(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker John Boehner said on CBS’s "Face the Nation" this morning that there will be no government shutdown—thus signaling that the House of Representatives he will lead until the end of next month will not send the Senate a continuing resolution that Democrats there would filibuster because it prohibits funding of Planned Parenthood or that President Barack Obama would veto for the same reason.
In response to a follow-up question from host John Dickerson, Boehner said he was "sure" the funding bill he will put through the Republican-majority House will need Democratic votes to pass.
The law currently funding the government will expire on Wednesday, the last day of fiscal 2015.
Dickerson of CBS asked Boehner: “Four days, the government runs out of money. Is there going to be a shutdown?”
“No,” said Boehner.
“The Senate is expected to pass a continuing resolution next week,” said Boehner. “The House will take up the Senate bill. We will also take up a select committee to investigate these horrific videos that we have seen from abortion clinics in several states that really raise questions about the use of federal funds and raise questions about aborted fetuses that are born alive.”
In other words, the Republican congressional leadership at this time is separating legislation to fund the federal government after Wednesday from the question of whether to fund Planned Parenthood.
In its latest annual report, Planned Parenthood said that it did 327,653 abortions in fiscal 2013—the latest year for which it has reported its abortion numbers. It also said that in the year that ended on June 30, 2014, it received $528.4 million in "government health services grants and reimbursements."
The “horrific videos” Boehner referred to are a series of videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting of tissue from aborted babies.
CBS’s Dickerson followed up with Boehner by asking him if the CR that Boehner intends to bring up for a vote will need Democratic votes to pass—presumably because so many conservatives in the House will refuse to vote for legislation the funds Planned Parenthood. Boehner had no doubt that it would.
“The continuing resolution, will that require Democratic votes to pass?” asked Dickerson.
“I'm sure it will,” said Boehner. “But I expect my Democrat colleagues want to keep the government open as much as I do.”
Toward the end of the interview, Dickerson asked Boehner: “[D]o you have anything that you can say, now that you're headed out the door, that you wouldn't have said if you had to go through another election?”
“No. I love my colleagues, even love the ones I don't--that may disagree with me, Republicans or Democrats,” Boehner said. “I love my colleagues. I love the institution. And I try to do the best thing every day. I'm a simple guy.
“Just try to do the right things for the right reasons, and the right things will happen,” Boehner said.