Congresswoman Lee Pushes for Emergency Title X Family Planning Program Funding
Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Judy Chu (CA-27), Dina Titus (NV-01), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), and Diana Degette (CO-01) led 123 of their colleagues in a letter calling on House and Senate Democratic Leadership to include robust emergency funding for the Title X Family Planning Program in any must-pass legislation following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which removed the constitutional right to abortion.
“As states move to ban abortion services outright or severely restrict these services, funding for contraception and family planning services offered by trusted providers is more crucial than ever,” the Members wrote. “While no level of funding for contraception will ever obviate the need for abortion services, we know that people across the country will turn to family planning providers for more accessible contraceptive options in the wake of this decision. Title X is the only federal program dedicated to providing family planning services for people with low incomes.
“Including emergency funding in any must-pass legislation will demonstrate to the American public that Democrats in the House and Senate stand for reproductive rights and freedom at every level, in every state in the Union,” concluded the Members.
With bans on abortion going into effect in states across the country, the need for family planning services has never been greater. For over 50 years, Title X-funded family planning clinics have played an essential role in ensuring access to a range of family planning and preventive health services for millions of low-income women and families.
In addition to Reps. Lee, Chu, Titus, Houlahan, and Degette, this letter was signed by Adams, Alma; Allred, Colin; Auchincloss, Jake; Axne, Cynthia; Barragán, Nanette; Bass, Karen; Bera, Ami; Beyer, Donald; Blumenauer, Earl; Blunt Rochester, Lisa; Bonamici, Suzanne; Bowman, Jamaal; Boyle, Brendan; Brown, Anthony; Brownley, Julia; Brown, Shontel; Bustos, Cheri; Carbajal, Salud; Cárdenas, Tony; Carter, Troy; Castor, Kathy; Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila; Chu, Judy; Cicilline, David; Cohen, Steve; Connolly, Gerald; Costa, Jim; Crow, Jason; Davis, Danny; Dean, Madeleine; DeFazio, Peter; DeGette, Diana; DelBene, Suzan; Demings, Val; DeSaulnier, Mark; Doggett, Lloyd; Escobar, Veronica; Espaillat, Adriano; Evans, Dwight; Foster, Bill; Frankel, Lois; Gallego, Ruben; Garamendi, John; García, Jesús; Garcia, Sylvia; Gomez, Jimmy; Green, Al; Grijalva, Raúl; Hayes, Jahana; Himes, James; Houlahan, Chrissy; Jackson Lee, Sheila; Jayapal, Pramila; Johnson, Eddie; Johnson, Henry; Kelly, Robin; Kildee, Daniel; Kilmer, Derek; Kirkpatrick, Ann; Kuster, Ann; Langevin, James; Larsen, Rick; Lawrence, Brenda; Lawson, Al; Lee, Barbara; Lee, Susie; Leger Fernandez, Teresa; Levin, Andy; Lofgren, Zoe; Lowenthal, Alan; Lynch, Stephen; Malinowski, Tom; Maloney, Carolyn; Manning, Kathy; Matsui, Doris; McBath, Lucy; McCollum, Betty; McEachin, A.; McGovern, James; McNerney, Jerry; Meng, Grace; Moore, Gwen; Morelle, Joseph; Moulton, Seth; Nadler, Jerrold; Napolitano, Grace; Newman, Marie; Norton, Eleanor; Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria; Pappas, Chris; Payne, Donald; Peters, Scott; Pingree, Chellie; Plaskett, Stacey; Porter, Katie; Pressley, Ayanna; Quigley, Mike; Raskin, Jamie; Ross, Deborah; Roybal-Allard, Lucille; Sánchez, Linda; Sarbanes, John; Scanlon, Mary; Schakowsky, Janice; Schiff, Adam; Schrier, Kim; Scott, David; Scott, Robert; Soto, Darren; Speier, Jackie; Stevens, Haley; Strickland, Marilyn; Swalwell, Eric; Takano, Mark; Thompson, Mike; Titus, Dina; Tlaib, Rashida; Trahan, Lori; Trone, David; Underwood, Lauren; Velázquez, Nydia; Wasserman Schultz, Debbie; Watson Coleman, Bonnie; Welch, Peter; Wexton, Jennifer; Wild, Susan; Williams, Nikema; Wilson, Frederica. The letter was also endorsed by Planned Parenthood and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).
Read today’s full letter here.
Additionally, a companion letter, led by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), was signed by 18 members of the United States Senate.
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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering & Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. She also serves as Chair of the Majority Leader’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity. As a member of the House Democratic Leadership, she is the highest ranking Black woman in the U.S. Congress.