Breaking: Senator Whitehouse Blisters Tea Party

Breaking: Senator Whitehouse Blisters Tea Party

With just over two hours until the midnight federal shutdown deadline, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) launched an attack on the Tea Party and blaming them for the looming federal shutdown. Whitehouse wrote, "This is outrageous. What we are witnessing is a government being held hostage by Tea Party extremists. Extremists so intent on pushing their ideological agenda that they are willing to shut down the Federal Government."

The missive delivered via email called opponents - extremists for the their position on the need for federal spending cuts and specifically to cuts to funding for Planned Parenthood and Title X Funding.

Whitehouse wrote:

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

"We need to tell them no. Sign the petition to tell the Tea Party that the federal budget is not the place to push their social agenda.

This is no longer about spending. Last night Democrats agreed to $38 billion in budget cuts -- $5 billion more than the original Republican request -- and over three-quarters of the way toward their new request.

Today, Tea Party extremists came back to the table and revealed the real reason they've been holding up the federal budget: Planned Parenthood and Title X funding.

Let me be clear, by law no federal funds go to abortion. None. And they haven't since 1976. The funds in question provide cervical cancer screenings, diabetes testing, breast cancer exams and birth control for over 5 million low-income individuals each year. The Title X program has had such mainstream support that it was even signed into law in 1970 by President Nixon...who said that "no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition."

Title X funding has enjoyed such widespread support because Title X provides basic primary and preventive care for low-income women.

And yet this is the reason we haven't reached a budget deal, because Tea Party extremists think they can use the federal budget to shut down Planned Parenthood."