WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans pushed bills targeting Planned Parenthood and curbing some abortion procedures toward House passage Friday, with party leaders hoping the legislation will help mollify fractious conservatives demanding a face-off with President Barack Obama that could trigger a federal shutdown. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015, in Simi... (Associated Press) 
 
 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Neither measure has much chance of becoming law, since Democrats have the votes to block them in the Senate and the White House has threatened vetoes. But Republicans pushed ahead anyway, citing secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials casually describing how they provide researchers with tissue from aborted fetuses. 
 
 One of the measures would block Planned Parenthood's federal funds for a year, while the other would inflict criminal penalties on doctors who don't try saving infants born alive during abortions. As Friday's debate raged, it underscored how the fight over abortion could affect next year's elections. It's an emotional hotspot among each side's most loyal partisans and could be pivotal as each party seeks female voters. 
 
 Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., sponsor of the bill imposing criminal penalties on doctors, defended his legislation as he stood beside a poster-sized photo of a scarred, aborted fetus that survived. 
 
 "Our response as a people and a nation to these horrors shown in these videos is vital to everything those lying out in Arlington Cemetery died to save," Franks said. 
 
 Democrats said Franks' measure was unneeded because clinicians allowing born-alive babies to die would face murder charges. They said the GOP legislation had other goals. 
 
 "It's real intent is to further undermine a woman's right to choose," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. 
 
 The anti-abortion activists who secretly recorded the videos say they show that Planned Parenthood is illegally profiting from organ sales. The organization says it's broken no laws and is being maligned by deceitfully edited recordings. 
 
 The White House, in a statement released Thursday evening, said Obama called the shutdown threat "a game of chicken with our economy that we cannot accept." 
 
 It was unclear if House approval of the two bills would help House Speaker John Boehner solve a political Rubik's Cube. The Ohio Republican's twin goals: avoiding a shutdown fight that GOP leaders warn would set voters against the party, while simultaneously appeasing conservatives who might try to oust him as leader for not adequately confronting Obama. 
 
 "Our leaders wave the white flag every time there's a confrontation," said Rep. Mark Salmon, R-Ariz. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Boehner wants to "implement what the lobbyists want, not what the constituents of our district want." 
 
 At a closed meeting Thursday among House Republicans, leaders unveiled internal polling that attendees said showed most people would oppose a government shutdown — even those who have seen the videos and oppose financing Planned Parenthood. 
 
 Many Republicans argued that the polling showed a shutdown fight would be damaging and unwinnable, especially since Senate Democrats already derailed a bill erasing Planned Parenthood's federal funds. 
 
 "Pounding on the table doesn't turn 54 into 60 in the Senate," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., referring to the number of GOP senators and the number it would take to end Democratic filibusters. 
 
 The bill by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., would transfer Planned Parenthood's federal money to thousands of government-backed community health centers. Supporters say that would keep women's health care intact, but opponents say those centers are overwhelmed and often far from women who need them. 
 
 Planned Parenthood gets around $450 million yearly in federal payments, mostly Medicaid reimbursements for handling low-income patients, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That's around one-third of the $1.3 billion yearly budget for the organization, which has nearly 700 clinics and provides sexual disease testing, contraceptives and abortions. 
 
 Conservatives' determination to block Planned Parenthood's money has been partly fueled by the race for the GOP's presidential nomination. Several candidates used their Wednesday night debate to urge lawmakers to turn off that funding spigot. 
 
 But spotlighting GOP divisions, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., wrote Thursday to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, one of the presidential hopefuls. Cruz wants Republicans to oppose financing the government unless Planned Parenthood's money is cut off, defending his effort during the debate by saying, "I'm proud to stand for life." 
 
 Ayotte, who faces her own tough re-election fight next year, wrote that she opposed risking a shutdown "given the challenges and threats we face at home and abroad" and asked, "What is your strategy to succeed in actually defunding Planned Parenthood?" ||||| The same Republicans who campaigned on doing away with legislative crises are careening toward government shutdown in less than two weeks with still no concrete plan to stop it. 
 
