WASHINGTON–Congressman Robert Aderholt and Congressman Chris Smith are calling for broader Hyde Amendment protections. Their request follows a new federal report on Affordable Care Act health plans.

According to a joint release from the lawmakers, the U.S. Government Accountability Office identified 1,719 qualified health plans covering elective abortions in 2026. The release said an estimated 4.4 million people enrolled in those plans this year.

The release also said the Affordable Care Act offered 683 more abortion-covering plans than GAO identified in a similar 2014 review.

Congressional leaders, committee chairmen, and members of House and Senate pro-life groups requested the report. Aderholt serves as chairman of the House Values Action Team, while Smith co-chairs the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.

Following the report’s release, the two Republican lawmakers said Americans deserve greater transparency about how the government uses federal tax dollars. They said taxpayers should receive clear and accurate information about where their money goes.

The lawmakers said the report confirmed concerns Republicans have raised for more than 15 years. Specifically, they argued that the Affordable Care Act does not fully apply the Hyde Amendment’s restrictions on federal abortion funding.

Aderholt and Smith said the Affordable Care Act allows premium tax credits to support health insurance policies that include elective-abortion coverage. As a result, they said taxpayers in states that oppose abortion help subsidize plans covering those services.

“Federal taxpayer dollars—even from individuals living in pro-life states—are subsidizing plans that include elective abortion coverage for over 4.4 million people,” their statement said.

In addition, the lawmakers said the report identified consumer-transparency failures among some insurance companies. They said certain insurers failed to prominently disclose that their plans included abortion coverage, as required by the Affordable Care Act.

Aderholt and Smith called on Congress to extend full Hyde Amendment protections to all Affordable Care Act plans. They said taxpayers should not have to subsidize health insurance policies that cover elective abortions.

The lawmakers issued their call ahead of the Hyde Amendment’s 50th anniversary on Sept. 30. Their statement cited estimates that the amendment has prevented more than 2.6 million abortions since its adoption, or about 60,000 each year.

Until Congress acts, Aderholt and Smith urged the Trump administration to reissue the 2019 Exchange Program Integrity Final Rule. They said the rule would help consumers determine whether an insurance plan includes elective-abortion coverage.

The congressional request included House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer also joined the request.

Other signers included House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain and Senate Pro-Life Caucus Chairwoman Cindy Hyde-Smith. House Pro-Life Caucus leaders Chris Smith, Andy Harris, Michelle Fischbach, Kat Cammack, and Bob Onder also signed the request.

Additionally, the group included Senate Values Action Team Chairman James Lankford and several congressional committee chairmen. They included Mike Crapo of Senate Finance, Bill Cassidy of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Brett Guthrie of House Energy and Commerce, and Jason Smith of House Ways and Means.