Conservative group unveils funding bill

The conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) on Tuesday unveiled a government funding package for the next fiscal year that takes direct aim at Planned Parenthood, President Obama’s immigration proposals and the Iranian nuclear deal.

The package includes all 12 appropriations bills that House Republicans approved in committee — six of which passed the House.

According to a summary of the plan, the bill would prohibit funding for all abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, prohibit the sale of fetal body parts and prohibit funding for ObamaCare.

An aide said RSC Chairman Bill Flores (R-Texas) has discussed the measure with GOP leaders and that bill text is “in the works.”

It would also block funding for the implementation of Obama’s immigration policies from 2011, 2012 and 2014 and prevent the president from lifting sanctions against Iran until 2017 when another president will take office. Under the Iran nuclear deal, sanctions are to be lifted much earlier.

{mosads}RSC said its proposal “would adhere to the budget passed by the House and Senate, advance conservative policy priorities and prevent a lapse in federal services” or a government shutdown.

The bill maintains the $1.017 trillion sequestration spending cap for fiscal 2016, which begins Oct. 1. Broken down, that includes a $523 billion spending cap for the Pentagon and a $493 billion limit for domestic programs.

“The House and Senate passed a budget earlier this year with clear spending priorities. We have an obligation to stick to that budget, just as millions of hard-working American families do every day,” said Flores.

Given the spending limits alone, Democrats would oppose the package because they’ve called for negotiations that would lead to sequester relief. The White House has also made clear that President Obama would veto spending bills that maintain the sequestration spending limits.

Earlier this summer, Senate Democrats blocked GOP-sponsored spending bills from hitting the floor because of those spending levels.

“The Republican Study Committee proposal takes a bold stand against the continued obstruction of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats who are blocking the ordinary appropriations process,” Flores said.

Most Democrats and Obama would also oppose all of the policy riders that target Planned Parenthood, ObamaCare, the administration’s immigration policies and the Iranian nuclear deal.

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, has already called on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) not to attach anything related to the Iranian nuclear deal to a government funding measure.

The RSC’s proposal comes just eight legislative days before the deadline to fund the government and prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

Normally, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee are responsible for releasing a government spending package, but they have yet to do so. They’re waiting to get the greenlight from GOP leaders.

Conservatives have been pushing leadership to attach a measure to a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government at current levels that would defund Planned Parenthood.

Boehner has not made a decision about the CR or the demands to defund Planned Parenthood yet.

The House will return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday evening and GOP lawmakers are expected to meet behind closed doors this week to discuss strategy.