 It’s not that Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) leadership team is hiding their best hand. They have no trick up their sleeve, no ace in the hole — pick your cliché. Nearly everyone in House and Senate leadership recognizes a simple reality: At some point in the next two weeks, they will move on a bill free of provisions to strip Planned Parenthood of its government funding. It just depends how long it takes, how painful it is and whether Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) team stumbles into their second government shutdown in three years. 
 
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 Twelve days remain until the government runs out of money, but the House and Senate are scheduled to be in session for just a fraction of that time. The showdown over Planned Parenthood is the epitome of crisis-fueled legislating. Senior Republican lawmakers and aides increasingly believe that the funding fight will come down to three-day dash – Sept. 28 through Sept. 30, the final day of the fiscal year. 
 
 Asked Wednesday when his colleagues would get a glimpse at his bill to fund the government, Boehner said, “At some point.” 
 
 Several House Republicans lawmakers said they don't expect to vote before the week of Sept. 30. The House is only scheduled to be in session three days that week before the government runs out of money. 
 
 To top it off, the endgame will almost certainly result in a referendum on Boehner’s speakership. He's favored, but not guaranteed, to survive. But if he does it will be in a further weakened state. 
 
 The path the funding fight will take is not yet clear to either Boehner or McConnell, according to senior aides to both men. But it’s shaping up to be extraordinarily messy. 
 
 Top aides to McConnell and Boehner have been in close contact, discussing who will move first to pass a funding bill in their chamber. But the House has been paralyzed with indecision. A pack of House Republicans – mostly on Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) whip team – are worried about the expectations that will be set by passing a funding bill that strips funding from Planned Parenthood, only to relent in the end. Yet other forces in the conference want a vote on such a continuing resolution – and it’s possible, yet hardly certain, that GOP leadership will set one up for next week. 
 
 House Republicans want to be first to move a funding bill, but McConnell is setting up his own process – a sign of how slow the House has been to take action. 
 
 McConnell is nearly certain to bring up a so-called CR to fund the government next week that includes the language to defund Planned Parenthood, but Democrats will block its consideration. McConnell will then move a funding bill free of legislative riders. Republican leaders believe conservatives, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will block it, but McConnell will be able to send it to the House by Sept. 29 at the latest. The Senate's plan could be put on hold if the House gets its act togther, aides caution. 
 
 The House is also trying to send other anti-abortion measures to Obama’s desk and are considering standalone bills, including one to defund Planned Parenthood that would ride alongside the government funding bill, but not impede its passage in the Senate. If the House hasn’t passed a "clean" bill by Sept. 29, it will have one day to avoid a government shutdown by passing the Senate’s bill, or a comparable measure. 
 
 “At some point in time you have to face reality,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a member of the Appropriations Committee who is close to Boehner, speaking about the need to pass a clean bill. “People say, ‘Oh, you didn't even try to do x.’ There are some things you can't do. We tried to repeal Obamacare 50-some odd times in the House and guess what? It didn't work. We probably should have figured that out after two or three.” 
 
 House Republican leaders, meanwhile, are working behind the scenes to try to calm the troops. McCarthy and Scalise have privately told Republicans that they will try to use the majority-vote reconciliation process to deny funding to the women’s health group — they say that is the best way to get a bill to President Barack Obama's desk. GOP leaders have urged anti-abortion groups to speak out against a shutdown. 
 
 At a closed party-wide meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Thursday morning, GOP leaders presented lawmakers with an internal National Republican Congressional Committee poll showing overwhelming public opposition to shutting down the government to stop funding Planned Parenthood. The poll, conducted in 18 swing districts by the GOP firm The Tarrance Group, showed 64 percent of respondents would not favor a shutdown to try to stop the organization’s federal funding, compared to 30 percent who favor shutting the government. Among those who had seen videos allegedly showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue sales, 55 percent did not favor a shutdown, while 37 percent thought it was the right move. 
 
 “We want to be more strategic because I think we are on more solid ground right now than we have before in raising these issues,” Rep. John Shimkus said (R-Ill.), who has a long record opposing abortion rights. “But there are some that say, 'Not a penny.' So, leadership is trying to work it out.” 
 
