Valerie Huber

Huber Espoused Bigoted Views On What Makes a Family At A May 2019 United Nations Event On Preserving The “Traditional Family”

Huber Said The United States Under The Trump Administration Is Motivated To Defend The Family As The Natural Central Unit Of Society Through Policy

Huber Said That “When The Family Is Weak, The Pillars Of Society Crumble.” “The purpose of the Declaration [on Social Progress and Development] is establishing the family as the natural unit of society. We agree. The United States is motivated to ensure our policies affirm the importance of family… When the family is weak, the pillars of society crumble.” [Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Huber Quoted Donald Trump Speaking About His Commitment To The Family, Which He Supposedly Believes Fosters Love And Acceptance. [Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Huber Expressed Frustration With Many Nation States’ Unwillingness To Align Themselves With The United States On The “Rights Of The Family”

Huber Spoke With Frustration About The Resistance That “The Importance Of The Family” Is Met With At The United Nations. “Sometimes in the international fora, the importance of the family is met with resistance. We are not deterred.” ​[Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Huber Also Took A Dig At The United Nations As An Institution When Discussing The Importance Of Family. “The government can never take the place of the family. An international body can never take the place of the family.” ​[Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Huber Also Emphasized The Trump Administration’s Supposed Commitment To Ensuring Access To Health Care… Then Went To Great Lengths To Explain How Her Interpretation Of Health Care Included “Spiritual Health”

Huber Said That The U.S. Is Committed To Ensuring Access To Health Care For All Domestically And Abroad… ​[Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

…But She Then Qualified That The U.S. Strongly Supports Something Called “Optimal Health,” Which Encompasses Not Just Mental and Physical Health, But Also “Spiritual Health.” [​[Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Huber, Who Is An Abstinence-Only Advocate, Emphasized That This “Holistic” Approach To Health Care Access The U.S. Is Taking Encompasses Eliminating Risk Of “Teen Sex” 

Huber Said That The United States’ Approach To “Optimal Health” Includes Eliminating Sources Of Risk, Such As “Teen Sex.” ​[Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Referencing Parental Rights, Huber Then Called The “Family The Most Important Ingredient For Optimal Health.” ​[Remarks from “It Takes A Family” Event, 5/15/19]

Valerie Huber Attended An Event Hosted By The Hungarian Government Promoting White Supremacist Birth Policies

Valerie Huber, Kathryn Talento, And Congressional Republicans Attended An Event With Hungarian Government Officials On The Central European Nation’s Family Planning Policies

Valerie Huber And Kathryn Talento And Other Top Republicans Joined A “Making Families Great Again” Event At The Hungarian Embassy, Which Promoted Policies Which Incentivize Marriage And Childbirth Of Native Hungarians. “White House officials, Republican members of Congress and evangelical leaders gathered Thursday for ‘Making Families Great Again,’ a conference on family policy hosted by the Hungarian Embassy at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Led by President Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz Party, Hungary has become a poster child for passing nationalist pro-family policies over the last several years. With nearly a decade-worth of data, Hungarian officials claimed Thursday that policies instituted over the last several decades that have incentivized marriage and childbirth have helped boost marriage and birth rates in Hungary at a time many countries struggle with those issues…Participants in the conference included White House director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp, President Trump’s special assistant on domestic policy Kathryn Talento and Health and Human Services senior policy advisor Valerie Huber.” [Christian Post 3/17/19]

Hungary’s New Family Planning Policies Rooted In White Nationalist Ideas And Work To Keep Women “Home And Pregnant”

Hungary’s Newly Announced Family Planning Policy Offers Waives Income Tax For Life For Families With Four Or More Children. “Hungary’s birth policies made headlines recently after the government announced its seven-point plan to entice Hungarian women to have more children, with offers that include waiving income taxes for life for those who have four or more babies and subsidies to buy larger cars for their larger families.” [Washington Post 3/21/19]

