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SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Mia Love told a group of Utah Republican Party donors Tuesday that she wants to avoid a federal government shutdown over efforts to stop funding for Planned Parenthood.
"I want you to know that my intention is to keep government running. We have to keep government running. I think we have to do everything we can to keep the promises we made" to seniors, veterans and others, the GOP congresswoman said.
Love, elected in 2014 to represent the 4th District, also stressed her opposition to Planned Parenthood, under fire over videos connecting the organization to the harvesting and sale of aborted fetus parts.
"It's also our job to make sure we stand for human life," she said in a speech to about two dozen members of the Elephant Club, comprising Republicans who have donated at least $1,000 to the state party.
Love said, however, she has "no intention of connecting the two" issues.
But Congress is facing a decision over whether to approve the continuing resolution needed to keep the government funded beyond Oct. 1 or reject it if money is included for Planned Parenthood.
A similar attempt to remove funding for President Barack Obama's signature health care law in 2013 led to a 16-day federal government shutdown. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of the leaders of that fight, saw his approval rating fall as a result.
Lee said last week he would not vote for a federal budget that includes money for Planned Parenthood and called for Congress to fix the process so lawmakers could debate expenditures.
Love has not said publicly how she will vote on a continuing resolution that would provide funds for Planned Parenthood. Tuesday, she told the Deseret News she doesn't know what is going to happen.
"My goal is to avoid that. So no matter what happens, I'm going to do everything I can to avoid that because we don't want — I don't want — a shutdown. I don't want to deal with any of that, and I hope that the Senate will do the same thing," she said.
During a more than 40-minute presentation to the group that included questions about the threat of a shutdown and other issues from the donors, Love suggested Obama should be blamed for any impasse.
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"It will be a sad day and a mark on our history if we allow the president to shut down government to protect an agency that is actually extracting brain tissue from a baby while they're still alive," she said.
Love also said those who value human life "have to make sure that everything that's happening in Washington is told in a transparent way, that we don't allow people to take a message and flip it around."
The freshman member of Congress, the first black Republican woman to serve, told the donors she has been working hard since taking office at the beginning of the year.
"A lot of people were kind of wondering whether I was going to end up being a show pony or a workhorse," Love said. "For eight months, I've held my head down. I've worked hard. I've studied the issues."
Her accomplishments, she said, include authoring three bills and co-sponsoring 61 bills dealing with a range of issues such as college affordability and protecting unborn children from pain.
I want you to know that my intention is to keep government running. We have to keep government running. I think we have to do everything we can to keep the promises we made.
–Rep. Mia Love
And Love, who grew up in Connecticut, described Utah as a place she chose to live and raise her family.
"I found people who care more about giving themselves and giving other Americans the opportunity to rise to the occasion than they care about the gender of someone, the color of their skin or where they are on the political spectrum," she said.
Pleasant Grove City Councilman Ben Stanley, an attorney, said he liked what he heard from Love, including her opposition to the Iran nuclear deal supported by the president.
Stanley said even though polls show a majority of Americans don't like the deal intended to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, it appears to be going forward with enough support to overturn any veto.
"I'm concerned, broadly speaking, about the loss of a representative government where what's happening in Washington so poorly reflects what's happening across the rest of the nation," he said.
Love did not address her decision to repay taxpayers for a weekend trip she took to Washington to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April after questions were raised by a national publication.
Democrats have criticized Love over the issue, including her 2014 opponent, Doug Owens, who has already announced he is challenging her again. Stanley said that's not what voters are going to care about in 2016.
"The issues that really matter, the ones of substance, are the ones she's been speaking about today," the GOP donor said.
In a statement Tuesday, Owens said too many of those elected to Congress "are trying to score political points rather than tackle tough issues."
"Shutting down the government every time we disagree won't solve problems," he said. "We need, and Utah deserves, leaders who will talk less, listen more, and put politics aside to serve the people who elected them."