Washington, D.C. - This week, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) introduced the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act and today, it passed the House Ways and Means Committee. Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) and Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-4) are co-leads on the legislation.
"Pregnancy centers offer a wide array of services and support for expectant mothers, fathers, and their families. Women who face an unexpected pregnancy should be able to safely go into a facility that is not going to push abortion on them and instead provide them with the education and support they need. And yet, the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a rule that could restrict states from using TANF funding for these important resources, and encourages funding to go to facilities that provide abortions. This is one more example of this Administration's anti-women, pro-abortion agenda," said Rep. Fischbach.
"The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act ensures pregnancy centers cannot be excluded or restricted from receiving TANF funding," Fischbach continued. "Make no mistake, conservatives are here for unborn children and their mothers and we want to ensure an expectant mother is empowered to raise her family. Thank you to Representatives Tenney and Smith for co-leading this bill that will help ensure continued support for women in communities across the country."
"Crisis pregnancy centers play a vital role in delivering crucial medical care, essential supplies, and unwavering support to pregnant women, new mothers, and both their unborn and born babies,” said Rep. Tenney. “The Biden administration's efforts to divert TANF funds away from specific crisis pregnancy centers is a direct assault on pro-life institutions and jeopardizes access to invaluable resources for countless women. By passing this bill today in the Ways and Means Committee markup, House Republicans are fulfilling our promise to always stand with the unborn while further protecting our country’s foundational values of life, individual rights, and freedom.”
“Pregnancy centers across our country provide crucial services to close to 2,000,000 patients that encompass parenting and prenatal education programs, counselling, and critical material support—including pregnancy tests, free ultrasounds, millions of baby outfits, millions of packs of diapers, and tens of thousands of new car seats and strollers,” said Rep. Smith. “This critical legislation will block the Biden Administration’s efforts to strip these centers of federal TANF funding and will help ensure that their dedicated and compassionate staff can continue to provide much-needed assistance and quality care for pregnant women and their precious unborn babies.”
This legislation has the support of the pro-life community:
“Women across the country deserve to receive the vital care and support they need when facing an unplanned pregnancy. Nearly 3,000 pregnancy resource centers nationwide stand ready to provide moms and their families with the critical material, educational and emotional help they need, offering women real choices,” said the Honorable Marilyn Musgrave, SBA Pro-Life America’s vice president of government affairs. “The Biden administration’s attempt to pull federal TANF funding from these centers is another example of their pro-abortion extremism. We thank Representatives Michelle Fischbach, Chris Smith and Claudia Tenney for championing this important legislation that prevents discrimination against pregnancy resource centers and protects TANF funds that go toward helping both moms and families.”
"National Right to Life applauds Reps. Michelle Fischbach, Claudia Tenney, and Chris Smith for their work on H.R. 6918, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act. Pregnancy centers serve millions of clients annually and offer hope and support for women and their unborn children. This legislation protects access to maternal care by blocking the Biden Administration from implementing a rule that could endanger funding for pregnancy centers in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. In a post-Roe America, it is more important now than ever that pregnancy centers are able to effectively support mothers and their babies. National Right to Life strongly supports this legislation," said Carol Tobias, President National Right to Life.
“The ‘Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Families Act’ is a bill that every American should support,” said Penny Nance, the CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the largest public policy women’s organization in the nation. “It is a shame that the Biden Administration wants to bar financial resources from pregnancy resource centers that provide over 350 million dollars’ worth of goods annually to women, children, and families. We commend Congresswoman Fischbach, Congresswoman Tenney, and Congressman Smith for seeking to correct this grave mistake.”
Background: The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides $16.5 billion in federal funding to states for direct cash assistance and non-assistance activities for needy families. Last fall, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families issued a proposed rule to amend regulations in the TANF program that could be interpreted to restrict states from using TANF funding for pregnancy centers. The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act specifically prohibits restrictions on the use of TANF funds towards pregnancy centers.
Michelle Fischbach is a wife, mom, grandma, attorney, and the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District. Get updates from Rep. Fischbach’s congressional office on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
