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Senate easily passes $50 million in financial supports for families, children and pregnant Hoosiers

Indiana Republican Senator Travis Holdman looks to his right and holds his left hand over his midsection as he speaks on the floor of the Indiana Senate. Holdman has a full white beard and glasses and is wearing a dark suit, white shirt and purple patterned tie.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) speaks about his bill to provide financial supports for pregnant Hoosiers, families and children on the floor of the Indiana Senate on July 28, 2022.

The Indiana Senate easily approved legislation Friday that spends $50 million on financial supports for pregnant people, families and children.

The measure is meant to be a companion to Republicans’ proposed abortion ban.

The money in the Senate bill, SB 2 (ss), would be spent on organizations and services that include access to contraception and pregnancy planning, child care and support for foster and adoptive care.

Democrats, including Sen. Fady Qaddoura (D-Indianapolis), largely supported the measure but said it’s a drop in the bucket.

“The social systems, the health care systems, the wraparound services are not available in every county in Indiana,” Qaddoura said.

READ MORE: Republicans, Democrats clash over scope of House inflation and family financial supports bill

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The bill’s author, Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle), acknowledged that he’d like to see more money, especially for mental health.

“But we have a whole new budget session coming up here in January," Holdman said. "And hopefully we can supplement some of the funds and respond in kind, as we should, to the mental health situation and the need of young mothers, pregnant women and young families.”

The measure now heads to the House, which has its own version of the bill.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.