 While much of this fight is about the government’s purported support of abortion, there’s a hefty anti-Boehner sentiment that’s spurring the opposition to the leadership’s plans. After Congress clears a clean government-funding bill, Boehner and McCarthy aides expect a hard-line conservative to put forward a motion that would, if successful, force the Ohio Republican from the speaker’s chair. 
 
 Republican leaders do not expect the so-called motion to vacate, first filed by North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, to succeed. They say they would handily defeat it if it came to the floor. "Team Boehner," as it is called internally, is not actively preparing for the vote by whipping support in the GOP conference. 
 
 But some of his allies privately say they have informally secured assurances from Democrats that they would support keeping Boehner as speaker, or vote present, which would lower the vote threshold. If all Democrats voted present, Boehner could win with as few as 124 Republicans. Recently, Boehner has even told some Republicans privately he would like to run for another term as speaker. 
 
 Those looking to oust Boehner have not put forward an alternative to serve as speaker, and senior GOP leadership aides say the hardliners have no alternative for when the Senate and president reject their plan to defund Planned Parenthood. For example, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said Florida Rep. Daniel Webster could be the next speaker because he got “12 times as many votes as Kevin McCarthy.” McCarthy did not campaign for the job earlier this year. Webster garnered 12 votes total. 
 
 “The Sept. 30 crisis is a crisis of our leadership's making,” Massie said. “They refuse to pass appropriations bills. Even the CR is not the way the government is supposed to be run. The American public knows that. What we need to do is get back to regular order.” 
 
 --John Bresnahan contributed to this report 
 
 
 
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 WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leaders on Tuesday took the first steps to avert a government shutdown by scheduling a vote on a temporary spending measure that would keep agencies functioning through Dec. 11. 
 
 The move marked an important breakthrough, even though Democrats were certain to block the spending bill because of a provision cutting off federal financing for Planned Parenthood. 
 
 Ultimately, the Planned Parenthood provision, prompted by the controversy over the use of aborted fetuses in medical research, is expected to be dropped from the Senate’s spending bill. That would allow the underlying legislation to move forward with bipartisan support and set up a larger showdown over spending between Republican leaders and President Obama later this fall. 
 
 Still, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, urged Democrats to adopt the measure and accused them of pushing the country to the brink of a government shutdown when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, in a bid to strong-arm Republicans into accepting spending increases. 
 
 “They think it’s the only way to force America to accept their demands for more debt and more bureaucracy,” Mr. McConnell said. “But that’s not what Americans want. Americans want Democrats to now work with us responsibly to help our country get out of the situation that they, in fact, have engineered.” 
 
 As for Planned Parenthood, Mr. McConnell said the group would lose financing for one year, while $235 million in savings would be redirected to community health clinics. 
 
 The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, complained that Republicans were wasting time. “This vote on Planned Parenthood this Thursday is another rerun vote,” he said, adding, “How many times does the Republican leader need to return to this same show vote?” 
 
 The spending fight is the latest in an increasingly tense stalemate between the most conservative wing of the House and Republican leaders in both chambers who wish to keep the wheels of government churning through the next election, and who fear that a shutdown would hurt the chances of electing a Republican to the White House next year. 
 
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 Abortion has become a flash point in Congress in recent months. On Tuesday, Senate Republicans failed to advance a bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, legislation the House has approved. 
 
 The fight has posed the greatest threat yet to John A. Boehner’s leadership as House speaker, with some Republicans saying they will try to oust him if Planned Parenthood does not lose its funding. 
 
 Other members of the House leadership have played down that possibility. 
 
 If stripped of the Planned Parenthood language, the Senate spending measure will probably win approval in the House with support from Democrats. But House Republican leaders are trying to convince reluctant members that the issue of Planned Parenthood funding is not urgent because the group has received all of its appropriated funding for the year and would not be receiving new funds until April. 
 
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 Some Republicans are hoping this will be enough to keep some of their colleagues from demanding a vote to take away money from Planned Parenthood. 
 
