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Following House Passage of Legislation to Reverse Biden Administration’s Targeting of Pregnancy Resource Centers, HHS Finally Withdraws Reckless TANF Rulemaking

January 16, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the waning days of his Administration, President Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has withdrawn a misguided Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) rule that it had no authority to pursue and would have threatened access to critical care for pregnant women and children. The proposed Biden Administration rule would have made harmful changes to TANF and undermined ongoing efforts by Congress to improve the program and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the system to protect vital resources for those most in need.

Additionally, Congress passed legislation out of the Ways and Means Committee and through the U.S. House of Representatives last year which specifically blocked a provision within the proposed Biden Administration TANF rule that could have prohibited states from giving TANF funds to pregnancy resource centers – entities which provide important resources to mothers and children, including diapers, prenatal vitamins, transportation, and parenting classes.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement:

“The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is a vital resource for millions of families, and there is no question that TANF and America’s broader welfare system needs reform. That is why the Ways and Means Committee spent the past two years investigating the prevalence of waste, fraud, and abuse in the system including hearing directly from a variety of witnesses on the misuse of TANF funds. The rulemaking the Biden Administration had proposed was an affront to the bipartisan work underway in Congress – in no small part because HHS lacked the authority to regulate TANF in the manner they had proposed. Moreover, their rule could have wrongly taken TANF funding away from 2,700 pregnancy resource centers across the country which provide support and life-affirming services to 2 million women and families. That is why the House of Representatives passed legislation last year to block the portion of the Biden Administration’s rule that would have denied funding for those critical services. I look forward to working with the incoming Trump Administration to strengthen accountability in TANF.”

Work and Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) issued the following statement:

“I am pleased to see the Biden-Harris administration withdraw their misguided proposed rule for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. TANF is a key welfare program that needs to be reauthorized and strengthened, but the proposed rule would have overstepped statutory authority and restricted state flexibility. Last Congress, Members of the Work and Welfare Subcommittee introduced seven legislative reforms to target TANF to families in need, help low-income Americans find and keep a job, and protect TANF dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse. This welcome news allows Congress to continue our work toward a long-term reauthorization to improve the ability of the TANF program to meet its goals and provide for families in need.”

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