Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), a member of the congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, introduced legislation with Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Judy Chu (D-CA) to increase access to family planning and reproductive health care services by funding the Title X Family Planning Program. The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act would bolster funding for Title X, the only federal program dedicated to providing family planning services for low-income individuals. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

As of 2020, nearly fifty percent of family planning users in Nevada were uninsured, with roughly the same percentage at or below the Federal Poverty Level. While the Biden Administration has taken measures to restore the Title X network, the program has been flat-funded for the last nine years, leading to substantial program cuts at the state level. From 2019 to 2022, Nevada’s five Title X grantees lost a quarter of their funding collectively. The program still lacks sufficient funding to meet the growing nationwide need for family planning care, particularly after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in which Roe v. Wade was overturned.

“One year ago this week, women across Nevada and the U.S. were denied the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies and their families’ futures. By fully funding family planning services, we can protect their rights to access lifesaving preventive care, birth control, and other reproductive health services at a time when these freedoms are under constant attack,” said Rep. Titus.

“As access to reproductive health care is under attack and our personal freedoms are called into question, it has never been more important to ensure Kansans can access birth control, life-saving preventive care, and family planning services through vital resources like Title X clinics,” said Rep. Davids. “These clinics deliver services that many Kansans rely on to plan a family and stay healthy, and we should do everything in our power to safeguard their resources.”

"In the face of relentless attacks on reproductive rights by extreme MAGA Republicans and judges nationwide, Congress must stand up for Title X so it can offer quality, client-centered, and affordable family planning and sexual health care to millions,” said Rep. Chu. “While the Biden-Harris Administration has made strides in restoring Title X services, our legislation goes further: more funding, improved clinic infrastructure, and reinstating anti-discrimination rules for providers. With the Dobbs decision disproportionately harming low-income families, uninsured individuals, rural communities, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals, enacting this legislation would be a lifeline for them."

“At a time when Americans’ reproductive freedoms are under attack from extremist Republicans, the Title X Family Planning Program is more important than ever,” said Sen. Smith. “Title X funding provides American women with access to critical reproductive health services. I invite all my Republican colleagues who claim to champion family planning services to join us in supporting this commonsense legislation that will protect women’s access to birth control, pregnancy counseling, basic infertility services, and more.”

The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act would:

• Provide $512 million in mandatory funding for Title X services annually for 10 years;
• Deliver $50 million in mandatory funding for clinic construction, renovation, and related infrastructure enhancements annually for 10 years;
• Reinstate regulations prohibiting discrimination of providers who deliver Title X services, and
• Require that pregnancy counseling be nondirective and include information about prenatal care and delivery, infant care, foster care, adoption, and pregnancy termination, unless a patient is uninterested in receiving information about an option.

This legislation has been endorsed by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the National Women’s Law Center.