Lawmakers to question Trump administration official on efforts to undermine Title X family-planning program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Health and Human Services Deputy Assistant Secretary Diane Foley, the top Trump administration official in charge of the nation's Title X family-planning program, will testify Wednesday before a key Congressional panel that's investigating the administration's efforts to undermine the program.

Foley, a Colorado native and outspoken anti-abortion advocate, was recently appointed by the Trump administration to run the nation's family-planning program. She will be testifying tomorrow as part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations panel's hearing on the administration's ongoing efforts to undermine the program.

"The Title X program provides critical funding to clinics around the country that millions of women have come to rely on for health care," said U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who chairs the panel. "This administration's ongoing efforts to undermine this important program, and ultimately defund these clinics, puts the health and well-being of these women at risk. We're not going to allow that to happen."

Foley's appearance before the panel comes as the Trump administration continues to move forward with a new rule that it finalized earlier this year to make abortion providers – such as Planned Parenthood, which receives millions of dollars every year through the Title X program – ineligible for Title X funding going forward.

Those opposed to the new rule say it will force health care providers across the country to make an impossible choice between continuing to receive the federal funding they have come to rely on, or helping their patients exercise their constitutionally-protected right to reproductive care.

Democrats voted last week to include in a massive spending bill a provision that would block HHS from implementing the administration's new Title X rule.

The White House has threatened to veto the entire spending package if such a provision is included in the final bill.

Title X was established in 1971 to ensure that all women in the country have access to birth control and other family planning services. Approximately four million people across the country currently rely on Title X-funded health centers for basic preventive health care such as Pap tests, breast exams and HIV tests.

DeGette, who serves not only as chair of the panel but also as head of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the Title X program and restrict women's access to reproductive care.

Tomorrow's hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. ET in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

It will also be streamed LIVE online at the following link:https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-protecting-title-x-and-safeguarding-quality-family-planning