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FIRST ON FOX — Former Vice President Mike Pence is urging congressional Republicans to cut off federal taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, warning in exclusive comments to Fox News Digital that failure to act would hand the organization a massive paycheck on Independence Day.
Pence’s demands come alongside a new policy roadmap from his conservative think tank, the Advancing American Freedom Foundation (AAFF), which outlines 20 key legislative priorities for an upcoming “Reconciliation 2.0” package.
One of the top items on Pence’s agenda is ensuring that a temporary ban on Medicaid funding for abortion providers, initially passed in a sweeping legislative package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), does not expire July 4, as scheduled.
FORMER VP PENCE VOWS TO BE A ‘VOICE AGAINST’ TRUMP WHEN PRESIDENT VEERS FROM ‘CONSERVATIVE AGENDA’
“Congressional Republicans must deliver for pro-life Americans by extending the ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers,” Pence told Fox News Digital.
“If Congress does not act, Planned Parenthood will celebrate America’s 250th birthday with taxpayer funding. Renewed federal funding for Planned Parenthood is unacceptable to me and to millions of pro-life Americans across the United States.”
The AAFF memo provides GOP lawmakers with a strategy to permanently ban or extend the temporary pause on taxpayer funding for abortion providers.
If Congress faces challenges in directly cutting off the cash flow, the group suggested hitting abortion providers with a new tax that matches the exact amount of Medicaid funds they receive in a given year.
While defunding abortion providers is one of the cornerstones of Pence’s push, the AAFF roadmap proposes 19 other priorities, including targeting companies that hire illegal immigrant workers, requiring strict citizenship and address checks for voters and repealing “green energy” subsidies.
It also recommends expanding tax-advantaged Trump Accounts for children’s savings, rewarding states that adopt school choice programs and slashing federal spending by penalizing states that hand out fraudulent or improper Medicaid and welfare payments.
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“By sending 20 solid, conservative policy proposals to Congress that will help eliminate waste, fraud and abuse; strengthen election integrity; and expand on the tax policy wins of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the policy team at Advancing American Freedom Foundation continues to directly impact the day-to-day policy debate in Washington, D.C.,” Pence said.
“Policy memos from dedicated conservative think tanks are essential to advancing conservative policy through the legislative process,” he added. “I trust that representatives and senators and their policy teams will continue to find AAF’s memos as their go-to resource for need-to-know information on policy.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Planned Parenthood for comment.
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