When President Trump called on Congress to make passage of Budget Reconciliation 3.0 their top priority upon returning from the July 4th recess, CURE strongly endorsed the idea.
We have been in close consultation with congressional leaders on 3.0 strategy for several months and had every expectation that 3.0 would renew the ban on funding for big abortion providers like Planned Parenthood that was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill/Working Families Tax Cuts (OBBBA/WFTC) that President Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025. We also expected a renewed effort to enact the ban on funding for harmful gender transition procedures that was included in the House version of OBBBA/WFTC, and to eliminate the governor opt-in requirement for taxpayers to receive a $1,700 Federal tax credit for contributions they make to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) in their home state.
The Senate Parliamentarian inexplicably insisted upon injecting the governor opt-in requirement into OBBBA/WFTC and she argued that the ban on funding for trans procedures violated the Senate’s “Byrd Rule” and could not be included in a budget reconciliation bill.
Given the need to replenish our nation’s military capabilities due to the conflict with Iran and the struggles being faced by our nation’s farmers, as well as President Trump’s desire to enact SAVE Act provisions to ensure election integrity, he called on Congress to pass a Budget Reconciliation 3.0 bill that only addresses those three topics.
We are disappointed with key priorities being crowded out of the 3.0 process but remain committed to pursuing these important objectives. The Trump Administration is being urged to explore alleged violations of law by certain large abortion providers and to use the debarment process to prevent them from receiving Federal funds. They can also issue a pending rule that could block abortion providers from receiving federal Title X family planning funds, and they can enter into a consent decree with the State of Louisiana that would stop the widespread mailing of abortion pills that undermines pro-life laws in Louisiana and other states.
Bans on funding for trans procedures are being advanced in a national defense bill and through other means, but Congress should pass a government-wide ban on funding for such procedures. Speaker Mike Johnson and other House leaders have expressed an interest in pursuing Budget Reconciliation 4.0 legislation later this year. While that will be challenging in a post-election “lame duck” Congress, CURE will be vigilant in looking for opportunities to advance our priorities through every available means.
