The lengthy hearing broke little new ground but is unlikely to quiet calls from House Republicans to eliminate the organization’s federal funding. While the organization will be spared from cuts in the latest stopgap government spending bill expected to pass Congress this week, both opponents and proponents know that defunding efforts will return. The hearing started just hours before the House approved a bill that would let states block Medicaid funds to providers who perform abortions.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Republicans tried to portray federal support of Planned Parenthood as wasteful. Chaffetz said the federal government doesn’t spend enough on fighting cancer and chastised Planned Parenthood for a reduction in the number of cancer screenings and breast exams it’s provided since 2005 -- a decline that Planned Parenthood attributes to changes in federal preventive care recommendations that call for less frequent screenings.

Chaffetz also criticized the organization for giving money to its political affiliates, for spending about $5 million on travel expenses and for Richards’ salary, which she said is about $520,000.

Richards defended the organization’s federal support, pointing out that federal funds are not spent on abortion except in rare circumstances allowed by law. She also strongly rejected accusations that her organization illegally profits from fetal tissue and organ donation, as alleged by the undercover videos.

“The latest smear campaign is based on efforts by our opponents to entrap our doctors and clinicians into breaking the law — and once again our opponents failed,” Richards said. “Planned Parenthood policies not only comply with, but indeed go beyond the requirements of the law. The outrageous accusations leveled against Planned Parenthood, based on heavily doctored videos, are offensive and categorically untrue.”

Democrats lined up quickly to defend Planned Parenthood. The closest any Democrat came to criticizing the organization was Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), who questioned Richards about why the organization doesn’t have clinics in the Virgin Islands.

And Democrats took issue with the Republicans’ aggressive line of questioning.

“I’d like to register my opposition and my objection to the chairman beating up on a woman, on our witness today, for making a good salary,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). “The entire time I’ve been in Congress, I’ve never seen a witness beaten up and questioned on their salary.”

The hearing, which stretched over five hours with breaks, cycled over many of the same topics. For instance, Republicans repeatedly quizzed Richards on why Planned Parenthood facilities don’t provide mammograms. She told lawmakers that the clinics frequently do breast exams and refer patients to radiology facilities if a mammogram is needed.

Chaffetz and others repeatedly quizzed Richards about Planned Parenthood’s $5 million in travel expenses in one year. At one point, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said that the organization must be using first-class travel, which Richards denied.

And Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) quizzed Richards on an apology video she issued shortly after the first sting video came out, in which she said that the conversation recorded didn’t reflect the “compassionate care” that Planned Parenthood provides.

“In the video, one of our staff members speaks in a way that does not reflect that compassion,” Richards said in the video. “This is unacceptable, and I personally apologize for the staff member’s tone and statements.”

Jordan repeatedly asked Richards to explain which statements she was apologizing for. Richards said that she was only apologizing for the tone the physician used and for holding a clinical conversation in a non-clinical, non-confidential setting.

Planned Parenthood gets about $450 million annually in federal funds, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of that, about $390 million is Medicaid reimbursements and another $60 million is Title X family-planning grant funding.

ޯ.��