Reid: 'Everything' resolved in spending fight but abortion rider

[jefferson_dem]

Reid: 'Everything' resolved in spending fight but abortion rider
By Michael O'Brien - 04/08/11 09:57 AM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) claimed Friday that "everything" had been resolved in negotiations to fund the government except for a rider having to do with abortion rights.

Reid, in a brief media availability this morning, said that all but a provision to cut federal support for Planned Parenthood had been settled in his negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

"Everything has been resolved, everything," Reid said. "It's an ideological battle that has nothing to do with the fiscal integrity of this country. It has everything to do with the ideology on that other side of the Capitol."

Reid spokesman Jon Summers confirmed that, from Democrats' vantage point, all other issues -- including a rider to curtail some of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory powers -- had been settled.

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http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/154835-reid-everything-resolved-in-spending-fight-but-abortion-rider

MORE -

Government Shutdown: Top Negotiators Close To Reaching Budget Deal

The top negotiators are within inches of cutting a deal that would keep the government running. The last major obstacle to compromise is funding for Planned Parenthood, The Huffington Post has learned.

Administration staff, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) met until 3 a.m. last night, hashing out nearly all of the deal, in which Democrats would agree to steeper cuts than their proposed $34 billion from current spending.

"The last part is Title X," said a senior Democratic source familiar with the talks. Title X refers to funding for Planned Parenthood's many health services for women.

The source refused to put a final number on the cuts. Boehner has argued that the final deal is dependent on digging deeper into spending.

"But they spend hours on the riders," the Democrat said, referring to discussions between White House Legislative Affairs Director Rob Nabors, Reid Chief of Staff David Krone, Appropriations Committee members and Boehner's representatives.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/08/government-shutdown-negotiators-deal-close_n_846577.html

[NV Whino]

1. What does "settled" mean?

Pardon my skepticism.

[FreakinDJ]

5. Means the only one they are going to fight

[LiberalEsto]

2. Is Medicaid dead?

Pell grants?
Head Start for 200,000 kids?
Other ideological targets?

[ProSense]

3. "But Boehner's office shot back on Friday morning. 'Untrue' "

Reid spokesman Jon Summers confirmed that, from Democrats' vantage point, all other issues -- including a rider to curtail some of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory powers -- had been settled.

But Boehner's office shot back on Friday morning. "Untrue," tweeted Boehner's communications director, Kevin Smith, of Reid's claim.

Hmmmm?

The media would love nothing more than to help the GOP save face.

[jefferson_dem]

4. Boehner will deliver a statement to press in a few minutes...

His "spin" will surely be a sight to behold.

[stellanoir]

6. Planned Parenthood uses NO federal funding for abortion.

They were amazingly helpful decades ago when I needed regular PAP s.

They were kind, professional, caring, informative, and efficient.

They've long known that using federal funds for abortions would be problematic so were very careful about the matter.

Now the media is nullifying all the care they've taken and stoking the polarizing abortion issue.

ughhh

[Me.]

7. They All Know About The Hyde Amendment

This is not about abortions

[jefferson_dem]

8. Reid on Senate floor now:

"Tea Party is trying to move its extreme social agenda... Throw women under the bus"

"Republicans are asking me to sacrifice the health of women....I'm not going to do it."

[ProSense]

9. What happened to the EPA riders? TPM:

Reid's Final Offer To GOP: Drop Planned Parenthood Rider Or Cause A Government Shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has laid a final offer at Republicans' feet, and it will require them to drop their insistence on defunding Planned Parenthood, and accepting what Reid insists is an agreed upon level of spending cuts. If Republicans don't take it, and if Reid's not bluffing, the government will shutdown.

"The number we're not bending on," he told reporters in a press briefing Friday morning. "We're not bending on that and we're not bending on women's health."

The ball is effectively now in House Speaker John Boehner's court. Republicans have signaled a willingness to drop the Planned Parenthood rider in exchange for more spending cuts. But Reid says they've agreed on cut number -- $78 billion below President Obama's budget request last year, or about $38 billion off current spending. Reports on this figure have varied even in the last several hours.

After the briefing I asked Reid if this spending total, along with a menu of riders that does not include Planned Parenthood, represented his final offer.

<...>

[jwirr]

10. The abortion rider calls for no money on abortions. We already

have a law that prevents that. This is all about politics. It is the only thing they have left to stand on.

[jenmito]

11. Why can't Boehner and Reid "negotiate" out in the open, so we'll KNOW who's lying? Boehner

keeps claiming it's about the money and NOT Planned Parenthood, but Reid is saying that's not true, and we KNOW that's not true just by what some teabaggers are saying publicly.