Catholic Vote
Pro-Life Senators and Congressmen Slam Biden Admin Over Attempt to Defund PRCs
CV News Feed
CV NEWS FEED // A coalition of pro-life members of both houses of Congress penned a letter to the Biden administration slamming a proposed rule that would withdraw much federal funding for pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) and maternity homes.
Eleven Senators and 19 House members signed the letter, led by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-MS, and Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ. All of the signatories were Republicans.
The lawmakers addressed the letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra. Despite having called himself a “committed Catholic,” Becerra has consistently supported abortion throughout several decades in public life.
The pending HHS rule “targets the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding by pregnancy centers and alternatives to abortion programs,” Hyde-Smith’s office stated in a press release.
A major welfare program, TANF was created in 1996 during the Clinton administration.
In the letter, the members of Congress wrote that Becerra’s proposed rule “threaten[s] to strip” PRCs and other pro-life initiatives “of millions of dollars of funding, depriving pregnant women in need of compassionate assistance for themselves and their unborn babies.”
“Pregnancy centers save taxpayers many millions of dollars through the work they perform for free, through volunteers and donors, reducing the need for services that would otherwise be provided by the government at the expense of taxpayers,” the lawmakers continued.
“The free services and material assistance provided by pregnancy centers had a conservative estimated value of over $266 million in 2019,” they added.
“We are concerned that the Proposed Rule focuses specifically on States that direct TANF funds to pregnancy centers and alternatives to abortion programs,” the Republicans stressed.
“Women deserve better than abortion and should receive support when they choose life for their babies,” the letter concluded:
For decades, pregnancy centers have stood in the gap and generously provided free assistance to women, babies, and families in their moments of need—actions aligned with TANF’s purposes.
The Proposed Rule, however, would undermine the TANF program and threaten to strip millions of dollars in support for pregnant women and their unborn babies through pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and alternatives to abortion programs. We urge you to withdraw the Proposed Rule immediately.
Sens. Steve Daines, R-MT, Mike Lee, R-UT, J.D. Vance, R-OH, Mike Braun, R-IN, Roger Wicker, R-MS, James Lankford, R-OK, Josh Hawley, R-MO, John Kennedy, R-LA, Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Eric Schmitt, R-MO, joined Hyde-Smith in signing the letter.
Along with Smith, House members who signed were Reps. Debbie Lesko, R-AZ, Michael Guest, R-MS, Erin Houchin, R-IN, Mary Miller, R-IL, Alex Mooney, R-WV, Jeff Duncan, R-SC, Warren Davidson, R-OH, Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-MO, John Moolenaar, R-MI, Larry Bucshon, R-IN, Jim Banks, R-IN, Clay Higgins, R-LA, Keith Self, R-TX, Garret Graves, R-LA, Robert Aderholt, R-AL, and Eric Burlison, R-MO.
Sens. Vance, Braun, and Schmitt are Catholics. Four of the House signatories are Catholic: Reps. Smith, Mooney, Luetkemeyer, and Graves.
Per Hyde-Smith’s press release, CatholicVote was one of more than a dozen pro-life groups to announce support for the letter.