Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is testifying today before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Pro-life politicians have been heavily critical of Planned Parenthood during the ongoing controversy over its use of fetal tissue, and committee chair Jason Chaffetz (a Utah Republican) took a shot specifically at Richards’ salary during his questioning, asking her somewhat rhetorically to confirm that her compensation has in recent years been bumped past $500,000:
New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s time came up several minutes later, and her response to Chaffetz was forceful.
Said Maloney:
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. The entire time I’ve been in Congress I’ve never seen a witness beaten up and questioned about their salary. Ms. Richards heads a distinguished organization providing health care services to millions of Americans and I find it totally inappropriate and discriminatory.
For what it’s worth, given the current alignments in Congress, the fetal-tissue controversy is considered unlikely to result in the group losing any of its federal funding.
