Overnight Healthcare: Senate advances spending bill with Planned Parenthood funds

The Senate voted 77 to 19 on Monday to advance a 10-week government spending bill that includes funds for Planned Parenthood after weeks of internal GOP strife.

Monday’s procedural vote, in which about two dozen Republicans dissented, sets up final passage of the stopgap spending bill likely on Tuesday. That vote will clear the way for the House to take up the bill just in time to meet Wednesday’s crucial deadline to keep the government open.

The half-billion dollars to Planned Parenthood has been the GOP’s biggest hurdle to passing a government spending bill this fall, with the party in control of both chambers.

{mosads}Several dozen hard-line members, led by presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have threatened a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood funds, which they said would force Obama to compromise. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) strongly dismissed that strategy – a position he reiterated minutes before the vote on Monday.

“It doesn’t represent my first, second, third, or 23rd choice when it comes to funding the government,” McConnell said from the Senate floor. “But, it will keep the government open through the fall and funded at the bipartisan level already agreed to by both parties as we work on the way forward.”

The outcome of Monday’s vote was widely expected after nearly every Democrat and eight Republicans blocked the Senate last week from moving forward with a short-term bill that would defund Planned Parenthood.

Cruz joined with fellow presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to oppose the bill. Their GOP rival, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), voted to advance the bill, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) did not vote.

But Cruz was strongly rebuked after the vote when he tried to halt the bill from moving forward, and received no help from his Senate colleagues.

The Obama administration said late Monday that it would support the short-term bill. Read more here.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD CEO TO TESTIFY: The head of Planned Parenthood will make her first public appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, one day before the House must pass a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

Cecile Richards will be the sole witness before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee. Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) did not invite David Daleiden, the creator of the secretly recorded Planned Parenthood videos.

The committee ignored repeated calls from the committee’s 18 Democrats to bring in Daleiden, whom critics have accused of illegal activity during the filming of his videos.

M.J. Henshaw, the committee’s GOP spokeswoman, said the committee may decide to hold future hearings its request to receive the full footage released by The Center for Medical Progress, which is currently in court. Read more here.

GOP TARGETS OBAMACARE IN RECONCILIATION: Republicans will seek to repeal a range of ObamaCare taxes as well as the healthcare law’s mandates to buy insurance through the fast-track process known as reconciliation.

President Obama is sure to veto the measures, but reconciliation will allow them to at least reach his desk, bypassing an expected Senate Democratic filibuster. The process is kicking into gear now because it is also being used in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, part of an effort to target the organization by means other than risking a government shutdown.

The reconciliation bill repeals the individual and employer mandates, as well the Cadillac Tax, medical device tax, and Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Read more here.

CLINTON TAKES VICTORY LAP IN DRUG-PRICING FIGHT: Hillary Clinton launched ads Monday taking credit for a pharmaceutical company’s decision to roll back a massive price increase of a life-saving drug.

Clinton’s campaign bought ads in Iowa and New Hampshire to draw attention to her attack on Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company that drew national scorn for raising the price tag of a decades-old drug by more than 4,000 percent. The company walked back that increase one day after Clinton accused the company’s CEO of “price gouging” on Twitter.

Clinton’s campaign said the move shows that the candidate “is already getting results in her fight to curb prescription drug costs.” Read more here.

Tuesday’s schedule

The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, where it will hear testimony from group President Cecile Richards.

The House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel will hold a hearing on the proposed mergers of health insurance companies.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations panel will hold a hearing on the costs of failed state exchanges under ObamaCare.

The House Ways and Means Committee will mark up a reconciliation bill repealing parts of ObamaCare.

The president’s advisory council on combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria will hold its first meeting at HHS’s D.C. office.

What we’re reading

House plans special committee to probe Planned Parenthood

Politifact on Scott Walker: ObamaCare doesn’t require members of Congress to abide by the rules others do

What we learned about Trump’s proposed ObamaCare replacement

State by state

Burwell to meet with South Dakota governor on Medicaid expansion

Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood for abortion services spark check by Ohio auditor

Missouri AG finds no evidence Planned Parenthood mishandled fetal tissue

What you might have missed from The Hill

Poll: 7 in 10 oppose shutdown over Planned Parenthood funds

Planned Parenthood sues Utah governor

Pelosi hits GOP over Planned Parenthood probe

Please send tips and comments to Sarah Ferris, sferris@digital-staging.thehill.com, and Peter Sullivan, psullivan@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow on Twitter: @thehill, @sarahnferris, @PeterSullivan4