Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters Thursday that Democrats were attempting to add language that would allow family planning grants for Planned Parenthood to be grandfathered in to the government spending bill, The Hill reported.
"They don't want the Trump administration to be able to make the decision on these grants," Cole said in The Hill's report. "They're trying to grandfather in people that have gotten grants in the past."
"We can't have Republicans voting effectively to fund Planned Parenthood," said Cole, the chairman of the Appropriations health committee.
Cole, however, said Republicans are not requiring Planned Parenthood be cut off from getting available funds, saying he approves of the same language that was in the spending bill the previous year," Cole said in the report.
"That's the way it was in the last administration, needs to be the same in this administration," Cole said.
Republicans in the House are seeking a series of policies to be placed in the annual health spending bill, including cutting off federal funding for Planned Parenthood, cutting a federal family planning program, and dropping the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, sources on Capitol Hill told Politico Wednesday.
Cole acknowledged a delay in talks on the bill could lead to another short-term spending extension, Politico's report said.
Congress must approve new government funding by March 23, or a third government shutdown could happen, the Politico report added.
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