With only hours left before a government shutdown, Sen. Mazie Hirono joined Democratic women senators this morning in trying to turn up the pressure on Republicans to accept a budget deal.

At a press conference at the U.S. Capitol, Hirono, California Sen. Barbara Boxer and Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow blasted a provision added to the House stopgap spending measure that would defund women’s health programs.

Democrats had criticized the Republican House plan passed Sunday for including one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act — a move the Senate had said would never fly in their chamber and effectively set the stage for the shutdown.

At the press conference, Hirono and the other senators said the House plan also included another poison pill — defunding a women’s health program that among other things, funds contraceptives, cervical cancer screening, and breastfeeding counseling and support.

Hirono said that attaching the Affordable Care Act to the debate, Republicans were “incessantly making another attempt at the Affordable Care Act, instead of doing something different to keep government running.” House Republicans have tried to stop the health care reforms 43 times, only to be stymied by the Senate.

“If you keep doing something and get the same results, it’s time to try another tack,” Hirono said.

Boxer said the Senate plans to strip out references to health care reform and other objectionable provisions this afternoon and send the bill back to the House. It’s unclear whether the House simply add those provisions back and send the bill back to the Senate.

Photo: Sen. Mazie Hirono (right) looks on as Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow speaks at a press conference in the U.S. Capitol. (Kery Murakami/Civil Beat).

— Kery Murakami