NARAL Pro-Choice America Praises Senate Spending Bill

Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the funding figures in a Senate spending bill for health-related programs are a sign that the chamber is moving in the right direction on the nation's health-care priorities.

"The Senate bill invests more in the right priorities, like the Title X family-planning program, and saves taxpayer dollars from ineffective, inaccurate, and disproven programs that mislead our teens," Keenan said. "The recommended number for Title X is a welcome increase.  More still needs to be done in this area, but these initial numbers are a good start."

The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill, unveiled last night, includes two provisions important to pro-choice Americans, including approximately a $17-million increase for the nation's family-planning program, known as Title X.  President Bush tried to level-fund this program for the last six years, and under anti-choice control, Congress usually followed his lead. Keenan said the Senate bill also proposes a cut of $28 million for discredited Bush-backed "abstinence-only" programs—a provision that's in stark contrast with a House bill that includes a $28 million increase in funding for these programs.

"As a former teacher and state superintendent of education, I'm pleased that Senate leaders understand that taxpayers should not foot the bill for scientifically inaccurate and ineffective programs that mislead young people," Keenan said. "Report after report has shown that these programs do not work, contain medically inaccurate information, and have no positive effect on persuading teens to remain abstinent. In this bill, this new Senate has shown a commitment to not repeating the mistakes of the previous anti-choice Congresses—and that's the direction the public wants Congress to go."

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032