Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio — who has promised to sign a bill to de-fund Planned Parenthood if elected president — today demanded information from the Obama administration on all of various ways it funds the nation’s biggest abortion business.
On average, Planned Parenthood receives approximately $500 million a year in taxpayer funds, as a GAO report indicated last year.
The report found the Planned Parenthood abortion corporation and its affiliates received $344.5 million in federal funds and another $1.2 billion in funding from Medicaid (which includes a combination of federal and state funds) for a total of $1.5 billion over three years from federal programs. The abortion giant receives $1.2 billion from Medicaid, $201 million from the Title X family planning program $40.6 million from Title XX Social Services block grants and $25.9 million from the Title V Maternal and Child health Services block grant.
In order to stop the funding to the abortion company, lawmakers first need to have an understanding of every potential source of funding the abortion corporation currently receives from the federal government. To that end, Senator Rubio today joined with 123 members of Congress to demand the Obama Administration provide a detailed explanation of the federal funding of organizations that promote or perform abortions, notably Planned Parenthood and its affiliates.
The lawmakers also called for an evaluation of funding for two non-governmental organizations that provide abortions and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which do not perform abortions but are forced to compete with Planned Parenthood for limited taxpayer dollars.
“We are writing to request up-to-date information regarding federal funding of Planned Parenthood, International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International,” the senators wrote in a letter to head of the GAO Gene L. Dodaro. “The Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepared a report dated March 20, 2015 regarding federal funds provided for fiscal years 2010-2012 to certain organizations involved in health related activities.
“Relying on the promise of openness and transparency often mentioned by the current Administration, it is our hope that the requested information be updated and made available to Congress and the public,” the senators continued. “Proper oversight of publicly funded programs is crucial in determining the value of the goods and services provided to the taxpayer, and allow policymakers to more carefully and thoroughly review them.”
In addition to Rubio, the letter was also signed by 17 Republican Senators and 106 members of the House of Representatives.
The letter and its signers appears below:
March 4, 2016
The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro
Comptroller General of the United States
U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20548
Dear Mr. Dodaro,
We are writing to request up-to-date information regarding federal funding of Planned Parenthood, International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepared a report dated March 20, 2015 regarding federal funds provided for fiscal years 2010-2012 to certain organizations involved in health related activities.
Relying on the promise of openness and transparency often mentioned by the current Administration, it is our hope that the requested information be updated and made available to Congress and the public. Proper oversight of publicly funded programs is crucial in determining the value of the goods and services provided to the taxpayer, and allow policymakers to more carefully and thoroughly review them.
Accordingly, for 2013-2015 please identify the following:
For the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (including affiliates):
- The amount of federal obligations and disbursements to, and expenditures of federal funds by, each of these organizations in each fiscal year;
- The federal agencies (such as ACF and any other agency or sub-agency that funds activities that Planned Parenthood may provide), funding source (e.g., block grants), and programs associated with these federal funds (including Medicaid and Title X);
- How these funds were made available (e.g. direct or pass-through funding).
For the International Planned Parenthood Federation (including affiliates) and Marie Stopes International (including affiliates):
- The amount of federal obligations and disbursements to, and expenditures of federal funds by, each of these organizations in each fiscal year;
- The federal agencies (such as USAID, PEPFAR and any other agency or sub-agency that funds activities that the groups in question may provide), funding source, and programs associated with these federal funds (including funding provided by USAID missions);
- How these funds were made available (e.g. direct or pass-through funding).
We respectfully request that your report also include information about Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) including data on the number of individuals served, the types of visits provided, the preventive services provided, and the amount of federal funding allocated to FQHC in 2013-2015.
Our hope is that this report will be completed in a timely manner and request a projection of its expected completion. Thank you for your attention to this request.
Sincerely,
Rep. Diane Black
Rep. Pete Olson
Sen. David Vitter
Rep. Todd Young
Rep. Mark Meadows
Rep. Bill Flores
Rep. Blake Farenthold
Rep. Kevin Cramer
Rep. Morgan Griffith
Rep. Tim Huelskamp
Rep. Markwayne Mullin
Rep. David Joyce
Rep. Bill Huizenga
Rep. Sean Duffy
Rep. Keith Rothfus
Rep. Andy Harris
Rep. Roger Williams
Rep. Bill Johnson
Rep. Brad Wenstrip
Rep. Rodney Davis
Rep. Trey Gowdy
Rep. Trent Kelly
Rep. Garret Graves
Rep. French Hill
Rep. Charles Boustany
Rep. Tom Price
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry
Rep. Lou Barletta
Rep. Jody Hice
Rep. Bradley Byrne
Rep. Mike Kelly
Rep. Bruce Westerman
Rep. Lynn Jenkins
Rep. Michael McCaul
Rep. Jim Bridenstine
Rep. Gary Palmer
Rep. Garret Graves
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers
Rep. Barry Loudermilk
Rep. Robert Aderholt
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann
Rep. Curt Clawson
Rep. Kevin Brady
Rep. Brian Babin
Rep. Doug LaMalfa
Rep. Chris Stewart
Rep. John Ratcliffe
Rep. Jim Renacci
Rep. Bob Gibbs
Rep. Dave Brat
Rep. Steven Palazzo
Rep. Jeff Miller
Rep. Scott DesJarlais
Rep. Joe Pitts
Rep. David Rouzer
Rep. Richard Hudson
Rep. Ann Wagner
Rep. Glenn Grothman
Rep. Paul Gosar
Rep. Luke Messer
Rep. Randy Weber
Rep. Rick Allen
Rep. Dan Benishek
Rep. Ted Yoho
Rep. Buddy Carter
Rep. Joe Barton
Rep. John Carter
Rep. Gus Bilirakis
Rep. Randy Forbes
Rep. John Flemming
Rep. John Duncan
Rep. Steve King
Rep. Mac Thornberry
Rep. Mick Mulvaney
Rep. Virginia Foxx
Rep. Chris Smith
Rep. John Culberson
Rep. Doug Lamborn
Rep. Ted Poe
Rep. Austin Scott
Rep. Jeb Hensarling
Rep. Tim Murphy
Rep. Pete Sessions
Rep. Scott Garret
Rep. Vicky Hartzler
Rep. Joe Wilson
Rep. Adrian Smith
Rep. Peter Roskam
Rep. Dan Lipinski
Rep. Steve Scalise
Rep. Michael Burgess
Rep. Walter Jones
Rep. Sam Johnson
Rep. Kenny Marchant
Rep. Kevin McCarthy
Rep. Kristi Noem
Rep. Brett Guthrie
Rep. Cynthia Lummis
Rep. Steve Pearce
Rep. Tim Walberg
Rep. Trent Franks
Rep. Blain Luetkemeyer
Rep. Tom Graves
Rep. James Sensenbreen
Rep. Robert Latta
Rep. Rob Wittman
Rep. Darin LaHood
Sen. Rand Paul
Sen. Marco Rubio
Sen. Roy Blunt
Sen. Mike Enzi
Sen. Mike Lee
Sen. James Risch
Sen. Dan Coats
Sen. Joni Ernst
Sen. John Thune
Sen. Jerry Moran
Sen. Mitch McConnell
Sen. James Inhofe
Sen. Pat Roberts
Sen. James Lankford
Sen. Steve Daines
Sen. Bill Cassidy
Sen. Thom Tillis
