Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28), and Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-03) led 148 of their House colleagues in sending a letter to Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee leaders urging Congress to reject the Trump administration’s efforts to hinder the important work of the Title X family planning program by funding it fully.  The members requested that Congress increase funding for Title X to $512 million in the upcoming appropriations package.  Since 2015, the program has been flat funded at $286.5 million per year despite increased need and use around the country.

“Title X is the only federal program dedicated to providing domestic family planning services for people with low incomes and has received bipartisan recognition as a critical public resource,” the members wrote.  “Title X-funded health centers are lifelines in their communities, providing high-quality family planning and sexual health care, including cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing, contraceptive services and supplies, pregnancy testing, and other essential health care services.  In 2023 alone, Title X was able to support care at 3,853 health centers across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.  As we face a continuing health care crisis, it is essential that we strengthen and protect access to all reproductive and sexual health care, including contraception.

“In the coming years, the Title X network must manage the serious damage inflicted by H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the members continued.  “Title X providers are already experiencing the harmful impacts of the H.R. 1’s devastating cuts to Medicaid coverage as well as its provision to exclude certain sexual and reproductive health providers, targeting Planned Parenthood health centers, from participating in Medicaid.  At the same time, after the significant upheaval caused by last year’s withholding of funds from grantees providing Title X-funded care in 23 states, the Trump Administration is once again engaging in reckless games with the Title X program.  HHS released the non-compete continuation application guidance three months late, leaving grantees only one week to submit applications, when they are usually given 60-90 days.  This unnecessarily short timeline means that HHS only has two weeks to process all of the applications if grantees are going to be able to access their year 5 funds by the April 1 start date.”

In October, Congresswoman Fletcher sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging the Trump administration to reverse course after it fired nearly the entire staff at the Office of Population Affairs, which administers the Title X program.  In April and June, Congresswoman Fletcher sent letters to Secretary Kennedy urging him to restore funding for Title X that Congress had previously set aside for the program but that the Trump administration froze.

To read the full text of today’s letter, click here.