[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7427 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7427

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 20, 2024

  Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mrs. Hinson, Mrs. Lesko, Mrs. 
 Miller of Illinois, Mr. Harris, Mr. Guest, Mr. Baird, Mr. Banks, Mr. 
  Crenshaw, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. 
    Mann, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Moore of Utah, Mr. Self, and Mr. Timmons) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.''.

SEC. 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.''.
                                 <all>