[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4265 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4265
To authorize grants to eligible entities to pay for travel-related
expenses and logistical support for individuals with respect to
accessing abortion services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 30, 2025
Ms. Strickland (for herself, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Smith of Washington,
Mr. Pocan, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Titus, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Panetta, Ms.
Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Casten, Ms. McClellan, Ms. DelBene, and
Mrs. Ramirez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize grants to eligible entities to pay for travel-related
expenses and logistical support for individuals with respect to
accessing abortion services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) On June 24, 2022, in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson
Women's Health Organization (142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022)) (referred
to in this section as the ``Dobbs decision''), the Supreme
Court overturned Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)), eliminating
the constitutional right to abortion and reversing decades of
precedent recognizing the constitutional right to an abortion.
(2) While abortion has never been accessible to all even
under the framework of Roe v. Wade, the Dobbs decision has
decimated access for millions of people in the United States.
(3) As expected, the impacts of the Dobbs decision have
fallen the hardest on people who already face barriers to
health care access due to systemic barriers and discrimination,
particularly Black people, Indigenous people, and other people
of color, people with disabilities, people in rural areas,
young people, people with documentation barriers, LGBTQ+
people, people who are parenting, people with complex medical
needs who require hospital-based care, and people having
difficulty making ends meet.
(4) Abortion bans prevent many people from accessing the
care they want and need.
(5) People have always had abortions and always will, even
in the face of legal, financial, and logistical barriers, or
criminalization. However, since the Dobbs decision, many are
being forced to travel hundreds of miles away from their homes
and communities, taking extra time off of work, forgoing days
of pay, piecing together extended childcare, and finding ways
to cover significant travel expenses. Others are being forced
to carry their pregnancies to term.
(6) Just months after the Dobbs decision, one-third of
women of reproductive age in the United States faced excessive
travel times for abortion. For residents of States that had
banned abortion, travel times increased by more than 4 hours on
average. Black women faced the greatest impact, with 40 percent
needing to drive at least 1 hour for abortion care after the
decision, versus 15 percent before the decision.
(7) Abortion funds and practical support funds (referred to
in this section as ``abortion funds'' or ``funds'') are
community-based organizations that support people in overcoming
financial and logistical barriers to abortion care. In 2024,
abortion funds provided over $50,000,000 for abortion funding
and over $13,000,000 for logistical support.
(8) Funds work together to remove financial and logistical
barriers to abortion access and have been doing this work for
decades. Funds help cover transportation, food, lodging,
childcare, translation support, doula services, and other
supports abortion seekers and their families need.
(9) Many funds are led by people who have had abortions
themselves, including a growing base of Black and Brown leaders
who have themselves faced abortion obstacles and understand the
complex circumstances individuals may face.
(10) Abortion funds have a history of being under-resourced
and rely mostly on volunteer time and energy to support
communities.
(11) Abortion and practical support funds hold some of the
closest ties to people who are having abortions and have the
first hand experience, up-to-date and on-the-ground knowledge,
and the regional and national connections needed to support
abortion seekers financially, emotionally, or logistically.
(12) More and more States are seeking to ban abortion or
enact extreme restrictions, significantly limiting the
circumstances in which abortions are available. Furthermore,
people have been prevented from seeking care because of the
confusion created by new and changing abortion restrictions,
misinformation, disinformation, and muddled judicial decisions,
all of which have contributed to a chilling effect for people
seeking legal care out of State. People seeking abortions often
do not have a full understanding of the shifting legal
landscape, including abortion laws, in their State. People
calling abortion funds for support often ask if they are doing
something illegal by traveling to get care of the abortion laws
in their State and people calling abortion funds for support
often ask if they are doing something illegal by traveling to
get care. Abortion funds serve to mitigate this confusion and
directly connect people to accurate information.
(13) Following the Dobbs decision, the demand for abortions
has surged, with requests increasing by 56 percent from 2023 to
2024. During the same period, the number of abortion seekers
supported by abortion funds grew by 33 percent. Despite immense
efforts from abortion funds from 2022 to 2024, the number of
callers who received support decreased from 70 percent to 54
percent. This is due to escalating costs of abortion care and
practical support, as well as inadequate funding to meet the
post-Dobbs demand.
(14) Clinics in States where abortion is legal and more
accessible continue to receive an influx of people seeking
abortions.
(15) When people are not able to access an abortion when
they need it, they may be forced to seek an abortion later into
their pregnancy. This increases costs exponentially. Barriers
to abortion care after the Dobbs decision have led to an
increasing complexity in the cases that abortion funds are
managing. People who are forced to cross State lines for
abortion care may need increased financial support for
coordinating and paying for higher logistical barriers (such as
transportation, lodging, meals, childcare, medication) to
access the abortion care they want, need, and deserve. For
many, the increased financial burden will push abortion care
completely out of reach without financial and logistical
assistance for appointment costs and travel.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PAY FOR TRAVEL EXPENSES AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT FOR
INDIVIDUALS ACCESSING ABORTION SERVICES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'') may award grants to eligible entities to
pay for travel-related expenses and logistical support for individuals
with respect to accessing abortion services.
(b) Timing.--Beginning not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit applications for
grants under this section.
(c) Use of Funds.--
(1) Permissible uses.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under this section shall use the grant for travel-related
expenses and logistical support for individuals with respect to
accessing abortion services, which may include any of the
following expenses and support:
(A) Round trip travel to the location where the
abortion services are provided.
(B) Lodging.
(C) Meals.
(D) Childcare.
(E) Translation services.
(F) Doula care.
(G) Patient education and information services.
(H) Lost wages.
(2) Organizational costs.--An eligible entity receiving a
grant under this section may use up to, but not more than, 15
percent of the grant funds to cover organizational costs such
as--
(A) community outreach efforts;
(B) physical infrastructure construction and
maintenance;
(C) website development and maintenance; and
(D) increasing staff capacity and training.
(3) Impermissible uses.--An eligible entity receiving a
grant under this section shall not use the grant for costs of
an abortion procedure.
(d) Applications.--To seek a grant under this section, an eligible
entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
determines appropriate.
(e) Priority.--In selecting the recipients of grants under this
section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
(1) serve individuals who live in a jurisdiction that has
banned or severely restricted access to abortion;
(2) serve individuals who travel to a jurisdiction other
than the one where they live to be provided abortion services;
or
(3) have a program in operation, or submit as part of the
application required under subsection (d) a plan to establish
and operate a program, to help individuals access abortion
services.
(f) Annual Reports to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report on the program under this
section.
(2) Confidentiality.--The reports under paragraph (1) shall
not include any individually identifiable information.
(g) Preemption.--
(1) In general.--The provisions of this section shall
supersede any provision of State, Tribal, territorial, or local
law that would have the effect of prohibiting any use of funds
provided for under this section.
(2) Prohibition on federal cooperation in antiabortion
proceedings.--No Federal agency or official engaged in carrying
out the program under this section may cooperate with any
State, Tribal, territorial, or local antiabortion proceeding,
including any antiabortion investigation, prosecution, or civil
lawsuit, relating to the activities carried out under such
program or any individual or entity receiving or providing
services under such program.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``eligible entity''--
(A) means a nonprofit organization, or a community-
based organization, that assists individuals seeking an
abortion through programs, services, or activities that
are unbiased and medically and factually accurate; and
(B) excludes any entity that discourages
individuals from seeking an abortion.
(2) The term ``nonprofit organization'' means an
organization that--
(A) is described in subsection (c)(3) of section
501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
(B) is, under subsection (a) of such section,
exempt from taxation.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $350,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2030.
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