Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2024

Bill: 118-s-3611
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS]
Introduced: 2024-01-18
Policy area: Social Welfare
Latest action: action_date: 2024-01-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-01-18
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2024</strong></p><p>This bill explicitly authorizes states to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding to carry out programs that encourage patients to carry their pregnancies to term rather than seek abortions. Under current law, states have broad authority to use TANF funds as they see fit to accomplish any of the program’s four purposes, including to prevent and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies.&nbsp;</p><p>The bill also prohibits the federal government from subjecting entities receiving TANF funds to disparate treatment because they encourage patients to carry their pregnancies to term, or because they do not provide, assist, or counsel in favor of abortion. Similarly, the federal government may not subject states contracting with such entities to disparate treatment. Under the bill, <em>disparate treatment</em> includes presumed ineligibility for TANF funds or presumed failure to satisfy the purposes of the program. The Department of Justice, a state, or an entity adversely affected by a violation of these provisions may bring suit in civil court for appropriate relief, including money damages. Federal officials may not invoke sovereign immunity as a defense to such a suit. &nbsp;</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3611 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 18, 2024 Mrs. Hyde-Smith (for herself, Mr. Braun , Mrs. Blackburn , Mr. Hawley , Mr. Rubio , Mr. Mullin , Mr. Wicker , and Mr. Cramer ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to clarify the longstanding authority of States to use funds made available under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to fund life-affirming services to empower pregnant women to choose life for their babies instead of abortion, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2024 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Pregnancy centers are community-based, nonprofit organizations that provide compassionate support and resources to women and couples facing unexpected pregnancy and offer life-affirming alternatives to abortion. (2) In 2022 alone, 2,750 pregnancy centers across the United States met with clients over 16,000,000 times, providing services and material items that were estimated to be worth approximately $358,000,000. Pregnancy centers were served by 62,576 workers and 72 percent of these workers (44,930) were volunteers. 97.4 percent of clients seen by pregnancy centers reported having a positive experience with pregnancy centers. (3) Eighteen States have established alternatives to abortion programs, which fund life-affirming services to empower pregnant women to choose life for their babies instead of abortion, typically by supporting pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, maternity homes, and other relevant social services partners. (4) Alternatives to abortion programs offer services and material assistance to pregnant women and their families, including parenting classes, training in life skills, sexual risk avoidance education, promoting responsible paternity, promoting marriage, care coordination, housing and support services through maternity homes, assistance with job searching, reducing dependence on government, and much more. (5) States have supported these alternatives to abortion programs with a portion of the funds provided to them under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) (referred to in this Act as TANF ) for more than 2 decades, since 2001. At least 4 States, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio, currently use TANF funds to support such programs, together expending millions of dollars each year. (6) On October 2, 2023, the Biden Administration issued a proposed rule, Strengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net and Work Program, (88 Fed. Reg. 67697) targeting pregnancy centers and alternatives to abortion programs and threatening to strip them of millions of dollars of funding, depriving pregnant women in need of compassionate assistance for themselves and their unborn babies. (7) Contrary to the assertions of the Biden Administration, alternatives to abortion programs, and the pregnancy centers they support, fulfill the purpose of TANF specified in section 401(a) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601(a) ) to— (A) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; (B) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (C) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and (D) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. 3. Purposes The purposes of this Act are to— (1) clarify the longstanding authority of States to use TANF funds to fund alternatives to abortion programs and pregnancy centers, which provide life-affirming services to empower pregnant women to choose life for their babies instead of abortion; and (2) prevent wrongful attempts to target such life-affirming programs and providers and to strip such assistance from women and families in need. 4. Clarification of eligibility of alternatives to abortion programs to receive TANF funds Section 404 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 604 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (l) Clarification of eligibility of alternatives to abortion programs (1) In general A State to which a grant is made under section 403 may use such grant to carry out alternatives to abortion programs in furtherance of the purpose of this part specified in section 401(a). (2) Alternatives to abortion programs defined In this subsection, the term alternatives to abortion programs means 1 or more programs that promote childbirth as an alternative to abortion, through life-affirming social services providers, which may include, but are not limited, to pregnancy centers, adoption assistance providers, and maternity homes. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term life-affirming social services providers does not include entities that provide, facilitate, counsel in favor of, or refer for, abortions. (3) Permitted services Services provided through alternatives to abortion programs that are carried out with any amount paid to a State under section 403 in furtherance of the purpose of this part specified in section 401(a), and subject to section 408(a)(6), may include, but are not limited to— (A) counseling and mentoring on pregnancy, education, parenting skills, adoption services, life skills, alcohol and drug use, relationships, sexually transmitted infections, abuse, fetal development, nutrition, child care, sexual risk avoidance, and employment readiness topics; (B) care coordination for prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal services, including connecting participants to health services; (C) educational materials and information about pregnancy, parenting, sexual risk avoidance, and adoption services; (D) referrals to governmental and social service programs, including child care, transportation, housing, and Federal and State benefit programs; (E) classes on life skills, personal finance, parenthood, stress management, job training, sexual risk avoidance, job readiness, job placement, and educational attainment; (F) provision of supplies for infant care, including car seats, cribs, infant diapers, and formula; and (G) housing services. . 5. Discrimination prohibited Section 409 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 609 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (e) Discrimination prohibited (1) Federal government The Federal Government shall not discriminate against— (A) a grantee or potential grantee recipient of funds paid to a State under section 403 or subject them to disparate treatment because of such grantee or potential grantee’s commitment to offer compassionate support and resources to women facing unexpected pregnancy, offer of life-affirming alternatives to abortion, or unwillingness to counsel in favor of, suggest, recommend, assist, or in any way participate in the performance of abortions; or (B) against a State that contracts with such a grantee or potential grantee. (2) Civil action for violations (A) In general A qualified party may, in a civil action, obtain appropriate relief with regard to a violation of paragraph (1). (B) Qualified party The term qualified party means— (i) the Attorney General of the United States; (ii) any attorney general of a State; or (iii) any person or entity adversely affected by the designated violation. (C) Administrative remedies not required An action under this paragraph may be commenced, and relief may be granted, without regard to whether the party commencing the action has sought or exhausted any available administrative remedies. (D) Nature of relief In an action under this paragraph, the court shall grant— (i) all appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and compensatory damages to prevent the occurrence, continuance, or repetition of the designated violation and to compensate for losses resulting from the designated violation; and (ii) to a prevailing plaintiff, reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. (E) Money damages Relief in an action under this paragraph may include money damages even if the defendant is a governmental entity. (F) Waiver of Federal sovereign immunity (i) In general No Federal governmental official that commits a designated violation shall be immune under the Constitution of the United States, or any other source of law, from an action under subparagraph (A). (ii) Waiver of Federal sovereign immunity This clause shall constitute a waiver of Federal sovereign immunity with respect to any claim brought under an action under subparagraph (A). (3) Terms defined The terms discriminate against and subject to disparate treatment include, but are not limited to, any action or policy by the Federal Government, with respect to a grantee or potential grantee described in paragraph (1)(A), that presumes ineligibility or failure to satisfy the purpose of this part set forth in section 401(a), or the imposition of any burden, including any administrative requirement or demonstration of satisfying such purpose, which is not applicable to other grantees or potential grantees who are not so described. .