<div> <div>       <div class="indented"> THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN ROBERT PITTENGER </div>   <div class="indented"> <div class="indented"> NO ABORTION BONDS ACT </div> </div>   Congressman Robert Pittenger is introducing legislation to end federal tax-exempt bonds for abortion providers. This bill would close loopholes in the tax code that allow abortion providers to finance new clinics and facilities with municipal, county, and state bonds that are exempt from federal taxes. This bill would help curb using the tax code to allow taxpayers’ money to subsidize the financing of abortion clinics.   Municipal, county, and, state bonds are designed to allow communities to finance hospitals, schools, and, roads without paying federal taxes on the debt’s interest.   The use of municipal, county, and state bonds to pay for abortion clinics’ or abortion providers’ facilities, diverts money away from necessary infrastructure projects and is counter to the spirit of the Hyde Amendment. The No Abortion Bonds Act would apply the spirit of the Hyde Amendment to the tax code and tax-free municipal, county, and state bonds.     PROVISIONS OF NO ABORTION BONDS ACT   <ul> <li>This bill removes the tax-exempt status from any bond that flows to an abortion provider and/or abortion clinics.</li> </ul>   <div class="indented"> <div class="indented"> o Municipal, county, and, state bonds are attractive to investors because they offer a tax-free investment vehicle. Removing the tax-exempt status reduces the likelihood that these bonds will be issued in the first place. </div> </div>   <ul> <li>The bill has exemptions for facilities that only perform in the case of danger to the life of the mother, rape, or, incest.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>The bill has an exemption for bonds that fund hospitals, given that hospitals perform <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/04/yes-hospitals-do-abortions-this-washington-doctor-says-her-hospital-forces-her-to-keep-it-quiet/?utm_term=.0a70b04f87ed">4</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/04/yes-hospitals-do-abortions-this-washington-doctor-says-her-hospital-forces-her-to-keep-it-quiet/?utm_term=.0a70b04f87ed">percent of abortions </a>nationwide.</li> </ul>   BACKGROUND   This bill would end federal subsidies for abortion clinics, but would not prevent localities and states from offering direct financing of these abortion clinics. Currently, cities, counties, and, states can issue federally tax-free municipal, county, and, state bonds to finance abortion clinics such as Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.   It has long been a bipartisan tradition, since the Hyde Amendment in 1976, that taxpayers, many of whom hold deep religious and moral convictions about abortion, should not be forced to pay for the willful termination of an innocent life.   The Supreme Court, in a 1980 decision, upheld the Hyde Amendment stating that “abortion is inherently different than other medical procedures, because no other procedure involves the purposeful termination of a potential life.” This principle should be applied consistently to government spending, which includes government spending through the tax code.           For more information, please contact the Office of Congressman Robert Pittenger at (202) 225-1976   This consensus is supported by a majority of Americans. In the summer of 2016, a Knights of Columbus-Marist poll found that 62 percent of Americans opposed taxpayer funding for abortion, including those who consider themselves pro-choice.   There are numerous examples of millions of dollars of municipal, county, and, state bonds flowing to abortion providers and abortion clinics, providing subsidized, low-interest loans to build abortion facilities.   When the bond is issued, the taxpayer essentially becomes the ultimate financial backer. The money goes directly to the non-profit abortion provider as a federally subsidized, low-interest loan that abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, pays back. All the while, bond purchasers are often unaware that they are buying tax-free bonds that finance abortion facilities.   For example:   <ul> <li>In 2012, the New York City government development agency (New York City Industrial Development Agency) <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/25/planned-parenthood-purchases-new-35m-national-hq-in-nyc/">issued </a>a tax-free $15 million municipal bond for renovation of Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters. In 2015, Planned Parenthood of America then sold the facility for <a href="https://commercialobserver.com/2015/07/brookfield-buys-office-condo-next-to-manhattan-west-project-for-69-6m/">$69.6 million, </a>doubling the $34.8 million it paid for the West 33rd Street condo in 2011.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>In 2007, Sarasota County, Florida <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1816445/posts">floated </a>an $8 million tax-free bond to pay for a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. The tax-exempt bond provided a federally subsidized low-interest loan to construct the Planned Parenthood Sarasota Health Center, a 22,795-square foot clinic providing abortion services.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>In 2007, the Illinois Finance Authority <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2015/06/23/planned-parenthood-broke-the-law-to-build-an-illinois-abortion-clinic-and-it-just-lost-in-court/">approved </a>an $8.05 million tax-free bond for a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Aurora, Illinois.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, or MassDevelopment, <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=99801">granted </a>a $5 million tax-exempt bond for the Central Massachusetts Health Center in Worcester, a Planned Parenthood clinic offering abortion services and the "morning after pill."</li> </ul>   The federal government has many critical infrastructure responsibilities. Providing tax-free, subsided, low-interest loans for abortions clinics is not one of them. The federal government is $20 trillion in debt and there are real questions of conscience related to government funding of abortions for millions of Americans. This legislation is in line with a 40-year bipartisan agreement that taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund abortion. It is time for this loophole to be closed and this spending waste to be eliminated.   As members of Congress, we must continue to fight for the unborn and support life affirming investments in women’s health.     FOR MORE INFORMATION   <ul> <li>If you would like to cosponsor this bill, please contact, Brian Kennedy at brain.kennedy1@mail.house.gov or 202-225-1976.</li> </ul>                   For more information, please contact the Office of Congressman Robert Pittenger at (202) 225-1976 </div></div>

Pittenger Says Bond Bill Would Stop Taxpayer-Financed Abortions

Pittenger Says Bond Bill Would Stop Taxpayer-Financed Abortions

U.S. House of Representatives

By disallowing federal tax-exempt bonds for facilities that provide abortions, the No Abortion Bonds Act “would help curb using the tax code to allow taxpayers’ money to subsidize the financing of abortion clinics,” Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., said in a release.

By disallowing federal tax-exempt bonds for facilities that provide abortions, the No Abortion Bonds Act “would help curb using the tax code to allow taxpayers’ money to subsidize the financing of abortion clinics,” Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., said in a release.

By disallowing federal tax-exempt bonds for facilities that provide abortions, the <a href="/lr/resolve/source-document/1x817" title="Source document">No Abortion Bonds Act</a> “would help curb using the tax code to allow taxpayers’ money to subsidize the financing of abortion clinics,” Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., said in a release.

By disallowing federal tax-exempt bonds for facilities that provide abortions, the No Abortion Bonds Act “would help curb using the tax code to allow taxpayers’ money to subsidize the financing of abortion clinics,” Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., said in a release.