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REP. MIKE KELLY
ADMINISTRATION ACCUSED OF PRO-ABORTION BIAS
Jan. 17, 2012 – The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has refused to continue giving grant money
to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic
bishops will not pay for abortions, contraception or sterilization, due to their religious beliefs.
Jan. 17, 2012 – The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has refused to continue giving grant money
to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic
bishops will not pay for abortions, contraception or sterilization, due to their religious beliefs.
Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the federal government distributes money
for services needed by women, children and men who have been brought into the United
States for forced labor and sex, according to CNSNews.com.
The USCCB made it clear to HHS that it would continue to pay for all other services
including but not limited to treatment for sexually transmitted infections, gynecological
and obstetric care, exams, tests, screenings and pre-natal services, and non-directive
health-related counseling. The USCCB also paid for victims to receive food stamps,
Medicaid, subsidized housing, food, safe housing, mental health services, legal services,
and general medical care.
for services needed by women, children and men who have been brought into the United
States for forced labor and sex, according to CNSNews.com.
The USCCB made it clear to HHS that it would continue to pay for all other services
including but not limited to treatment for sexually transmitted infections, gynecological
and obstetric care, exams, tests, screenings and pre-natal services, and non-directive
health-related counseling. The USCCB also paid for victims to receive food stamps,
Medicaid, subsidized housing, food, safe housing, mental health services, legal services,
and general medical care.
In December, the U. S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held hearings on the grant denial.
According to documents referred to in the hearings, the USCCB’s performance under the contract was highly successful.
But when it was time to renew the contract, HHS announced it would give “strong preference” to grantees who would pay
for “the full range of services,” which under new HHS regulations included abortion, contraception and sterilization. The
department gave the grant instead to a group which scored 20 points lower than the USCCB by internal HHS reviewers.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of the Act, called the denial of the grant to USCCB an “abuse of power” on the part of
the Obama administration and “pernicious pro-abortion favoritism.”
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said during the hearings that it
was incumbent upon HHS to work around a group’s religious beliefs. He likened the situation to one in which a Jewish
person wants to provide driving services under a government program but can’t drive on Friday evenings because his
religion prohibits work on the Sabbath. In such a case, Issa said, the government should come up with a “work-around”
to make it possible for the Jewish person to participate. In this case, he said, HHS should have explored finding a way to
allow the USCCB administer the grant while remaining faithful to their religious beliefs.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said he would call witnesses who would testify to the victims’ need for “reproductive
services.” At the Dec. 14 hearing, two human trafficking victims service providers appeared to testify for this purpose.
One of the witnesses strongly implied that a particular victim who was in pain and seriously injured would not have
received necessary medical care from the USCCB administration. When Issa questioned them on this point, both
witnesses acknowledged that, in fact, the USCCB would have provided such a victim the medical care she needed.
Questioning George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary for HHS' Administration for Children and Families, Rep. Mike
Kelly (R-PA) cited a “conscience clause.” A spokeswoman for Kelly said that he and the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee believe there are laws that protect health providers from being forced to perform or participate in
abortions and from being discriminated against for not doing so. Kelly and the committee, the spokeswoman said, believe
that HHS has violated “the spirit, if not the letter,” of these laws.
In addition, according to the spokeswoman, Kelly and the committee believe HHS has violated Presidential Executive
Order 13279, as amended by President Obama. This order says “faith-based organizations should be eligible to compete
for Federal financial assistance used to support social service programs and to participate fully in the social service
programs supported with Federal financial assistance without impairing their independence, autonomy, expression outside
the programs in question, or religious character.”
Kelly’s spokeswoman noted that the committee has approved HR 3433 that would require an agency that does not follow
numerical rankings or other recommendations of grant reviewers in selecting a grantee to post on a public website a written
justification explaining the rationale for the decision.
According to documents referred to in the hearings, the USCCB’s performance under the contract was highly successful.
But when it was time to renew the contract, HHS announced it would give “strong preference” to grantees who would pay
for “the full range of services,” which under new HHS regulations included abortion, contraception and sterilization. The
department gave the grant instead to a group which scored 20 points lower than the USCCB by internal HHS reviewers.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of the Act, called the denial of the grant to USCCB an “abuse of power” on the part of
the Obama administration and “pernicious pro-abortion favoritism.”
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said during the hearings that it
was incumbent upon HHS to work around a group’s religious beliefs. He likened the situation to one in which a Jewish
person wants to provide driving services under a government program but can’t drive on Friday evenings because his
religion prohibits work on the Sabbath. In such a case, Issa said, the government should come up with a “work-around”
to make it possible for the Jewish person to participate. In this case, he said, HHS should have explored finding a way to
allow the USCCB administer the grant while remaining faithful to their religious beliefs.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said he would call witnesses who would testify to the victims’ need for “reproductive
services.” At the Dec. 14 hearing, two human trafficking victims service providers appeared to testify for this purpose.
One of the witnesses strongly implied that a particular victim who was in pain and seriously injured would not have
received necessary medical care from the USCCB administration. When Issa questioned them on this point, both
witnesses acknowledged that, in fact, the USCCB would have provided such a victim the medical care she needed.
Questioning George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary for HHS' Administration for Children and Families, Rep. Mike
Kelly (R-PA) cited a “conscience clause.” A spokeswoman for Kelly said that he and the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee believe there are laws that protect health providers from being forced to perform or participate in
abortions and from being discriminated against for not doing so. Kelly and the committee, the spokeswoman said, believe
that HHS has violated “the spirit, if not the letter,” of these laws.
In addition, according to the spokeswoman, Kelly and the committee believe HHS has violated Presidential Executive
Order 13279, as amended by President Obama. This order says “faith-based organizations should be eligible to compete
for Federal financial assistance used to support social service programs and to participate fully in the social service
programs supported with Federal financial assistance without impairing their independence, autonomy, expression outside
the programs in question, or religious character.”
Kelly’s spokeswoman noted that the committee has approved HR 3433 that would require an agency that does not follow
numerical rankings or other recommendations of grant reviewers in selecting a grantee to post on a public website a written
justification explaining the rationale for the decision.