Devastating, parliamentarian "advises" that defunding PP is not allowed in Trumpcare

[jeffblue101]

Devastating, parliamentarian "advises" that defunding PP is not allowed in Trumpcare

http://www.nationalreview.com/corne...-parenthood-defund-bill-cannot-remove-funding

The Senate parliamentarian has issued guidance suggesting that the sections of the Better Care Reconciliation Act that defund Planned Parenthood and prevent tax credits from funding abortion are subject to a 60-vote threshold. As a result of this preliminary determination, it appears likely that unless 60 senators vote to maintain those provisions, they will be stricken from the legislation.

Because Republicans hold a tenuous majority of just 52 senators — two of whom are moderate Republicans opposed to defunding Planned Parenthood — this decision would mean that the Democrats have the votes to block the pro-life provisions. Even if the bill is somehow able to pass, there is now no way for the GOP to defund the abortion giant without the votes of several Senate Democrats, which is more than unlikely.

It now looks like the only way to defund planned parenthood is to get 60 solid pro life Senators or nuke the filibuster.

 

[jeffblue101]

https://www.google.com/amp/thehill....rian-deals-setback-to-gop-healthcare-bill?amp

Some conservatives were already questioning Friday why the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, would rule against Planned Parenthood defunding, when that provision was allowed under reconciliation in 2015.

A spokesman for Sanders said the guidance has changed because it is now clear that Planned Parenthood would be the only organization affected by the defunding language.

"It passed last time because there was at least a question that other entities could be affected by the language," the spokesman said. "In the interim, Republicans have not been able to show that any entity other than Planned Parenthood is affected, and the new [Congressional Budget Office] score confirms that."

 

[jeffblue101]

I don't get both the 2015 and trumpcare defunding PP look almost the same.
Trumpcare

Section 123. Federal Payments to States
Section 123 would prohibit federal funds made available to a state through direct spending from being provided to a prohibited entity (as defined), either directly or through a managed care organization, for a
one-year period beginning upon enactment of the draft bill. The provision specifies that this prohibition
would be implemented notwithstanding certain programmatic rules (e.g., the Medicaid freedom of choice
of provider requirement that requires enrollees to be able to receive services from any willing Medicaid
participating provider, and states cannot exclude providers solely on the basis of the range of services they
provide). 6 The section defines a “prohibited entity,” as an entity that meets the following criteria at
enactment:
(1) it is designated as a not-for-profit by the IRS;
(2) it is described as an essential community
provider that is primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical
care;
(3) it is an abortion provider that provides abortion in cases that do not meet the Hyde amendment
exception for federal payment; and
(4) it received more than $350 million in Medicaid expenditures (both
federal and state) in FY2014

2015 bill

(Sec. 206) For one year, this bill restricts the availability of federal funding to a state for payments to an entity (e.g., Planned Parenthood Federation of America) that:

is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization;

is an essential community provider primarily engaged in family planning services and reproductive health;

provides for abortions other than abortions in cases of rape or incest, or where a physical condition endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed; and
received a total of more than $350 million under Medicaid in FY2014, including payments to affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.

 

[jeffblue101]

Update the parliamentarian reviewed an earlier version of trumpcare and in that version there was a life of the mother and rape exception included as well. Basically federal funding was allowed for organizations that only dealt with abortions that involved rape or the life of the mother.
So maybe the parliamentarian ruled that those exceptions had nothing to do with the budget and were subject to a byrd challenge (60 votes).