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Will Garrett's Planned Parenthood stance help force fed government shutdown?

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U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett and other members of the House Freedom Caucus said they would not support a government spending bill that included funding for Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett and other members of the conservative Freedom Caucus said Friday that they would not vote for a spending bill that includes funding for Planned Parenthood, a position that could lead to the second federal government shutdown in three years.

Garrett (R-5th Dist.) is a founding member of the caucus of House Republicans and opposed the re-election of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

"Given the appalling revelations surrounding Planned Parenthood, we cannot in good moral conscience vote to send taxpayer money to this organization while still fulfilling our duty to represent our constituents," the caucus said in a statement. "We must therefore oppose any spending measure that contains funding for Planned Parenthood."

The lawmakers were responding to videos released by an anti-abortion group that allegedly showed the women's health care provider violating federal law by selling parts from aborted fetuses for medical research. The group is allowed to receive reimbursement for the costs of handing and shipping fetal tissue.


RELATED: Charges that Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue 'unsubstantiated,' Pallone says


Garrett spokesman Chris Carofine did not respond to a request for comment.

An investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee has found no evidence so far to support the charges, according to the panel's ranking member, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.).

The probe is continuing and a hearing is scheduled next week, said John Byers, a spokesman for Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.), another member of the committee.

The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and Congress must pass a spending bill by then or else government again will have to close for lack of funding.

House Republicans do not have the clout to enact legislation that ends federal funding for Planned Parenthood. While Republicans could pass such a bill in their chamber, they do not have the votes in the Senate to overcome Democratic opposition nor enough strength in either chamber to override an expected presidential veto.

A similar stance against funding the Affordable Care Act led to a 16-day partial federal government shutdown in 2013. House Republicans at the time refused to pass any spending bill that included funding for the law, which has provided health coverage to millions of Americans, including 170,000 in New Jersey.

Planned Parenthood clinics in New Jersey received $5.2 million in federal funds last year. They offer health and contraceptive services in 14 of the state's 21 counties.

Garrett became the most vulnerable New Jersey incumbent, according to ratings by two Washington publications that follow congressional races, following published reports that he told other Republicans that he would not contribute to House GOP's fundraising arm because it supported gay candidates.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.


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