 “I don’t think the folks that are demanding this realize that all the money that would go to the groups has already been disbursed,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma. “History teaches us that is a very counterproductive tactic to pursue.” 
 
 He added: “I have a 100 percent pro life record. I just don’t think we should be involved in this.” 
 
 Not every member buys that line of reasoning. “No thanks,” said Representative Mick Mulvaney, Republican of South Carolina. “I think the last thing we need is more smoke and mirrors.” 
 
 By getting the procedural gears turning on Tuesday, Mr. McConnell effectively cut off the possibility that Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican and presidential candidate, could single-handedly force at least a short-term shutdown. 
 
 Mr. Cruz, a primary force in the fight that led to a government shutdown in 2013, has been threatening to block any spending measure that included continued financing for Planned Parenthood, a position that he reiterated in a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday. 
 
 Senate aides cautioned that while Mr. McConnell had initiated a process that would avert a shutdown before the close of the fiscal year, there was no guarantee that the House would be willing to simply follow the Senate’s path. 
 
 Mr. McConnell will be helped by the fact that Mr. Cruz’s Senate colleagues showed little interest in joining what many described as a futile effort, given opposition by Senate Democrats and President Obama. 
 
 “I don’t know what Senator Cruz is trying to accomplish,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who is also a presidential contender. “No one has convinced me that there is a way to defund Planned Parenthood with President Obama in power. And the one thing I will say is the last time we followed Senator Cruz’s lead in shutting down the government, it blew up in our face. One kick of a mule is usually enough.” 
 
 Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire, voiced similar frustration in a letter to Mr. Cruz last week in which she accused him of urging Republicans to engage in an unwinnable fight. 
 
 In a new twist, some House Republicans have turned their attention to their Senate Republican colleagues, who say that they could pass a spending bill to defund the abortion provider immediately if only Senate Republicans would change their rule and end the filibuster — removing the need for 60 votes to get to legislation. 
 
 Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the majority leader, said last week, that “If the Senate would simply change a rule,” then Congress could pass a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. 
 
 Most Senate Republican rejected that idea, particularly concerned that if Democrats were able to regain control of the chamber in 2016, they could then pass their agenda with a simple majority vote. 
 
 “House conservatives should be the most interested members in Congress of keeping the Senate filibuster,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, who is a strong defender of Senate rules. “Because without it and with Hillary Clinton, Democratic majorities could abolish all the right-to-work laws, raise taxes, have more gun control, fewer abortion restrictions and make every city a sanctuary city.” 
 
 The temporary spending measure would finance the government at a rate roughly equivalent to $1.02 trillion annually, complying with discretionary spending limits for 2016 that were previously agreed to by Republicans and Democrats. 
 
 It includes several adjustments for new or emergency programs, including $700 million for fighting wildfires and financing to ease a backlog of disability claims by veterans. 
 
 The measure also includes provisions to address increased demand for federal loans to private businesses through the Small Business Administration, and to prevent any delay in the launch of the joint polar satellite, a joint project of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
– Twelve days remain in the fiscal year, and the threat of a second government shutdown in three years remains very much in play. The big problem remains a showdown over funding for Planned Parenthood, with conservative Republicans who are upset about recent undercover videos demanding that the group lose all federal funds. With the clock ticking, party leaders still have "no concrete plan" to avoid the shutdown, reports Politico. One possibility is to pass a temporary measure before the end of the month to allow more time for negotiations in the fall, but that's not a slam dunk—because House conservatives demand that even such a continuing resolution block Planned Parenthood funding, reports the Hill. They're also threatening to try to oust John Boehner—who opposes abortion and Planned Parenthood but doesn't want to hand Democrats a potential gift in the form of a shutdown—as speaker if he backs down. The AP sees a possible way out of what it calls this "political Rubik's Cube." House leaders are pushing through a number of abortion-related measures, including one that passed today to defund Planned Parenthood for a year. The measures stand virtually no chance of becoming law, but leaders hope they will be enough to mollify the conservative rank-and-file. It "remains unclear" whether that will be the case, however, notes the Washington Post. Lawmakers are in session only five more days until the deadline, and about the only safe bet is that the drama will go down to the final day, if not hour.