is indecisive on so many matters. She has little conviction. She wants to play both sides and try to please both sides. She is not qualified to be a Republican US Senator, even though she was installed by her daddy Frank nearly 23 years ago. She is not a stable source for Alaskan politics. With that many years of on the job training, Alaskans expected so much more from her. But all we get is more whining, complaining,…. and action comenserate of a junior high aged girl.
Suzanne; Are you going to write a story on how the born in Alaska, the Honorable U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski saved Presidents Trumps Big Beautiful Bill?
https://mustreadalaska.com/breaking-one-big-beautiful-bill-passes-senate/
Don’t kid yourself She was forced to And she hated every minute of it, If she had it her way she would never vote Republican
Nancy and I intervened at the last minute. We told her if she didn’t support Trump’s BBB, we would cut all inheritance ties to her and House Husband. And, we wouldn’t support her further write-in candidacy if it got down to that. Credit Murkowski ingenuity for saving the day.
Lisa did not save Trump’s big beautiful bill. She didn’t save anything, especially all the unborn babies who are sacrificed to the infanticide industrial complex. She realized that she would be primaried and reluctantly voted in order to save her during the next election so she could have that big, fat, juicy Senate pension.
That’s the big beautiful election rules we have in Alaska, Lisa cannot be Primaried 🤣 unfortunately for Trump is we have rank choice voting which means the people decides who they want. Not Trump or Musk.
Turd Generation Alaskan, you mean the DIShonorable US Senator Princess Lisa I (D-Swamp).
There is nothing honorable about that self-serving and completely unprincipled woman. nothing whatsoever, going back to the nepotism that installed her into her current seat. And it is to the dishonor of every Alaskan that this state’s voters have (supposedly) validated that nepotism by continuing to re-elect her.
” honorable ” is a word that belongs nowhere near her name unless the prefixDis- isapplied
The woman is criminal in her continual waste of tax payer money in order to sustain her electorate in Alaska.
We don’t want your welfare, Lisa!
We tried to teach Lisa that the sanctity of life begins with caring for those beautiful unborn babies. But Lisa never caught on. The number one Rule for us Catholics is to preserve the precious lives of those not yet brought into the world. Now, Lisa wants her very own constituents to pay for the deaths of those babies. Shame! Lisa really is a slow learner, in so many ways.
I’ve seen your daughter at Mass, years ago, looking for votes.
U.S. Constitution recognizes no particular religion.
Yet it protects them all.
Thanks for your insights, Nancy. We knew that somewhere in the Murkowski Family, there must be at least one reasonable, credible mind. But we also knew the brain trust wasn’t very deep.
Rollo; You’re dead wrong, it protects the people that have faith in a religion just as so long they don’t make laws or force/push they’er religion onto the other citizens.
How does that differ from “…it protects them all.” as it is not a religion if no one practices it?
3rd,
Can you please cite the section of the Constitution to support your beliefs as stated here.
Read; U.S. Constitution first amendment.
The green energy “grants” (pork) will provide absolutely no benefit for the average Alaskan living on the Railbelt. Senator Murkowski could care less about the day when the natural gas spigot in the Railbelt is dry and empty.
Calling it Planned Parenthood is a misnomer. More like Baby Termination Services.
We went to Planned Parenthood once to get advice on when and how to become parents, and perhaps a recommendation for a good OB/GYN, and a fertility clinic.
.
Turns out they do not offer that kind of planning.
Decades ago, it actually used to be what it says it is. It offered birth control, low cost exams, reproductive consultations, and some sexual health treatments.
I used their services in my college days to avoid becoming a father before I was ready. Or catch something.
That was before there was money to be made off dead babies. Then it became an abortion mill with a soft name.
Pro-Choice.
Pro-Death.
So I’m pro-choice and your pro-death, OK.
Pro-choice in this context means one of two things.
1) You are pro-choice to kill an innocent human being.
2) You give equal weight to the violent act of killing an innocent human being and giving birth.
The first three words can stand alone, the rest of it is superfluous.
Why only one year? What sense does that make?
Reconciliation cannot bind future Congresses w/o being subject to filibuster, so only 1 year passes.
If they do not want children, spade the female instead of killing them when they a months old.
Lisa’s legacy in the Senate (other than being appointed by daddy), will be the two pillars of public policy she has ‘lashed herself to the mast’ over: (1) fanatical abortion obsession (2) pathological TDS. All the rest of her tenure will be marked by ‘naming’ proclamations and ineffective legislative blather about support for measures she had no real influence on. She is not a player about the single most vital economic issue that Alaska faces: the LNG pipeline project. She tries to gain attention by being a ‘swing vote’ in the Senate by opposing bills that Republicans support. That isn’t working too well in the newly elected Senate. So lots of huffing and puffing by Lisa to no effect. Alaska can do much better than Lisa Murkowski.
Wayne; Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was pro choice, or have you been here long enough to know who he was?
And Ted Stevens was an even more dishonorable swamp creature than Princess Lisa, with an even far-greater damaging legacy to this state, and to this country in general.
Ad hominem
Whataboutism variant of tu-quoque
What does Uncle Ted have to do with Murkowski and Wayne’s comment? Does Uncle Ted being for or against something have anything to do with Murkowski being for or against something?
Yes, Sen. Ted Stevens was philosophically pro-abortion but do you remember he was pragmatic enough to give us some pro-life votes? In the early 90’s I showed him a photo of Baby Choice, a girl of 7 mo. gestation who had been burned to death by a saline abortion. I asked him to please also represent these little people. He responded with umbrage and in his speech at the State Republican Convention he said, “Abortion is not important! ANWR is important!” I suddenly knew that because of his priorities, he’d never be successful in opening ANWR on his watch.
Fast forward to the pending “Partial Birth Abortion Ban”, I tried numerous times to reach Sen. Stevens by phone. Finally I called Glenn Clary at Baptist Temple and asked, “Do you know what Sen. Stevens’ position is on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban?” He said “No” so I replied, “Then why do you support him?” He answered, I’ll call Sen. Stevens and get back to you. About 15 min. later, Mr. Clary returned my call and said “Sen. Stevens will support the ban.” He did and that was Sen. Stevens’ first pro-life vote.
” spade” them like whacking them with garden implements??
She is nuttier than a fruit cake. We need to rid ourselves of her. She sucks the life out of Alaska. I got calls today from people outside asking me what the hell we are doing with Murkowski. They all hate her guts.
Of course Lisa supports PP & LGBTQ+ – they’ve been paying into her reelection coffers for years.
When will the conservative voters of Alaska understand this woman is a democrat. Thankfully, there are enough conservative votes in the Senate that renders her democrat vote irrelevant.
“Murkowski joins Democrats”
File this shocking news with “water is wet” and “the sky is blue”.
Loathsome, so loathsome, is Princess Lisa.
When Murkowski was asked to respond to Rand Paul’s assertion that her YES vote for the OBBB was cast to direct $millions$ to Alaska, she feigned outrage worthy of an academy award!
Make no mistake folks, despite her AYE vote, which I do appreciate for different reasons than hers, Lisa is a leftist, which makes her a RINO! Rand’s assertion is correct though as rural Alaska will keep sucking $$.
Rand cast a NO vote on the OBBB which could have resulted in facilitating a huge TAX increase on you and me, and a greatly reduced ability to fund the deportations of illegal aliens! The calculus may have been that the tie breaker VP vote would be enough for passage without Rand, so he could save face, but the mug shot of Rand, Collins and Tillis is rather disturbing.