Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and a coalition of other GOP senators are urging President Joe Biden to not implement a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that would eliminate “gender-specific” words like “mother” and “father” from federal regulations guiding the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program.
HHS and the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) proposed a rule in September that would replace the gender-specific term “paternity” with the gender-neutral term “parentage” throughout the CSE program in an effort to be inclusive of all “family structures.” Rubio, along with Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith called on Biden to reject the rule, blasting the administration for using the CSE program to “advance radical gender ideology,” according to the letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Dem Congressman Threatens To Call Cops On Citizen Journalist Rather Than Answer Questions On Hamas)
“Your administration’s ‘Don’t Say Dad’ agenda is not only confusing, it does nothing to help single parents who are struggling to provide for their children,” the letter reads. “We urge you to rescind the proposed rule, acknowledge the essential role that mothers and fathers play in families, and focus your efforts on more important matters.”
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) is beset by reporters as he walks through the basement of the U.S. Capitol on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The program distributed more than $30 million to single parents — mostly single mothers — in 2022, the letter states.
“We are disappointed that your administration is using CSE as a tool to advance radical gender ideology, rather than strengthening its ability to help families,” the senators wrote. “Americans understand that mothers and fathers are different, and that both parents play vital roles in raising their children. Federal regulations should uphold this fact rather than erasing the reality of biological sex in the law at the behest of left-wing activists.”