Sens. Cruz, Lankford, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Stop Taxpayer Dollars From Supporting Abortion-Providers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Barraso (R-Wyo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Cynthia Lummis (R- Wyo.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Roger Marshall (R- Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) this week introduced the Women's Public Health and Safety Act, legislation that gives states the authority to exclude abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds.
Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said:
"Preventing abortion providers from receiving Medicaid funds should be within any state's sovereign and statutory authority. I'm proud to join my colleagues to defend the unborn while protecting the rights of states like Texas to make their own decisions on how to allocate their resources."
Sen. Lankford added:
"Abortion is not health care. It should not be controversial to say that taxpayers shouldn't be forced to pay for abortion, and it shouldn't be controversial for states to have the right to decide that Medicaid funds will not support an abortion provider's bottom line. This bill is just one solution that we can advance to stand up for the self-evident fact that all children have value and-to ensure our government values every life, at every stage."
Under current law, states are required to allow any qualified provider to participate in a state's Medicaid system. A non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed that Planned Parenthood received nearly 1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements over a three-year period, accounting for 81 percent of the abortion provider's joint federal-state funding stream.
U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) introduced the companion bill in the House of Representatives along with 35 other co-sponsors.
The text of the bill is here.
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