WASHINGTON -- Both of Alaska's U.S. senators -- Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski -- voted Monday to end debate and allow a vote on a bill that would slash federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
The 53-46 vote failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to move the bill forward, which was expected. But whether the hot-button issue is down for the count remains to be seen, with an appropriations battle queued up for the Senate's return from August recess.
Sullivan co-sponsored the bill, which would eliminate roughly $500 million in funding for Planned Parenthood and redistribute those funds to other community health centers.
A series of secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood doctors discussing payment for fetal tissue and organ donations obtained from abortions, released by the Center for Medical Progress, charged the issue on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. Planned Parenthood has said the videos are heavily edited and it does not profit from selling tissue for research. Federal funding for Planned Parenthood already cannot be directly used for abortions.
Murkowski, who faced constituent complaints and regret for her votes on family planning issues in the past, remained mum about how she'd vote in recent days.
"Today I voted for cloture to move to debate on a bill funding Planned Parenthood," Murkowski said in a statement Monday night. "Like many Alaskans, I have watched and been appalled by the Planned Parenthood videos."
Murkowski also wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell on Monday to request investigations into the behavior of Planned Parenthood doctors accused of callous and potentially illegal behavior.
But Murkowski didn't want to defund Planned Parenthood entirely, she said. Instead, she co-sponsored an amendment that would maintain funding, require investigations, and "would discontinue funds to those affiliates who have engaged in any illegal and reprehensible behavior," she said. "Had the cloture vote succeeded, I had received assurances that (the) amendment would be considered. I think this is a more targeted approach than broadly defunding an organization that provides a wide range of services to 21,000 Alaskans like cancer tests and health screenings," Murkowski said.
Murkowski caught a negative reaction from some Alaskans when she voted in favor of the "Blunt amendment" in 2012 to allow employers to restrict employees' birth control coverage for religious reasons. She later said she regretted the vote.
"We might not always agree, but like many Alaska women I wanted to believe that Sen. Murkowski would stand by her apology and commitment to women after her devastating mistake on the Blunt amendment," said Kay Brown, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party. "Unfortunately, today we were all let down."