110 Members of Congress, including two House Democrats, have demanded answers to why the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) wants to force states to fund Planned Parenthood. After protesting a new regulatory rule in a letter issued at the end of September, the lead authors are now criticizing the department’s “non-answer.”

Over two months ago, HHS proposed what one pro-life leader called “a parting gift” to Planned Parenthood: a regulatory rule that functionally made it illegal for states to defund the abortion giant unless they could prove lawbreaking or misuse of Title X funding. The rule was in response to how a number of states attempted to, including several successfully, defund Planned Parenthood.

“The amendment precludes project recipients from using criteria in their selection of subrecipients that are unrelated to the ability to deliver services to program beneficiaries in an effective manner,” according to the Health and Human Service department’s summary of the rule.

The Congressional Letter and the HHS Response

In their letter, sent September 23rd, the Representatives and Senators expressed their “strong opposition” to “this overreaching and ill-supported rule.” Led by Sen. Joni K. Erst (R-Iowa) and Congressman Diane Black (R-Tenn), the letter’s signers criticized the proposal for depending upon inadequate criteria and data. “Rarely do the American people benefit,” they concluded,

when the federal government attempts to substitute its judgement for that of state or local governments — particularly when the criteria used to inform that judgement are unclear, and that judgement is not supported by coherent and impartial facts.

A HHS spokesman responded on November 9 with a short, vague letter that Ernst and Black noted in their response “did not address a single question raised in our letter.”

The “primary goals” of the proposed rule, wrote a spokesperson for HHS, “are to maintain uniformity of grants administration [and] ensure consistency of subrecipient participation across grant awards,” among other goals. He told the Members that their letter would be considered “with the other public comments.”

“The Department’s non-answer to our inquiry shows disrespect for the oversight role of of Congress and for those Americans who, like us, have grave concerns regarding this overreaching proposed rule,” responded Ernst and Black in a letter released on Monday.

In a press statement, Black said, “Either Secretary Burwell and her staff know they cannot defend this blatantly political maneuver to prop up Planned Parenthood, or they don’t have enough respect for Congress to give the courtesy of a substantive reply. Either is unacceptable.”

A spokesperson for Black told The Stream, “For efficiency’s sake, Senator Ernst and Representative Black sent the letter on their own behalf with just their signatures, but the broad coalition of members who signed this letter [the first letter] remain concerned about the proposed rule, just as we are.”