A Spokesperson For Human Rights First Said Hungary’s Policies “Does Not Encourage Women To Rejoin The Labor Force, But Keeps Them Home And Pregnant.” “Berschinski, who works at Human Rights First, a nonpartisan advocacy group based in New York and Washington, said Hungary’s birth plan is at odds with accepted best practices in other countries. ‘The critique is — in effect and by design — it does not encourage women to rejoin the labor force, but keeps them home and pregnant in more of a traditionalist sense through financial incentives,’ he said.” [Washington Post 3/21/19]

Attendance Of The Event By White House Officials Marks A Decisive Turn From The Obama Administration, Who Chilled Ties With Hungary After Orban’s Anti-Immigrant Polices, Free Speech Restrictions, And Attempts To Weaken The Nation’s Constitution. “The display of support from U.S. officials marks a 180-degree pivot from the Obama years, when Hungary was all but ostracized to signal U.S. opposition to Orban’s restrictions on free speech, his anti-immigration policies and his efforts to weaken the nation’s constitutional protections. ‘The Trump administration has gone in a completely different direction and embraced them warmly’” said Robert G. Berschinski, who helped lead U.S. policy toward Hungary in 2016 as deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights.” [Washington Post 3/21/19]

HHS Spokesperson Caitlin Oakley Claimed Huber Attended The Event To “Promote The Administration’s Priorities.” [[Washington Post 3/21/19]

Washington Post: “The Increasingly Close Relations Between The United States And Hungary Have Drawn Concern From Civil Society And Advocacy Groups.” [Washington Post 3/21/19]

The Event Was Also Attended By Leaders Of The Right-Wing Think Tanks Family Research Council And Heritage Foundation

Heritage Foundation Director Emilie Kao Spoke At The Event. [Twitter 3/13/19]

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Spoke At The Event, And Praised Hungary For Its “Pro-Family” Policies And Its “Commitment To Religious Liberty And The Defense Of Persecuted Christians Around The World.” “On Thursday, it was my honor to speak at an event here in Washington called, ‘Making Families Great Again: The Role of Family and Marriage in Modern Society.’ This was not unusual for a pro-family group. What was unusual was the sponsor -- the Embassy of Hungary. The relatively small nation of Hungary (population 10 million) has emerged in recent years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as an international leader in promoting pro-family policies…I also praised Hungary for its commitment to religious liberty and the defense of persecuted Christians around the world.” [Family Research Council 3/15/19]

Family Research Council Also Praised Hungary For “Putting In Their Constitution The Definition Of Marriage As The Union Of A Man And A Woman And The Recognition Of Human Life As Beginning At Conception.” [Family Research Council 3/15/19]

• Family Research Council Is A Southern Poverty Law Center Classified Hate Group. [Southern Policy Law Center Accessed 3/19/19]

Hungary’s Policies Have The Goal Of “Repopulating” Without “Mass Immigration,” Promoting A “Christian Nation.” “Hungary’s birth rate fell below replacement level decades ago and the nation has struggled to repopulate. Unlike some of its European counterparts that have relied on immigration to boost population totals, the Orbán government has made clear that it does not view mass immigration as the answer. Rather, the administration believes the answer is to ensure that Hungarian citizens have all the incentives they need to build large and happy families. Today, the Hungarian government spends nearly 5 percent of its GDP towards incentives for those in the predominantly-Christian nation to get married and have children — lots of them.” [Christian Post 3/17/19]

When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban Announced The Policies, He Said “We Want Hungarian Children. Migration For Us Is Surrender” And Condemned “Mixed Population Countries” “Hungary, he insisted, has a better answer: ‘We Hungarians have a different way of thinking. Instead of just numbers, we want Hungarian children. Migration for us is surrender…’In his speech Sunday, Orban railed against ‘mixed population countries’ and warned that Christians were becoming a minority in Europe. ‘There is no return ticket,’ he said.” [Washington Post 2/11/19]

