Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/573313
ByAlanFramand Andrew Taylor The Associated Press WASHINGTON A divided House voted Friday to block Planned Parenthood's fed- eral funds for a year, as Republican leaders tried to keep GOP outrage over abortion from spiraling into an impasse with President Barack Obama that could shut down the government. The House voted 241-187 for the legislation, with just three Republicans and two Democrats defecting from their party lines. The mea- sure stands little chance of enactment, since Senate Democrats have enough votes to block it and for good measure the White House has promised a veto. Yet Republicans are forging ahead, sparked by secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parent- hood officials discussing how they take tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research. Those videos have helped mushroom the longtime political fight over abor- tion into a prominent issue for next year's elections. They've also refueled Con- gress' always-emotional clashes on the subject, with Friday's debate fea- turing a poster-sized photo of a scarred, aborted fetus and accusations from each side that the other was sim- ply trying to drum up cam- paign donations. 'Somethingsoevil' "In the face of these vid- eos, with all the alternatives women have for health, why would you want to force your constituents to pay for something so evil?" said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The bill by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., would shift Planned Parenthood's fed- eral payments to the thou- sands of government- backed community health centers, which Republicans said would treat the group's displaced patients. Most of the organization's $450 mil- lion yearly in federal money — a third of its overall bud- get — comes from Medicaid reimbursements for treat- ing low-income clients, and virtually none of it can be used for abortions. Democrats said other clinics are already over- burdened and often dis- tant from women who need them. They said the true GOP goal was to whip up conservative voters with bills that would result in di- minished health care for women. "Some of their members are willing to risk women's lives just to score political points," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. "Enough is enough." Abortion opponents say the tapes show Planned Parenthood illegally prof- ited from tissue sales for research. Planned Parent- hood says it's acted legally and says the tapes were de- ceptively edited. The GOP assault on Planned Parenthood was being waged on several fronts. By 248-177, the House also approved a bill by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., im- posing penalties of up to five years in prison plus fines on doctors who don't try to save infants born alive dur- ing abortions. It, too, faces likely Senate defeat and an Obama veto threat. Late-term abortions The Senate was ready to vote Tuesday on a mea- sure banning most late- term abortions that Dem- ocrats were poised to scut- tle. Committees from both chambers were investigat- ing Planned Parenthood. Yet it was unclear if those moves would help House Speaker John Boehner, R- Ohio, solve a political Ru- bik's Cube. Boehner, a long-time abortion foe, has twin goals. He's hoping to satisfy conservative lawmakers who might try to oust him as leader for not adequately confronting Obama. But he's also trying to avoid a shutdown fight that GOP leaders worry would dam- age the party's standing with voters and that they say they couldn't win, be- cause they lack the votes to prevail in the Senate or override Obama vetoes. As a result, party lead- ers want to avoid entwin- ing the GOP effort to halt Planned Parenthood's money with must-pass leg- islation needed to keep gov- ernment agencies from clos- ing on Oct. 1. The fight over abor- tion touches an emotional hotspot among each side's most loyal partisans and could be pivotal as each party seeks female voters. Rep. Trent Franks, R- Ariz., sponsor of the bill imposing criminal penal- ties on doctors, defended his legislation as he stood beside a poster-sized photo of a scarred fetus that sur- vived an abortion attempt. "Our response as a peo- ple and a nation to these horrors shown in these vid- eos is vital to everything those lying out in Arling- ton Cemetery died to save," Franks said. Democrats said Franks' measure was unneeded because clinicians allow- ing born-alive babies to die would face murder charges. "Its real intent is to fur- ther undermine a woman's right to choose," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. The Planned Parenthood issue has been partly fueled by the race for the GOP's presidential nomination. Several candidates used their Wednesday night de- bate to urge lawmakers to block the funding. SECRETLY RECORDED VIDEOS Ho us e pa ss es G OP b il l bl oc ki ng funds for Planned Parenthood JACQUELYNMARTIN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, le , walks to the floor of the House on Friday to a vote to block Planned Parenthood's federal funds for a year. By Juan A. Lozano The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO The officer who led the investigation of Bowe Bergdahl's dis- appearance and capture in Afghanistan six years ago testified Friday that the Army sergeant said he walked away from his post as part of a plan to spark a search and get the atten- tion of a general so that he could express his concerns about his unit's leadership. Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl told the packed courtroom at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio that Berg- dahl felt the problems were so severe that they put his platoon in danger, but that Bergdahl's per- ceptions were "completely off the mark." Dahl said Bergdahl had an elaborate plan to head from his post to the forward operating base roughly 19 miles away, ex- pecting to arrive while a search was underway and to create a "PR event" that might get a general to lis- ten to him. "He felt it was his duty to intervene," said Dahl, who described Bergdahl as a loner who seemed mo- tivated to help others. He said he doesn't think Berg- dahl should go to prison. Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after leav- ing his post on June 30, 2009, and held until last year, when he was ex- changed for five Taliban commanders being held at the U.S. detention cen- ter at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His commanding of- ficers in Afghanistan tes- tified Thursday about the grueling 45-day search for Bergdahl, saying it put other soldiers in danger. Military prosecu- tors charged Bergdahl in March with desertion and misbehavior before the en- emy. His Article 32 hear- ing, which was concluded Friday, will help determine if he should face a court- martial. The prisoner exchange drew a lot of public criti- cism, with many Republi- cans and some Democrats saying they felt it was po- litically motivated and contrary to the U.S. policy of not negotiating with ter- rorists. Terrence Russell, a Department of Defense worker who helped de- brief Bergdahl after the exchange, testified that Bergdahl was subjected to worse conditions than any American prisoner of war since the Vietnam War and was "skin over bones" near the end of his captivity. Russell said Bergdahl's captors treated him like a "dirty animal," beating him with rubber and cop- per hoses and giving him little food and water. He said Bergdahl was kept in a cage for three years and had uncontrollable diar- rhea for years. Bergdahl tried to resist andattemptedtoescapeon multiple occasions, includ- ing one attempt in which he managed to elude re- capture for 8½ days, Rus- sell said. He acknowledged the public criticism leveled at Bergdahl, but said Berg- dahl did the best he could under the circumstances. EarlierFriday,Bergdahl's formersquadleader,former Sgt. Greg Leatherman, tes- tified that before Bergdahl disappeared, he expressed concern to his first ser- geant that Bergdahl didn't seemtobeadjustingwellto their deployment and that hethoughtBergdahlshould speak to someone such as a chaplain. He said the ser- geant told him to drop the matter. MILITARY HEARING Investigator testifies Bergdahl le post to expose problems | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 10 A