Rep. Robert Pittenger
WASHINGTON – As hundreds of thousands of pro-life Americans prepare to March for Life in Washington, D.C., Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK) are requesting a Government Accountability Office investigation into the use of tax-exempt bonds to finance abortion clinics.
“These tax-exempt bonds are designed to build up a community by supporting infrastructure, not tear down a community by subsidizing the willful termination of innocent life. Who in their right mind would consider an abortion clinic to be infrastructure? We intend to stop this egregious misuse of tax-exempt bonds,” said Congressman Pittenger.
“The nation is divided on the issue of abortion, but the government should not compel taxpayers to pay for abortions or subsidize abortion facilities. This is an egregious waste of government money and an injustice against innocent human life that should end right away,” said Senator Lankford.
Congressman Pittenger and Senator Lankford are aware of several examples of tax-exempt, taxpayer-backed bonds being used to finance abortion clinics, including the use of a tax-free, $15 million municipal bond to renovate Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters. Over $20 million in tax-exempt bonds were used to finance abortion clinics in Florida, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
“State and municipal bonds are meant to finance schools, bridges, roads, and other necessary infrastructure. Some cities and states have offered these tax-exempt bonds to abortion providers in order to build abortion clinics or related facilities. Every time one of these tax-exempt bonds is issued, there is a federal tax liability which is not paid,” wrote Congressman Pittenger and Senator Lankford in their request to the GAO.
Congressman Pittenger and Senator Lankford are asking the GAO to report on:
· Instances in which state and municipal (local and county) bonds have been used to finance abortion clinics
· The total federal tax liability involved in issuing these bonds
· Which states have used these bonds
· The impact of the bond on each abortion provider.
Congressman Pittenger is author of the No Abortion Bonds Act (H.R. 4131), which outlaws the use of tax-exempt bonds for abortion clinics. More than 90 bipartisan Members of Congress have joined Congressman Pittenger as co-sponsors.
About Author
