Democrats Push Pork for Planned Parenthood in Coronavirus Package

The Hill reported Sunday that one of the reasons bipartisan support for a massive coronavirus stimulus package has fallen apart is, once again, because Democrats want the bill to prop up Planned Parenthood.

According to the Hill:

A Democratic aide said that the small business provision was drafted to exclude non-profits who receive Medicaid from being eligible for Small Business Administration assistance offered under the bill. That, according to the aide, would impact Planned Parenthood but also community health centers, rape crisis centers and disability service providers.

Planned Parenthood is identified as a nonprofit, not a small business.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Sunday she will be moving ahead with her own emergency relief package and ended hopes for an immediate vote in the Senate to further assistance for the nation in the midst of the crisis caused by the virus that originated in China.

Breitbart News reported:

Top school district put on notice as watchdog group threatens legal action over gender policy

Watch: Jasmine Crockett Claims She’s One of the Most ‘Powerful’ People in the Country, Slams Those Not ‘On the Same Level’

Time is running out for Virginia Supreme Court to decide on redistricting referendum

No Good Deeds Go Unpunished By Our European ‘Allies’ and Their Total Inaction

600 groups with $2B in revenue mobilize 3,000 May Day protests in a ‘red-blue’ alliance, probe finds

Trump and GOP lawmakers push for executive mansion expansion

The little labor negotiation that could keep rails moving

Vance, Cruz, head to Iowa on 2026 missions as 2028 GOP race to succeed Trump heats up

Suspect arrested for allegedly running meth lab at Michigan State University’s largest academic building

Two Kentucky bank employees shot and killed during robbery, police hunting suspect

Dominican migrant with deportation order, wanted for murder in home country freed by Biden-appointed judge

Wyoming official faces backlash after posting ‘hang bad judges’ comment on abortion ruling

Doctor and son accused of running dangerous side-business scheme in New York

DOJ sues New Jersey over laws giving illegal aliens in-state tuition, says citizens treated as ‘second-class’

Hawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm

Senate Republicans and the White House have insisted that they will continue to push for the $1.6 trillion economic relief package, which would include $350 billion in support for small businesses and $250 billion for unemployment insurance. The package would also include direct cash payments to individuals around $1,200 per individual, with additional funds going to families with children.

Politico also reported that Pelosi’s announcement is an indication she will not be simply taking up the Senate bill and moving it forward on a unanimous consent basis:

That also means the House may be forced back into session, even though many lawmakers are concerned about the threat from the coronavirus and the difficulties in reaching Capitol Hill from their home districts.

Fox News reported on the impasse:

Democrats also pushed for add-ons including food security aid, small business loans and other measures for workers — saying the three months of unemployment insurance offered under the draft plan was insufficient.

The Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberly Strassel also weighed in on the stalemate on Twitter:

1) The Senate bill is bipartisan; assembled with D input from Day One. Everyone understands need for liquidity, and biz $ that get out fast and stop more layoffs. Ds's also got plenty, from unemployment plus-ups to medical surge, to more gov $. They NOW claim not enough?

— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) March 22, 2020

2) Pelosi's balk is naked attempt to cadge more last-minute money. She's playing politics in a crisis. Which is almost as bad as Elizabeth Warren suggesting this is a corporate "slush fund." Gov shuts down economy, and Warren blames business? Toxic.

— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) March 22, 2020

Two weeks ago, it was discovered Pelosi attempted to ensure a Hyde Amendment loophole was included in an earlier coronavirus economic stimulus proposal. The Hyde Amendment is a longstanding provision applied to spending bills that states taxpayer monies will not be used to fund abortions.