Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the opportunity to speak. I am so proud to rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 6945, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act.

For too long, previous Democrat administrations have weaponized the Department of Health and Human Services against pregnancy resource centers by attempting to cut off their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, funding. This bill puts a definitive stop to that harassment. It clarifies that these centers fundamentally meet the statutory purposes of TANF by providing essential assistance to children and expectant mothers.

The TANF block grant is built on four specific statutory goals, and States have broad authority to pursue them all.

Let's look at the second goal: to ``end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage.'' Cash assistance alone does not end dependence. It often merely just manages it. Pregnancy resource centers offer the best hope of achieving this goal by providing parenting classes and life skills training to help that mother move from a crisis to self-sufficiency.

Pregnancy centers are the backbone of community-based support. The impact of their work is undeniable.

In 2024 alone, over 2,700 centers aided nearly 3.8 million women, children, and families. These centers provided over $452 million in total medical care, education, and material goods.

As Democrats continue to attack pregnancy care centers, I have asked them repeatedly if they have ever visited a center, ever bothered to go and see what they are talking about because if they had, they would see the compassion, the support, and love that are present in these facilities. These centers are staffed by trained men and women who guide and support mothers, fathers, children, and families. They are for the families from pregnancy through childbirth and beyond with parenting classes and assistance such as formula, diapers, and whatever else that family may need.

The attempt to strip TANF funding from these centers was never about fiscal responsibility. It was a targeted, ideological attack on organizations that provide a real alternative to abortion.

Democrats say choice, choice, choice over and over, but they try to deny women the choice to choose life.

H.R. 6945 codifies the operations of TANF to ensure this funding stream remains focused on its mission, helping needy families and children, rather than serving as a tool for ideological gatekeeping.

I am incredibly proud of this bill, which protects the most vulnerable among us and ensures that every woman facing adversity has the options, resources, and support she deserves.

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