WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) introduced the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act to protect the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for pregnancy centers. The Biden administration’s proposed rule to amend TANF program regulations could restrict states from using TANF funding for pregnancy centers.

“Pregnancy centers provide access to care and assistance for mothers and the unborn,” said Risch. “The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act ensures these critical resources remain available to the most vulnerable among us.”

“Pregnancy centers do extraordinary work to lift up mothers and their children in need,” said Scott. “If this program’s goal is to provide assistance for needy families that will help them build stable, caring homes for their children, the only possible motivation for stripping funding from pregnancy centers is a political one. I’m proud to join this effort to allow pregnancy centers to continue doing the Lord’s work and providing hope for families struggling to make ends meet.”  

In addition to Risch and Scott, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and John Kennedy (R-La.).

The legislation is supported by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, Americans United for Life and Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee.

BACKGROUND

• The TANF program provides $16.5 billion in federal funding to states for direct cash assistance and non-assistance activities for needy families. The goal is to have children cared for in their own home or a relative’s home, end parents’ dependency on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage, reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies and encourage the formation of two-parent families. 
• Across the United States, the more than 2,750 pregnancy resource centers provided over $358 million in support for pregnant women and their children in 2022 alone.

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