• Orban Said The Following In The Same Speech In His Speech Announcing The Policies: “The Target Countries For Migrants Are Witnessing The Emergence Of A Christian-Muslim World With A Shrinking Rate Of Christians. But We, Central Europeans, Still Have A Future Of Our Own.” “Orban called Brussels ‘the citadel of new internationalism’ and immigration as ‘the instrument of this internationalism.’ He said there are once again forces that want to see open societies and a world without nations, ‘fabricate’ a supranational global government and are still controlled from abroad. ‘The target countries for migrants are witnessing the emergence of a Christian-Muslim world with a shrinking rate of Christians. But we, central Europeans, still have a future of our own.’ Orban said.” [Hungary Journal 2/10/2019]

Orban, Like White Nationalists In The United States, Has Villified George Soros And Accused Him Of Flood[Ing] Europe With Migrants”

Orban Has “Aggressively Vilified Hungarian American Financier George Soros” Proclaiming That He Is Using Agents To “Flood Europe With Migrants.” “As in previous campaigns, Orban has aggressively vilified Hungarian American financier George Soros, proclaiming without evidence that the billionaire philanthropist is using his ‘agents’ — including mainstream European politicians, the free press and nonprofit groups — to flood Europe with migrants.” [Washington Post 2/11/19]

Associated Press: “White Nationalists And Others On The Political Fringes Have Long Cast Soros As The Supposed Leader Of A Globalist Jewish Plot To Undermine White Christian Civilization.” “White nationalists and others on the political fringes have long cast Soros as the supposed leader of a globalist Jewish plot to undermine white Christian civilization. Now, President Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other political leaders have brought the vilification of Soros into the mainstream.” [Associated Press, 10/27/18] 

Orban’s Policy Align With The White Nationalist “Great Replacement Theory”—Which Inspired The Recent Massacre In New Zealand

Orban’s Birth Policies Correspond With The White Nationalist “Great Replacement Theory” Which Believes “That White Populations Face ‘Genocide’ As A Result Of Declining Birthrates And Mass Immigration.” “My colleagues pointed to the particular emphasis Tarrant seemed to place on the ‘great replacement’ theory, a belief popular among the West’s far right that white populations face ‘genocide’ as a result of declining birthrates and mass immigration. In his manifesto, Tarrant pointed to the formative impact of a trip to France in 2017, where he was disturbed by the number of Muslims he saw in a midsize French town.” [Washington Post 3/18/19]

The “Great Replacement Theory”  The Recent Massacre In New Zealand

New York Times: “Before The Massacre Of 50 People In New Zealand Mosques Last Week, The Suspect Released A Document Called “The Great Replacement.” “Before the massacre of 50 people in New Zealand mosques last week, the suspect released a document called ‘The Great Replacement.’ The first sentence was: ‘It’s the birthrates.’ He repeated it three times.  If the phrase about replacement sounded familiar, perhaps that was because it echoed what white supremacists bearing tiki torches shouted in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017: ‘You will not replace us.’ It is also the slogan of the neo-Nazi group Identity Evropa.” [New York Times, 3/18/19]

New York Times: The Goals Of The New Zealand Shooter Mirror Those Of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “’Remove the invaders,’ the manifesto read. ‘Retake Europe.’ These goals find echoes in the angry rhetoric of several mainstream politicians in Europe, including the Italian interior minister, Matteo Salvini, and Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary.” [New York Times 3/15/19]

• Just Hours After The New Zealand Shooting, Orban Gave A Speech Which Made No Mention Of The Massacre—But Did Defend The Need To Protect “Christian Culture.” On Friday, just hours after the Christchurch shooting, Mr. Orban returned to these themes in a major speech in which he made no mention of the massacre in New Zealand. ‘Without Christian culture, there will be no freedom in Europe,’ he said. ‘If we don’t protect our Christian culture, we lose Europe.’” [New York Times 3/15/19]

Huber Opposes Proven Comprehensive Sex-Ed And Has Spent Her Career Trying To Implement Abstinence-Only Education 

Huber Has Been Peddling Abstinence-Only Education Since The Late 1990’s…  

Huber Managed The Abstinence Education Program At The Ohio Department Of Health From 2004 To 2007.  “Huber came to Washington by way of Ohio, having served as the abstinence education coordinator for her home state’s Department of Health from 2004 to 2007, before forming Ascend, an organization dedicated to abstinence education on a national level.” [Daily Beast, 5/28/17] 

