WASHINGTON — (CNN) The number two House Republican on Monday said no federal funds should go to Planned Parenthood while Congress investigates two controversial videos showing officials from the group discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue.
“Regardless of where anybody stands on the issue, knowing the doubt of what’s going on here, is this a place where tax dollars should be spent? At the very least, there should be a moratorium until this investigation is done,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters.
Two House committees and one Senate panel have launched investigations into Planned Parenthood since the videos were released. The group maintains it did not break any laws and that the videos, which were made by an anti-abortion rights group, are heavily edited.
The federal funds that Planned Parenthood receives are spent on a wide range of women’s health needs, but not abortion.
McCarthy said there were a range of options leaders were considering on legislation to bar the group from getting federal money, but he declined to say how or when House GOP leaders would move any bill to defund Planned Parenthood.
Last week, House Speaker John Boehner sidestepped questions on whether the House would move to strip all federal money for the group as part of the upcoming spending debate.
“There’s an investigation underway and I expect there will be hearings, and as that process develops, we’ll make decisions based on the facts. Let’s get the facts first,” Boehner said on Thursday.
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