Republican Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted Monday afternoon for a motion to waive a budget point of order against an amendment that would strike a section of the GOP megabill to bar Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid funding for services provided to low-income women across the country.
Collins and Murkowski were the only two Republicans to vote for the motion, which was sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Democrats warned that cutting off Medicaid funding would put 200 health centers across the country at risk of closing.
Murray hoped to offer an amendment to strip the Planned Parenthood-related provision from the bill but she first needed to overcome a procedural objection to the bill.
Republicans blocked her motion in a 51-49 vote. She needed 60 votes to overcome the objection.
“It will take another step towards enacting Republicans’ plan for a Backdoor Nationwide Abortion Ban. How does it do this? By defunding Planned Parenthood,” Murray said.
“This is a long-sought goal of anti-choice extremists—no surprise, it is overwhelmingly unpopular with the American people,” she added.
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Senate Republicans added the provision, Section 7115, back into the bill after the Senate parliamentarian initially ruled it violated the Senate’s Byrd Rule, which determines what legislation is eligible to pass with a simple-majority vote under budget reconciliation.
Republicans changed the timing of the “defunding” from 10 years to one year to meet the parliamentarian’s requirements.
Nathan Weixel contributed.
