WASHINGTON, D.C., July 1, 2025 — Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, commends the U.S. Senate’s vote to pass the budget reconciliation bill by a 51-50 vote. If signed into law, this bill would defund the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and any related entities for one year, while also enacting a pro-family Child Tax Credit, enhancing the Adoption Tax Credit, and benefiting Christian nonprofits through a more generous charitable deduction framework:
Leatherwood commented on today’s vote:
“The ERLC congratulates the Senate on the passage of this important reconciliation bill, which contains key pro-life and pro-family policies. Most importantly, for the first time in our nation’s history, both chambers of Congress have voted to defund Planned Parenthood—a remarkable achievement.
“While this provision is unfortunately limited to one year in the Senate bill, it still sets a lasting precedent that lawmakers can build on in future spending bills to restrict taxpayer funding for the abortion industry. We will be there to urge them to do so. The pro-life movement fought for 50 years to overturn the heinous decision that was Roe. We’ll do the same through shaping statutes to ensure not a single penny of government funding goes to the destruction of life.
“Furthermore, this legislation includes additional measures in other areas that represent tangible steps in the right direction. We appreciate these positive actions taken by senators. While no legislative proposal can possibly contain every priority on every issue, this bill deserves swift consideration by the House of Representatives.”
In January, Leatherwood released the ERLC’s 2025 Public Policy Agenda. The following ERLC 2025 Public Policy Agenda priorities were included in the Senate’s reconciliation bill:
- Defund Planned Parenthood: Abortion providers are listed as prohibited entities that cannot receive federal payments, including Medicaid reimbursements. This prohibition extends to all successors and related entities in the industry, decisively ensuring that funds can’t be funneled to abortion providers. This provision would be in effect for one year.
- Child Tax Credit: The amount of the full child tax credit would increase to $2,200 per child. The full child tax credit will be indexed to inflation.
- Adoption Tax Credit: Refundability language was included in the final bill, and the credit amount will be adjusted for inflation.
- Charitable giving: The bill included a partial deduction for charitable contributions of individuals who do not elect to itemize (up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers).
In January, ERLC policy staff also released the ERLC’s Priorities for Budget Reconciliation which included these same four policy priorities that passed in today’s bill. The ERLC has actively advocated for these policies this year through meetings on Capitol Hill and with the Trump administration. In February, Leatherwood urged House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone to use the reconciliation process to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund Planned Parenthood. He also wrote a national op-ed highlighting Planned Parenthood’s heinous activity and implored lawmakers to defund the organization.
This spring, the ERLC led SBC leaders and pastors in calling on legislators to take concrete steps in writing a reconciliation bill that would strip Planned Parenthood and abortion providers of all federal funding. Since the launch of the ERLC’s campaign to defund Planned Parenthood, more than 30,000 people have signed on, adding their voices to call on Congress to take steps to stop taxpayer funding of abortion procedures.
