He said both parties want "an empty show vote" on defunding the family planning provider.
Washington -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) thinks Republican leaders are bluffing when they say they want to defund Planned Parenthood, so he is enlisting Christian pastors across the nation to help mobilize voters to force his colleagues' hands and threaten a government shutdown.
Cruz implored more than a thousand pastors and religious leaders on Tuesday to "preach from the pulpit" against Planned Parenthood and rally public support for an amendment defunding the family provider in the must-pass federal budget bill in November. If Congress attaches the defunding amendment to the budget instead of holding a vote on the standalone bill, it cannot keep funding Planned Parenthood without shutting down the whole federal government.
"Here is the challenge," the presidential hopeful explained on the national conference call. "The leadership of both parties, both the Democrats and Republicans, want an empty show vote. They want a vote on Planned Parenthood that has no teeth or no consequence, which allows Republicans to vote for defunding, Democrats to vote for continuing funding, and nothing to change. But the leadership of both parties have publicly said they do not want the vote tied to any legislation that must pass."
Senate Republicans held one such "show vote" on defunding Planned Parenthood earlier this month, and Democrats predictably blocked it. GOP leaders are reportedly hoping to avoid the embarrassment of a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood funding and are searching for an alternate plan.
“We’ve been down this path before,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters earlier this month. “This is a tactic that’s been tried going back to the ’90s, frequently by Republican majorities that always have the same ending: that the focus is on the fact that the government is shut down, not on what the underlying issue that is being protested is."
Cruz said pastors should tell their congregations to call their members of Congress and insist that Republicans use the federal budget to defund Planned Parenthood. He said it would be President Barack Obama's fault if the government shuts down -- not the GOP's.
"It will be a decision of the president's and the president's alone whether he would veto funding for the federal government because of a commitment to ensuring taxpayer dollars continue to flow to what appears to be a national criminal organization," Cruz said.
Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million in annual public funding, which it uses to provide family planning services and Medicaid reimbursements to low-income patients. Abortions at Planned Parenthood are paid for separately -- the Hyde Amendment has prevented taxpayer dollars from being used toward abortions for more than four decades.
More: Ted Cruz Plots Government Shutdown Fight Over Planned Parenthood
I can't remember when Cruz tried to do anything to actually help America - instead of obstructing it.
Washington -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) thinks Republican leaders are bluffing when they say they want to defund Planned Parenthood, so he is enlisting Christian pastors across the nation to help mobilize voters to force his colleagues' hands and threaten a government shutdown.
Cruz implored more than a thousand pastors and religious leaders on Tuesday to "preach from the pulpit" against Planned Parenthood and rally public support for an amendment defunding the family provider in the must-pass federal budget bill in November. If Congress attaches the defunding amendment to the budget instead of holding a vote on the standalone bill, it cannot keep funding Planned Parenthood without shutting down the whole federal government.
"Here is the challenge," the presidential hopeful explained on the national conference call. "The leadership of both parties, both the Democrats and Republicans, want an empty show vote. They want a vote on Planned Parenthood that has no teeth or no consequence, which allows Republicans to vote for defunding, Democrats to vote for continuing funding, and nothing to change. But the leadership of both parties have publicly said they do not want the vote tied to any legislation that must pass."
Senate Republicans held one such "show vote" on defunding Planned Parenthood earlier this month, and Democrats predictably blocked it. GOP leaders are reportedly hoping to avoid the embarrassment of a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood funding and are searching for an alternate plan.
“We’ve been down this path before,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters earlier this month. “This is a tactic that’s been tried going back to the ’90s, frequently by Republican majorities that always have the same ending: that the focus is on the fact that the government is shut down, not on what the underlying issue that is being protested is."
Cruz said pastors should tell their congregations to call their members of Congress and insist that Republicans use the federal budget to defund Planned Parenthood. He said it would be President Barack Obama's fault if the government shuts down -- not the GOP's.
"It will be a decision of the president's and the president's alone whether he would veto funding for the federal government because of a commitment to ensuring taxpayer dollars continue to flow to what appears to be a national criminal organization," Cruz said.
Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million in annual public funding, which it uses to provide family planning services and Medicaid reimbursements to low-income patients. Abortions at Planned Parenthood are paid for separately -- the Hyde Amendment has prevented taxpayer dollars from being used toward abortions for more than four decades.
More: Ted Cruz Plots Government Shutdown Fight Over Planned Parenthood
I can't remember when Cruz tried to do anything to actually help America - instead of obstructing it.
