Democratic leaders refused to accept the provision, and it was scrapped in the final spending deal in favor of a vote in both chambers on defunding Planned Parenthood. In March of 2011, House Republicans tried to attach a measure banning taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood to legislation funding the government. The federal money provided to the organization has been repeatedly targeted in budget battles on Capitol Hill. The dust-up with Komen was not the first time Planned Parenthood’s funding has been threatened. One bill the organization lobbied on aimed “to repeal mandatory funding provided to states in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to establish American health benefit exchanges,” records show. The organization was also paying close attention to healthcare legislation. One bill Planned Parenthood lobbied on would help developing countries reduce the incidence of unsafe abortions and provide care for women who received dangerous procedures, records show. While the Komen battle raged, Planned Parenthood focused its lobbying efforts on on appropriations legislation and issues related to abortion rights. The charity had been under pressure from conservative activists to cut ties with Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortions, but Komen cited a congressional investigation of the organization in explaining the decision.Īfter coming under pressure from the left and Democrats on Capitol Hill, Komen reversed course and said it would continue to work with Planned Parenthood and allow them to apply for grant money. Komen announced earlier this year it was cutting off grant funding for breast-cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics. Komen for the Cure Foundation, the country’s leading breast cancer charity. The decrease in lobbying came at a time when Planned Parenthood was embroiled in a politically charged controversy with the Susan G. “As the nation’s leading provider of reproductive health care, Planned Parenthood is focused on protecting women’s access to health care at both the state and federal levels,” Ferrero said. “The drop in lobbying expenditures is quite straight forward - it was higher last year because of increased intensity with a new Congress and state ballot initiative work, and it’s lower so far this year because much of the focus has been on state legislatures and is undertaken by our local affiliates,” Planned Parenthood spokesperson Eric Ferrero said in a statement. Planned Parenthood said the drop in lobbying spending simply reflects a lack of federal activity on issues affecting the organization. It’s also a dramatic cutback from 2011, when the two groups spent an average of $435,000 on lobbying over the course of four quarters. That’s a huge drop from the fourth quarter of last year, when the two groups spent a combined $839,000 on lobbying. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its advocacy arm, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, spent a total of roughly $99,000 in the first quarter on lobbying activities. Planned Parenthood slashed its spending on lobbying in the first quarter of 2012 by 88 percent, disclosure records show.
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