Huber Founded REACH Of Southwestern Ohio To Teach Abstinence To School-Aged Children.) “Valerie Huber would like to see Darke County students perform below the national average. That is, below the national average for teen promiscuity, and drug and alcohol abuse. Huber is director of Responsibility Education for Abstinence and Character, or REACH, an Arcanum-based nonprofit organization that provides resources for the promotion of abstinence before marriage to Darke County schools. A recent survey revealed that county youth ranked with the national average in drug and alcohol abuse, Huber said. ‘And while sexual activity among teens nationwide has decreased, locally the numbers have risen,’ she said. ‘We would think, being a rural area, we would be way below national average in both drug and alcohol use, but for the last couple of years that has not been the case.’ Huber hopes the organization, which has support from parents and the community, will help the students develop the character and value system they need to make the right choices in tempting situations.” [Dayton Daily News, 4/20/00]

… Despite Being In Charge Of Family Planning, Huber Criticized Comprehensive Sex Education And Stated Her Desire For Congress To Eliminate HHS’ Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Huber Said Sex Education Classes Make Teens Feel Pressured To Have Sex.  “It is an approach that has been alternatively named teen pregnancy prevention or so-called comprehensive sex education, but which typically normalizes teen sex.  In fact, teens report that these programs make them feel pressured to have sex. More pressured to have sex, in fact, than the pressure they feel from their dating partners.” [The Hill, 3/12/17]. 

Huber Said She Hopes Congress Eliminates the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Huber told NPR in a radio interview that her office is “hopeful that Congress will eliminate the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.” Throughout the interview Huber panned the TPP's effectiveness, claiming that the program had no impact or negative impact on 73 percent of teens who received it.  Moving forward, she said HHS would focus on learning "what are the factors that are most likely to help young people avoid risk…" When asked how HHS intended to learn that, Huber said they would look at “current social science research” and the TPP program to determine “what are the messages that move youth toward making risk-free choices…” [All Sides with Ann Fisher, 8/23/17; 47:33 to 52:04 mark] 

… She Also Advocated For Sex-Ed To Be Based On “Biblical Standards” 

Huber Has Stated That Sex Education Should Focus On “Biblical Standards.” In Her 2009 Master's Thesis, Huber Wrote That Christians "Should Promote Biblical Standards" In Sex Education. She further discussed the immorality of pre-marital sex: "Scripture is replete with examples where sexual immorality derailed a promising life. Sexual sins were common in Scripture and are common today. The Bible is very clear about God's standards for sex. In both the Old and New Testaments, God relates the beauty of sex within marriage and the destructive nature of sexual behavior outside of marriage (I Corinthians 7:2, Hebrews 13:4, Proverbs 6:29, Song of Solomon)." [Valerie Huber Master's Thesis, 2009]

… Huber Disputed Multiple Government, Academic And Clinical Studies Questioning The Effectiveness Of Abstinence Education

Huber Called A Congressional Report About Ohio’s Abstinence-Only Curricula “Overly Inflated” And A “Misrepresentation.” ““The report is really a misrepresentation of the curriculum that we're using here in the state," said Valerie Huber, abstinence-education coordinator for the Ohio Department of Health. "Almost without exception, there have been things taken out of context and gross mischaracterizations of the actual quote." The critical report….was prepared for Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., ranking minority member of the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform. It says that 11 of the 13 most widely used abstinence-only curricula contain misinformation. According to the report, the programs underestimate the effectiveness of condoms in preventing pregnancy and the spread of disease, exaggerate the risks of abortion, blur science and religion, and promote stereotypes. The programs are used by hospitals, school districts and community groups that receive federal funding. Six groups in Ohio use curriculas deemed questionable by the report, according to information from the Health Department. Those programs served more than 64,000 children in the 2000-01 school year. Huber said she went through the report and compared many of the statements about curriculas used in Ohio with the materials. “Things were really overly inflated in this report,” she said.” [Columbus Dispatch, 1/2/05]. 

