Republican Hypocrisy on Planned Parenthood Editor’s Blog
House Republicans called for an investigation of Planned Parenthood this summer, after a series of deceptively edited videos issued by an anti-abortion group, the Center for Medical Progress, alleged that Planned Parenthood profits from the sale of tissue from fetuses. But at a hearing on Tuesday, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee deluged Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s president, with a variety of questions entirely unrelated to that issue.
Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah, was particularly aggressive in his efforts to keep Ms. Richards from getting a word in edgewise. He asked Ms. Richards if any of Planned Parenthood’s funds went to the Democratic Republic of Congo, then cut her off before she could answer, saying “we don’t have time for a big narrative.” He asked about the lobbying efforts of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which is separate from Planned Parenthood’s health care operation and which does not receive federal funding. He also questioned Ms. Richards about her own pay, which he said was $353,000 in 2009 (“Congratulations,” he added), and which, he said with a raised eyebrow, went up to $590,000 in 2013. Ms. Richards said her annual compensation was $520,000.
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