U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said the cuts in state funding for women's health providers proved the importance of Planned Parenthood.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman attacked Gov. Chris Christie at a congressional hearing Tuesday for his successful efforts to cut off state funding for Planned Parenthood.
Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.) criticized the governor at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Planned Parenthood's federal funding, most of which covers Medicaid recipients' contraceptive services, health screenings and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
The freshman lawmaker said Planned Parenthood provided health services that women could not find elsewhere, and cited New Jersey as an example. She noted that Christie ended state funding for the women's health care provider.
"We know in New Jersey, in my state, where this Gov. Chris Christie spent so much of his leverage defunding Planned Parenthood and then suggesting that the federally qualified health care centers would be able to pick up the slack," Watson Coleman said. "They came in and testified they couldn't possibly accommodate all the deficiencies that would occur without Planned Parenthood."
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Christie has cited his ability to defund Planned Parenthood as proof of his opposition to abortion as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination. As governor, he regularly vetoed funding for women's health care in the state budget, citing New Jersey's fiscal woes.
During the second Republican presidential debate, Christie criticized former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, for her support of the group.
"Let's ask Hillary Clinton," he said. "She believes in the systematic murder of children in the womb to preserve their body parts in a way that maximizes their value for sale for profit."
Christie spokeswoman Nicole Sizemore and campaign spokeswoman Samantha Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republicans have stepped up their criticism of Planned Parenthood, which also provides abortions, following the release of heavily edited videos by an anti-abortion group charging that the group sells parts from aborted fetuses for prohibit, which is illegal under federal law.
An investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee has found no evidence to substantiate the charges against Planned Parenthood, according to its ranking member, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.). Committee Republicans said the probe is continuing.
Some congressional Republicans have said they would not vote for a bill to fund the government past Wednesday if it includes money for Planned Parenthood, threatening a partial shutdown. Despite that opposition, congressional GOP leaders are on track to pass legislation to temporarily finance operations into December and not cut off funding for Planned Parenthood.
House Republicans on Tuesday passed legislation that would allow states to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers by removing them from their Medicaid programs. All six New Jersey Republican members of the U.S. House voted in favor of the bill and all six New Jersey Democrats voted against it.
Planned Parenthood gets $450 million annually in federal funds. New Jersey clinics, which offer health and contraceptive services in 14 of the state's 21 counties. received $5.2 million in federal support last year.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.