BIPARTISAN BILL FUNDS TITLE X AND TPP BUT FAILS TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST ATTACKS
(Washington, D.C.) Yesterday, the Senate passed a short-term “continuing resolution” (CR) that will keep the federal government funded at current levels through November 21, 2019. The bill, H.R. 4378, passed by a bipartisan vote of 82 to 15 in the Senate, after passing the House last week.
The CR will keep the federal government funded at current levels for the designated time period. The CR includes funding for the Title X Family Planning Program and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program. However, it does not include language to undo the damage of the domestic gag rule, and the integrity of these programs remains an issue. The CR also fails to extend the TPP Program grants for a sixth year to mitigate the harm done by illegal attempts to shorten those grants.
“We are gratified that critical programs will, for the time being, remain funded,” said Ginny Ehrlich, CEO, Power to Decide. “However, a longer-term appropriations bill must be in place to restore the integrity of Title X and TPP programs. The Title X program is vital to ensuring that people living on limited incomes have access to quality family planning services. Today, the very people that are struggling to make ends meet cannot access affordable health care because the Administration would rather play politics with their lives rather than preserve their access to the health care they need and deserve.”
The House and Senate have also included in the CR a measure to extend certain mandatory programs including the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grants through November 21. However, longer-term extensions of these and other programs such as the Pregnancy Assistance Fund must still be worked out.
Power to Decide is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to ensure all people—no matter who they are, where they live or what their economic status might be—have the power to decide if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. Please visit us at www.PowerToDecide.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
