Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he won’t compromise on Planned Parenthood funding

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared Thursday that a Republican proposal seeking to ban taxpayer dollars for Planned Parenthood will not be part of any agreement to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.

Asked Thursday about the GOP proposal, Reid defended group, which provides abortions, and said the GOP measure will not be part of a long-term funding deal.

“[It] won’t be part of an agreement,” Reid said.

This was reported yesterday by The Hill. We’re in the midst of a real battle over the budget–a battle that is going to require compromise between the Republicans and Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. The House will continue to pass all sorts of horrible legislation because they are controlled by a far-right majority, but the Senate can ignore those bills, or vote them down, and they disappear.

But the budget is one of the places where both sides have to agree–they have to pass the same bill. This is where the leverage exists. Either side can stand firm and force a government shutdown, but that’s not likely to do well for them with voters in 2012.

The question remains, what will be the compromise and who will make it?

Amanda Marcotte posited that Planned Parenthood might end up being the concession. These statements from Reid make that possibility pretty unlikely, although nothing is off the table until the budget is passed.

Reid said he reviewed the list of amendments attached to the House-passed bill and found several unacceptable.

“Those that I focused on are not only no, but hell no,” Reid said.

Let’s just hope that resolves stands through the next three weeks of negotiations. A new budget measure will need to be passed by April 8th to avoid a government shutdown.