There would reportedly have not been enough votes in the appropriations committee to prevent the "poison pills" from staying in the legislation anyhow. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are two Republicans on the committee who might have supported the proposals; they have a 70 percent rating and a 65 percent rating, respectively, for 2019 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
With just weeks to go before the end of the fiscal year, McClusky warned that a Continuing Resolution-a short-term temporary extension of budget authority for federal agencies-would be better than alternative scenarios.
"The best thing for pro-lifers right now is a CR," McClusky told CNA, explaining that the status quo would be better than other alternatives where senators might have to vote on "poison pill" amendments to fund the government.
The Mexico City Policy is generally one of the first policies implemented-or repealed-by an incoming presidential administration. Started by President Ronald Reagan, the policy bars foreign non-governmental organizations that promote or perform abortions from U.S. family planning assistance.
In 2017, the Trump administration reinstituted the Mexico City Policy and vastly expanded its protections against taxpayer funding of abortions internationally, through the new "Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance" policy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in May that the administration would also not fund any groups that give financial assistance to other groups in the abortion industry, and would not fund any lobbying for abortion.
Senators from both parties emphasized the importance of passing appropriations bills before the Sept. 30 deadline.
"As appropriators, we should all want to extend that bipartisan success, not relapse into the partisan bickering that left us lurching from crisis to crisis," Shelby said on Thursday. "The time for haggling over the terms of the budget agreement has passed. The time to get our work done is upon us, and it is running short."
"I know both the chairman and I wish we could have begun the process sooner, but I hope we can work very well over the next few weeks," the committee's vice chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) stated at the Sept. 12 hearing.
"The reason our subcommittee has been successful in passing bipartisan bills in the past is because we avoided controversial issues," Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of the committee, said in a written statement to CNA.
"What Democrats appear to be proposing in terms of stopping the president's Title X regulations is clearly a violation of the budget agreement. I would hope to see our Democrat colleagues keep their word so we can get to work on this bill, which funds a variety of critical health care programs," he said.
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.