This week Congressman Pete Olson (R-TX) introduced the Taxpayer Conscience Protection Act (H.R. 1981), which would require states to provide transparency regarding the amount of federal funding received by abortion providers. These reports would be filed annually with the Department of Health and Human Services and would be posted on the internet.
This bill is an often overlooked, but crucial aspect of the fight against taxpayer funding of abortion.
As Congressman Olson said when he introduced the bill,
“It is simply unacceptable to me that pro-life taxpayers are required to subsidize abortion services. Unfortunately, inadequate accounting and reporting requirements mean that we can’t even say how much federal tax money is going to these organizations. Only by shinning the light of day onto this area of government spending can we ensure that federal tax dollars do not fund morally objectionable practices.”
