This week: Planned Parenthood fight, cyber bill on tap

The Senate is putting its push to defund Planned Parenthood in the spotlight as lawmakers race toward the exits for a month-long August recess.

Lawmakers will take a procedural vote Monday on a bill that would cut off federal funding for the organization and redirect the money to other women’s organizations in the wake of a string of controversial videos about fetal tissue donations.

{mosads}Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the bill would “ensure taxpayer dollars for women’s health are actually spent on women’s health.”

But the effort is expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to move forward. McConnell would need every Republican to back the bill as well as six Democrats to overcome the hurdle. 

Democrats, however, are almost universally opposed, with Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) saying that “no matter how you package it, it’s an attack on women.”  

The vote will also likely highlight the division among Republicans up for reelection next year. Though 45 Republican senators have backed the bill, Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) suggested that he’ll vote against it, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters late last week that she’s undecided. 

Cyber legislation

McConnell put cyber legislation on lawmakers’ radar Thursday, telling reporters that the Senate could move to a long-stalled bill if, as expected, Democrats block the Senate from moving forward with defunding Planned Parenthood. 

The Republican said that senators will “see if we can achieve something for the American people … before the August recess.” 

But the Kentucky Republican didn’t file cloture on legislation last week, which could have forced the Senate to take a procedural vote as early as Monday. 

Democrats previously blocked the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) from being included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), arguing that they wanted more time to consider and debate the legislation. 

But Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) sounded open to moving forward with cyber legislation, suggesting that Democrats were willing to make a deal. 

“We will offer the Republicans an agreement to a certain number of amendments, all relative to the bill,” he told reporters. “I think what’s going to be holding up the bill is their side, the Ted Cruzes and others of the world who want amendments unrelated to the bill and won’t let it go forward.” 

With McConnell trying to take up the bill in the final days before the August recess, senators expressed worry that the Republican leader’s gambit won’t give them enough time to offer changes to the legislation and finish up their work before heading out of town.  

Monday

The Senate is expected to convene at 2 p.m., with a procedural vote on defunding on Planned Parenthood expected at 5:30 p.m.

The House is out of town until Sept. 8. 

Tuesday

With the push to defund Planned Parenthood likely to fail, the Senate is expected to move on to cyber legislation. 

Senators will also likely recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. for weekly party lunches. 

The Senate’s schedule for the rest of the week is unclear.