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The Senate is expected to take the first steps this week toward avoiding a government shutdown on Oct. 1, GOP lawmakers and aides said Monday. Congressional Republicans incensed over videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fees for procuring fetal tissue for medical researchers have been weighing whether to try to strip federal funding for the women’s health organization in a spending bill that must be passed before the government’s current funding expires on Sept. 30. (Peterson and Hughes, 9/21)

Democrats seem certain to block Republican legislation banning most late-term abortions in a Senate showdown with plenty of political significance but little suspense. Though the GOP controls the Senate, Democrats appeared certain to prevent them from getting the 60 votes needed Tuesday to move ahead on the bill. It would be the second time since this summer’s release of videos involving Planned Parenthood that Senate Democrats have scuttled a Republican effort to curb the organization and abortions. (Fram, 9/22)

The bill, introduced in the Senate by Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), prohibits abortions after 20 weeks with the exception of rape or incest or if the mother’s life is threatened. Supporters argue that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks of gestation, though the leading obstetric association says the science does not support that. The bill goes to the floor as Congress struggles to find a way to avoid a government shutdown next week amid the Planned Parenthood defunding fight. (Ehley, 9/22)

The Senate will start its week debating abortion, but it’s far from certain Tuesday’s symbolic vote will diffuse the tension over Planned Parenthood funding enough to avert a government shutdown. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is following through on a promise made to social conservatives to line up a vote on a bill to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks, a measure that’s spearheaded in the Senate by presidential candidate Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. (Lesniewski, 9/21)

Congress could finally hear directly from Planned Parenthood's leader next week after months of controversy — on the day before it confronts a potential government shutdown spurred by conservatives demanding an end to the group's federal funding. The timing of the possible Sept. 29 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has Democrats crying foul, accusing Republicans in a Monday letter of "using this issue to force a government shutdown unless [House Speaker John A. Boehner] bows to their demands." (DeBonis, 9/21)

Over the next week, as congressional leaders try to avoid another government shutdown, Pelosi will exert her rising clout as she tries to use a battle over the federal budget to win concessions from the GOP majority. ... To pass a bill that would keep government agencies and departments running after Sept. 30, [Speaker John Boehner] will almost certainly have to rely on Democratic votes that Pelosi controls. Boehner and his Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), badly want to avoid another politically damaging shutdown like the 16-day episode two years ago. Government officials say that fight cost taxpayers an extra $24 billion to shut down government programs and then reopen them. Polls show that voters blamed the GOP for the stalemate, hurting the party’s standing with the public. But conservative Republicans say they will not vote for any spending bill unless Congress blocks federal grant money for Planned Parenthood. (Mascaro, 9/22)

With little to show for their efforts to repeal the 2010 health law, Republicans have refocused on trying to defund Planned Parenthood Federation of America and tighten federal abortion restrictions. The shift has occurred both on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In the most recent GOP presidential debate, abortion was a prominent talking point while candidates mentioned the Affordable Care Act only a handful of times. In Congress, Republicans are weighing shutting down the government on Oct. 1 in a bid to defund Planned Parenthood. And both chambers are voting on antiabortion bills this month amid a crush of other issues. The GOP shift reflects a grudging acknowledgment that repealing the ACA won’t happen as long as President Barack Obama is in office. (Armour and Peterson, 9/21)