Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Pregnancy Centers

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Pregnancy Centers

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Pregnancy Centers

Updated January 22, 2026 (IN12302)

The House passed H.R. 6945, which addresses the use of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant in pregnancy centers, on January 21, 2026. The bill defines a "pregnancy center" as an entity that "supports protecting the life of the mother and the unborn child" and offers resources and services to the mothers, fathers, and families, such as relationship counseling, prenatal and pregnancy education, pregnancy testing, diapers, baby clothes, and other material supports. These centers sometimes receive funds through TANF subgrants from the states.

H.R. 6945 would amend the TANF statute to say no provision of TANF law prohibits states from using TANF funds in pregnancy centers. During the Biden Administration, HHS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that sought to rein in TANF spending for activities beyond those related to ongoing assistance and employment. The NPRM specifically mentioned post-pregnancy counseling in pregnancy centers as an activity that would have come under heightened scrutiny. In the 118th Congress, the House passed a bill (H.R. 6918) that sought to forestall the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing a proposed regulation that might limit the use of TANF funds at pregnancy centers. The Biden Administration eventually withdrew the full proposed rule.

TANF Use of Funds

TANF is a broad-purpose block grant that provides grants to states to fund a wide range of benefits, services, and activities. It is best known for funding ongoing cash assistance for low-income families with children (sometimes called welfare). However, the overarching purpose of TANF is to "increase state flexibility" to achieve four statutory goals:

assist needy families so they can live in their own homes or the homes of their relatives;

end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage;

reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and

promote the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

States have the authority to use TANF funds in any manner "reasonably calculated" to achieve the overarching TANF purpose and the four goals.

There are some prohibitions on the use of TANF funds. For example, the statute prohibits states from using TANF funds for medical services other than pre-pregnancy family planning. Aside from specific prohibitions, however, states have broad flexibility in the use of TANF funds. (A summary of how states, on average, used TANF funds in FY2023 can be found here.)

Aside from ongoing cash assistance, which is subject to certain federal rules (work standards, time limits), most of the other activities funded out of TANF are subject to minimal statutory rules and oversight. The range of allowable benefits that can be funded by TANF and the lack of rules for them was highlighted in a 2023 hearing by a House Ways and Means subcommittee.

Withdrawn NPRM and Pregnancy Centers

The withdrawn NPRM was not specific to pregnancy centers. Rather, for an activity that "does not appear to HHS to be reasonably calculated" to achieve TANF's purpose, it put the burden of proof on the state to show that "a reasonable person" would consider that activity to meet a statutory TANF goal.

The reference to pregnancy centers in the NPRM was in its preamble (or discussion) of the intent of the regulatory change. In the preamble, HHS discussed one activity in pregnancy centers: pregnancy counseling. It questioned states' justification for using TANF funds for pregnancy counseling based on its goal of reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies. HHS stated that

programs that only or primarily provide pregnancy counseling to women only after they become pregnant likely do not meet the reasonable person standard because the connection to preventing and reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies is tenuous or non-existent, and therefore do not accomplish purpose three. States that provide funding for these types of programs, including through entities sometimes known as crisis pregnancy centers or pregnancy resource centers, must be able to show that the expenditure actually accomplishes the TANF purpose, that prior expenditures by the state or another entity for the same or a substantially similar program or activity actually accomplished the TANF purpose, or that there is academic or other research indicating that the expenditure could reasonably be expected to accomplish the TANF purpose.

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Strengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net and Work Program," 88 Federal Register 67705, October 3, 2023.)

The NPRM did not address other activities of a pregnancy center, such as providing diapers, baby clothes, and other material support.

As noted, the NPRM's scope was broader than pregnancy centers. HHS also noted in the preamble that it would require evidence from the state that certain activities unrelated to pregnancy centers are tied to TANF's purpose. Examples of such activities are college scholarships for adults without children, after-school mentoring and academic tutoring, and other education and training provided for childless individuals or parents without regard to income.

States' Use of TANF for Pregnancy Centers

States are not statutorily required to report information on the use of TANF funds that would show whether funding from TANF block grants is provided to pregnancy centers. CRS used Bloomberg Law, a subscription database, to search for state budget and appropriations laws since 2025 that include the term TANF/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in proximity to terms such as pregnancy resource center, abortion alternative, alternatives to abortion, or pregnancy help organization. This search identified laws in three states: Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri. This search may not be comprehensive. States vary in the level of detail and time periods covered by their appropriations measures, and it is possible that relevant laws may not have included the above search terms.

For more information on TANF, see CRS Report R48413, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer.