House Dems urge 'no' vote on FY 2011 spending bill rule over healthcare, Planned Parenthood

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Wednesday morning urged his Democratic colleagues to vote against a rule, H.R. 1473, allowing consideration of a spending bill for the remainder of fiscal 2012.

In his morning whip notice, Hoyer's office said the rule allows for consideration of two healthcare amendments: one that would defund ObamaCare, and one that would eliminate a federal prevention and public health program.

"Despite Republicans’ insistence that negotiations involving a full-year continuing resolution were strictly about numbers, they have injected these issues back into the debate and have allowed for consideration of these two unrelated issues," the notice said. "Democrats are urged to VOTE NO on the Rule."

Despite Hoyer's notice, Congress and the White House agreed to up-or-down votes on last year's healthcare law and funding for Planned Parenthood, in both the House and the Senate, as a condition of last year's budget agreement.

Passage of either of the health-related amendments in the House would not formally mean they are attached to the fiscal 2011 spending bill — the Senate would have to approve them as well, which is not expected to happen.

Heavy Democratic opposition to the rule for H.R. 1473 will not necessarily lead to heavy Democratic opposition to the bill itself, as many Democrats are expected to support the bill funding the government for the rest of the year. Democrats several times this year have opposed the rules for considering legislation, but then voted for the underlying measure.