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SALT LAKE CITY — The newest member of Utah's all-Republican congressional delegation, Rep. Mia Love, offered a report Friday on her first year in office, including her appointment to a committee seen as investigating Planned Parenthood.
Love said her assignment on the House select investigative committee into abortion providers appointed last fall, which has yet to schedule a hearing, is to look at "how the procurements of body parts are actually happening."
She said her work won't be affected by this week's indictments by a Texas grand jury of the leaders of the group behind controversial videos that purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal tissue.
"There's always two sides to a story," the 4th District congresswoman said. "As far as I'm concerned, my job on the select committee is to push all of that aside and actually bring out facts of what's happening in these industries."
The committee is about "infant lives, so I am trying to do everything I can to not focus on Planned Parenthood. There are a lot of people in this industry. This is something we don't know very much about," Love said.
While she called her pro-life stand "no secret," Love said she intends to be transparent and fair, and push for as many public hearings by the committee as possible.
Earlier this week, Gov. Gary Herbert stood by his decision to block federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood of Utah, saying he still had concerns over the videos.
Planned Parenthood of Utah challenged the governor's order in federal court, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver granted an emergency stay a day before the funding was to expire Dec. 31.
Love said she has no idea what impact the congressional investigation could have on the issue. Planned Parenthood of Utah, which does not provide fetal tissue to researchers, had contracts with the state for sex education and sexually transmitted disease programs.
In a news conference at the Capitol, Love outlined her accomplishments since being elected in 2014 to the seat held by now retired Rep. Jim Matheson, a Democrat. She said she'll give similar accountings annually.
The most recent among the half-dozen bills she has introduced in Congress is one requiring bills to be limited to a single subject, to prevent unrelated riders from being attached to key legislation.
"We have seen a tremendous amount of support," Love said, from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as the public. "This is common sense. This is something everybody wants."
The restriction, similar to what is in place for the Utah Legislature, should make it easier to follow Congress' actions, even though it may take longer to deal with issues separately, she said.
Love said she wants to be seen "as a workhorse, not a show pony" and feels she has succeeded in gaining the respect of her colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle.
So far, she faces the toughest re-election race of any member of the Utah delegation. Democrat Doug Owens, the son of the late Utah congressman, is against challenging Love after losing to her in 2014 by about 5 percentage points.
"I believe the politics will take care of itself," Love said, as long as she's seen as doing her job.
Owens said in a statement that voters in Utah "want a representative who will answer to them, not a political party or special interests in Washington. They deserve a representative who will get off TV and get the work done." Email: lroche@ksl.com Twitter: DNewsPolitics
