Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised Monday that language that would block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding eligibility would be permissible for inclusion in the sweeping budget reconciliation bill, a major blow for the nation’s largest provider of reproductive services.
The so-called Byrd rule restricts what can be included in a reconciliation bill, which can pass the Senate with a simple majority. The parliamentarian’s determination that the Planned Parenthood provision complies with the Byrd rule means the language would not be subject to a higher 60-vote threshold, which would’ve essentially killed the provision.
The reconciliation bill is now undergoing a “vote-a-rama” of amendment consideration in the Senate.
