New York Times—It May Be a 'Budget Battle,' but Some Skirmishes Have Little to Do With Money:
There are fights about money and fights about ideas, and the battle over a spending plan to keep the government open is increasingly centered on the latter.WaPo—$5 billion separates parties in elusive 2011 budget deal: "Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill say they are about $5 billion apart in their haggling to reach a deal to fund the federal government for the rest of the year. That amounts to one-half of 1 percent of the trillion dollars in spending Congress doles out each year. Five one-thousandths."
The frenetic negotiations to avert a government shutdown seem largely focused not on dollars and cents, where the two sides are not all that far apart, but on policy issues, primarily abortion and environmental regulations, that defy easy compromise.
"We've been close on the cuts for days," Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader, said Thursday, adding, "The only things — I repeat, the only things — holding up an agreement are two of their so-called social issues: women's health and clean air."
The Hill—Brinkmanship and traded barbs in the shadow of a shutdown: "Congressional leaders reported progress in around-the-clock negotiations, but each side accused the other of backing away from a final deal. Without congressional action on Friday, the government would shutter at midnight for the first time in 15 years."
New York Times—No Accord in Budget Talks as Policy Fights Hamper Deal: "Mr. Boehner in particular faced a tricky calculation about how much he could compromise without losing support not just from his large contingent of Tea Party-inspired fiscal conservatives, but also from social conservatives who were eager for a victory on abortion and other issues."
Jodi Jacobson—Averting a Government Shutdown? GOP Says Over Your Dead Body. And They Mean It:
All (let me repeat this: ALL) of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding goes toward basic health care. Public funds account for roughly a third of Planned Parenthood’s $1 billion annual budget. These funds come from local, state and federal sources, but 90 percent come from Medicaid and other federal sources. Federal funds pay only for cancer screenings, birth control, family planning visits, annual exams, testing for HIV and other STIs, and other basic care.See also: TPMDC's "Abortion, Spending Cuts Hamper Deal To Avoid Government Shutdown" and Mother Jones' "The GOP's (Latest) Budget Blame Game."
Moreover, Planned Parenthood centers provide access to those who otherwise have NO other options. Seventy-three percent of Planned Parenthood health centers are in rural or medically underserved areas.
Planned Parenthood provides primary and preventive health care to many who otherwise would have nowhere to turn. According to the Guttmacher Institute, six in ten patients who receive care at a family planning health center like Planned Parenthood consider it their main source of health care.
