Democrats demand HHS reinstate cancelled teen pregnancy prevention grants

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Democrats across both chambers of Congress are demanding the Trump administration reinstate tens of millions of dollars in teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) grants that were suddenly canceled last week.

In the House, 79 Democrats, led by members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, sent a letter Thursday to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking for a detailed explanation of why the grants were canceled and what the agency is doing with the money it is no longer spending.

“Redirecting funding from the TPP program jeopardizes access to the high-quality health education, support, and resources that Congress intended,” the Women’s Caucus letter stated.

“Abrupt and arbitrary disruptions on grounds unrelated to the core aims of the TPP program undermine the ability of the program to serve its congressionally intended purpose of giving young people the knowledge and tools needed to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes and promote positive experiences, relationships, and environments that help our nation’s youth thrive.”

Last week, the HHS terminated about $68 million dollars’ worth of teen pregnancy prevention grants that the agency said were no longer aligned with its priorities. Most of the grants were terminated because the HHS said they normalized or promoted sexual activity for minors.

The TPP program, part of the HHS Office of Population Affairs, is a national, evidence-based program that funds organizations to help youth make healthy decisions that reduce sexual risk behavior, decrease sexually transmitted infections and reduce unintended teen pregnancy.

An HHS official said the reclaimed funds will be redirected into two new grant opportunities, but they won’t be awarded until 2027.

The House letter specifically asked Kennedy and the HHS to justify why each of the grants no longer aligns with agency priorities, as well as why the terminated grants do not align with direction Congress gave in appropriating the funds.

Separately Thursday, a group of Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), also demanded Kennedy reinstate the grants.

Echoing the House letter, the senators noted that canceling the grants ignores congressional intent, because Congress appropriated $101 million for them in the most recent bipartisan government funding bill.

“Your decision to terminate this funding squarely aligns with your department’s established pattern of rejecting evidence and science, ignoring Congressional intent, and undermining the ability of people to make their own healthcare decisions,” the senators wrote.

“[A]llies of the president have increasingly suggested that declining teen birth rates are a ‘problem.’ It appears this administration may agree with that assessment as you cancel funding for these proven programs.”

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Donald Trump

Patty Murray

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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