A University Researcher Was Shocked After Studying Huber’s State Abstinence Program, Afterwards Asking “What Decade Are We Living In” “Some of the material wrongly suggests that HIV can be transmitted through tears and open-mouth kissing, among other concerns raised in a report by Dr. Scott Frank, director of Case Western Reserve University's public health program. "I was surprised at what I found," Frank said. "Sometimes I found myself shaking my head wondering what decade are we living in."… Valerie Huber, who manages the abstinence education program at the Ohio Department of Health, said Frank's report was unfair and included misinformation and mischaracterizations of the state's programs. She said some of the curriculum that the report attributed to Ohio's programs is not used by the state. Huber added that there are positive results coming out of the state's abstinence programs. "Ohio teens in increasing numbers are choosing to remain abstinent," she said. [Associated Press, 6/6/05].  

Huber, Who Is Not A Medical Professional, Disputed The American Academy Of Pediatricians’ Recommendations About Safe Sex For Teens. “In a new report, the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) issued its clearest denunciation yet of sex education programs that fail to offer comprehensive information on topics such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy prevention…. “A health organization like the AAP should not be affirming a behavior that can compromise the health of youth,” said Valerie Huber, the president of Ascend, a group that promotes abstinence-centric sex education and advocates for federal funding. The group was formerly known as the formerly the National Abstinence Education Association. “They recommend ‘responsible sex’ for young adolescents. Exactly what is responsible sexual activity for adolescents? … The science is clear that teens are healthier when they avoid all sexual activity.” Moreover, Huber said, programs that “normalize teen sex” are unpopular with many parents. “Most communities do not support the type of sex education they recommend,” she said. [The Guardian, 7/18/16]

Huber’s Career At The Ohio Department Of Health Was Riddled With Controversy And Discriminatory Practices

Huber Was Suspended By The Ohio Department Of Health For Neglect Of Duty And Recommended For Punishment For Violating Ethic Laws Before Resigning Her Position

Huber Was Suspended By The Ohio Department Of Health For Neglect Of Duty After Engaging In Self-Dealing. “Despite its uncertain effectiveness, Huber continued to oversee the abstinence program, and its some $23 million in state and federal funds. Then, in January 2006, she became the focus of an internal investigation and subsequent inquiry by the Ohio Ethics Commission, according to human resources documents retrieved by The Daily Beast. Internal auditors found that Huber had awarded a contract to a marketing company to develop a pro-abstinence media campaign for which she served as the statutory agent. Internally, Huber was found guilty of “neglect of duty” and was ordered to serve a one-day working suspension. In a disciplinary letter, Ohio’s then-director of health, Dr. Nick Baird wrote that Huber’s actions “created an appearance of impropriety and a possible lack of confidence.” [Daily Beast, 5/28/17]

The Department Recommended “Actions Against Huber For Violation Of Ethic Laws” “Investigation documents recommended actions against Huber for violation of ethic laws be taken up by the Ohio Ethics Commission. Those inquiry records are not public. [Daily Beast, 5/28/17]

Huber Resigned From The Department And To Form Her Anti-Birth Control, Abstinence-Only Organization “Huber officially resigned from Ohio’s Department of Health in January of 2007, and quickly formed the National Abstinence Educators Association—a lobbying arm of the abstinence education industry, later known as Ascend, and rebranded abstinence education as “sexual risk avoidance.”” [Daily Beast, 5/28/17]

As An Employee Of Ohio’s DHS, Huber Was Criticized By AIDS-Awareness Groups

Huber Was Criticized By AIDS-Awareness Groups In Ohio For Holding Conferences That Excluded Gays And Lesbians With A “Wait Until Marriage” Message That “Refused To Mention Condoms.” “During her time at Ohio’s DHS, Huber was criticized by AIDS-awareness groups in the state for holding conferences that excluded gays and lesbians with a ‘wait until marriage’ message that refused to mention condoms, as well as using federal funding to purchase materials that contained ‘false, misleading, or distorted information’ about contraception, abortion, and blurred the lines between religion and science—an assessment that Huber at the time called ‘an out of context and gross mischaracterization.’” [Daily Beast, 5/28/17]