FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2nd, 2026

Contact: Sarah Wing, [email protected]

Washington, DC – On September 1st, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through December 11, 2026. The CR, previously passed by the U.S. Senate in August, maintains funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP) at current levels, reaffirming Congress’s continued investment in evidence-based programs that support the health and well-being of young people.

The continuation of TPP funding comes at a critical moment. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) abruptly terminated the majority of active TPP grants, cutting off funding for programs serving young people and communities across the country. HHS also sought to fundamentally reshape the program through new funding requirements that would move TPP away from the evidence-based approaches Congress intended to support.

SIECUS alongside Hennepin County, Minnesota and King County, Washington represented by Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, and Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP and plaintiff Planned Parenthood of Heartland, represented by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, are challenging these actions in federal court. In August, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted in part a preliminary injunction blocking HHS from moving forward with key elements of its new TPP funding policy. While the ruling halted implementation of the administration’s harmful new approach, it did not restore the grants HHS previously terminated.

The CR similarly does not reinstate those terminated grants. However, Congress has once again made clear that the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program is worth investing in. Maintaining funding is an important step, but congressional support must also be met with congressional oversight. 

Congress has continued to provide funding for TPP but the fight does not stop here, lawmakers must hold HHS accountable for what happens to those dollars. Members of Congress should demand answers about the status of congressionally appropriated TPP funding, the impact of terminated awards on communities in their states and districts, and HHS’s plans for ensuring these resources reach the young people and programs Congress intended to support. 

Call your Representatives at the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and urge them to hold HHS accountable by demanding the restoration of TPP funding and release them to previously awarded grantees.

SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change has served as a leading national voice for sex education since 1964, asserting that sexuality is a fundamental part of being human, one worthy of dignity and respect. Through advocacy, policy, and coalition building, SIECUS advances sex education as a vehicle for social change—where all people receive sex education, are affirmed in their identities, and have the power to make decisions about their own health, pleasure, and wholeness.