Republican leadership won an important symbolic battle Tuesday when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that a measure stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funding could be included in a reconciliation bill that repeals key parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

It’s a win for the party base, but it could ultimately be the downfall of the repeal bill if it forces the chambers three GOP senators who support abortion rights to vote no.

To be clear, Republicans can put anything they want in the bill. But the parliamentarian’s ruling means that their decision to include the divisive provision will not jeopardize the bill’s ability to be passed through the “reconciliation” process. That process, which allows legislation to evade a filibuster, is reserved for budgetary legislation that reduces the federal deficit.

“The House of Representatives passed important legislation that ripped out the core pillars of ObamaCare and fully complies with the House’s budget rules. Today the Senate Parliamentarian advised us that their ObamaCare repeal bill can proceed under the rules of reconciliation,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Republicans have already dealt with internal division over what to include in the reconciliation package. The current bill only includes budgetary provisions –– notably the repeal of the individual and business insurance mandates and repeal of the Cadillac Tax –– but hardliners in the party, including three senators running for president, said that anything short of full repeal would not get their support.

Because Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have all pledged to vote against the reconciliation bill, the party cannot afford to lose any more votes if it wants to pass the bill. The GOP currently has a 54 seat majority in the Senate, and it needs 51 votes to pass a bill.

The debate is entirely symbolic, since whatever repeal bill is approved by the Senate will be vetoed by President Obama. But Republicans have decided that forcing the president to wield the veto pen will be an important signal to the electorate that Obamacare could be dismantled once a Republican occupies the Oval Office. The same goes for defunding Planned Parenthood, an issue dear to the GOP base.

But the Planned Parenthood provision threatens the votes of Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. A GOP source told The Hill that, “Collins and Kirk can’t vote for it.”

Instant Insights /

Planned Parenthood provision to be included in PPACA repeal

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