Fetterman Joins Push to Revive Teen Pregnancy Grants

Sen. John Fetterman (D) joined 92 colleagues in a letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy on Monday (Sept. 28) urging the department to reinstate Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program grants before the federal fiscal year ends tomorrow. HHS canceled 53 of 67 grants nationwide in June. The letter says only $579,499 of the program's $101 million appropriation has gone out, all to a single grantee, and that a court order will keep the money from lapsing but grantees still cannot get at it.

Fetterman's office says two Pennsylvania groups, Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania and AccessMatters, use the grants to serve 24 counties and more than 10,000 Pennsylvanians. The release does not name the counties, and we could not confirm that a Monroe County program is affected. It also does not include a response from HHS. A letter cannot force the department to act, so the real test is Wednesday's deadline.