Free Republic

As South Carolina law enforcement investigates allegations a state agency is handing out voter registration forms to foreign nationals, an agency official tells The Federalist that federal law has tied the state’s hands. Jeff Leieritz, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, says the department, as the state’s Medicaid agency, is mandated to provide voter registration information under Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act Of 1993. The information apparently goes out to everyone applying for the benefits, including foreign nationals. Section 7 requires each state to designate voter registration agencies, including all state offices...

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is spending millions on encouraging “racially diverse trans women” in New Orleans to take PrEP, a HIV prevention medication. HHS pledged approximately $2 million to Public Health Foundation Enterprises, a public health nonprofit based in California now known as Heluna Health, to “develop, implement and measure the impact” of a social media campaign aimed at increasing the awareness of HIV-prevention medications among “trans women” in New Orleans, according to a federal grant listing. The goal of the program, which will include a year-long test run serving 200 “trans women,”, is to “adapt...

The leaders of the U.S. Congress’s pro-life caucuses are leading bicameral opposition to the Biden Administration’s proposed rule targeting pregnancy centers for denial of federal funding to help women facing unplanned pregnancy. In October the Biden Administration had released a Proposed Rule Change for the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program, a federal assistance program that gives cash assistance to American families in need through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Numerous states give TANF funds to pregnancy help organizations because they help to meet some or all the TANF program’s goals. The Biden Administration’s Proposed...

A group of 3,000 doctors and medical professionals is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over a mandate that broadens the term "sex" in federal civil rights statutes to include "gender identity" and "sexual orientation." The group argues that the rule, among other things, forces physicians who see Medicaid patients or receive federal funding to provide "gender-affirming" care to children who want to transition to the opposite sex. This includes prescribing hormone treatments and puberty blockers and performing surgery such as removing girls' breasts. The doctors challenging the rule say it will force them to provide...

The Health and Human Services Department and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority on Tuesday announced a $1.5 billion initiative through Project NextGen for its partners to develop the "next generation" of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Several new COVID-19 variants have emerged and HHS officials said the department is closely monitoring the situation as the vaccines are developed.