WASHINGTON, DC (October 6, 2026) — Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy Jr. regarding the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) grants that were canceled by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“I am concerned that HHS is still holding funding for these important grants that support locally delivered, evidence-based programs that reach young people where they live, often in communities with limited access to health education and services, including rural areas,” the Congresswoman wrote.
“HHS must have a plan to ensure that this vital program continues (...) HHS must immediately reinstate funding for TPP Program grantees that your department cut off earlier this year,” Congresswoman Foushee continued.
“I request that you immediately share HHS's plan to allocate funding for the TPP program with funds obligated by Congress and ensure that grantees, including North Carolina, will continue to offer important evidence-based education and not see their funding and program implementation further interrupted,” the Congresswoman concluded.
Duke University, located in North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District, was a recipient of a Teen Pregnancy Prevention grant in 2023.
In July, 79 members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) and the Democratic Caucus, sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, demanding the reversal of the Trump Administration’s cancellation of 53 active Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP) grants that the Department claimed were no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities.
Recent decisions by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked HHS from establishing new grants with new funding conditions. 92 members of Congress, including Rep. Foushee, recently stated in a letter to HHS, that this funding must be reinstated for TPP grantees that were cut off earlier this year.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
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