Title X Takes a Hit as Government Shutdown Avoided

The White House and Congressional leaders finally came to an agreement late Friday night, preventing a government shutdown that would have taken affect at 12:01am Saturday.  President Obama has signed a short term stopgap that will keep things running through April 15, giving Congress time to draft the FY 2011 bill and officially vote on the deal this week. 

While President Obama and his fellow Democrats were successful in maintaining federal funding for Planned Parenthood this time around, it’s not all good news.  Many crucial programs and agencies suffered blows to their budgets – including Title X.  The program will be reduced from $317 million to $300 million.  In addition, Congress has agreed to have a separate vote on the issue of Planned Parenthood funding this week. 

Overall, the bill will cut government spending by a record $38.5 billion.  President Obama is calling it “the largest annual spending cut in our history.”  The deal will also ban the use of D.C. local tax funds to pay for abortions for low-income women utilizing Medicaid.  Click here for the full list of cuts.

We nearly have a budget in place for the current fiscal year – but the fight is far from over.  Now, the focus will be on FY 2012 and the question of raising the debt ceiling.  If the 2011 spending debate is any inkling of what we can expect, we have a very challenging year ahead of us.  Our friends at NFPRHA anticipate another round of attacks on women’s health and family planning services.  We will continue to keep you updated as these issues progress.

Title X On The Chopping Block

As negotiations continue over a Fiscal Year (FY 2011) funding bill, Congress has now put Title X front and center. 

House Republicans are pushing to put Title X family planning dollars into the hands of state health departments.  This will give states the power to decide what agencies are funded – a tactic House Republicans hope will ultimately deny funding to Planned Parenthood. 

This plan clearly undermines the Title X network in many states – especially those with leadership that is already unfriendly to reproductive health services.  The family planning community needs to stand strong against this unprecedented attack on Title X. 

This morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) defended family planning and the Title X program on the Senate floor.  He pointed out how Republicans are holding a FY 2011 budget hostage and using family planning as a bargaining tool.

It has never been a more important time to call your legislators and let them know family planning services are non-negotiable!  This proposal will result in devastating cuts that will severely weaken the Title X programs and reduce access to care for millions of poor and low income women and men. 

Tell them:

 

• Title X with its mix of State government and nonprofit grantees is a very stable system efficiently serving over 5 million uninsured and low-income Americans.

 

• States vary hugely in their support of family planning both philosophically and financially.

 

• The Executive and Legislative branches of State government often disagree over reproductive health and these funds will well be embroiled in politics rather than seamlessly going to support the family planning safety net.

 

• States are having huge fiscal problems and are unlikely to be able to quickly hire staff and make funds available to the nation's 4,500 health centers that deliver family planning. Asking these Departments to do more with less would result in communities not having timely access to vital healthcare.  California's State Department of Public Health has been decimated in the last several years due to severe budget cuts.  They do not have the capacity to administer these dollars.

 

• Nonprofit grantees can often do and say what State governments cannot (for example, this call to action to protect basic healthcare for California's most vulnerable)

 

• California has been wildly successful in lowering teen pregnancy rates.  We believe any delay in these funds getting out to communities would put this in jeopardy and would not be acceptable.

 

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected with your Representative and Senators!

Government Shutdown Looming

The current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires at midnight this Friday, April 8.  While Congress continues its negotiations for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 spending deal, federal agencies are starting to prepare for what seems inevitable.  If a funding bill is not signed into law by Friday, the federal government will shut down effective 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, April 9.

No one is sure how long a shutdown would last, and according to The Washington Post, many federal employees may not know their fate until Monday morning.  Federal agencies have begun issuing contingency plans and congressional offices are being instructed on how to operate during a shutdown. 

To avoid the looming deadline, House GOP leadership proposed a one week funding bill, which cuts spending by an additional $12 billion – and eliminate the District of Columbia’s ability to use city taxes to fund abortion for low income women.

Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has laid it out as an ultimatum for the Dems: either pass the one week bill or shut the government down.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced this morning that he is not as optimistic about reaching a deal as he was earlier this week.  Senator Reid said the two sides have agreed to the amount of cuts – however, the fight is now over ideology. 

Although a shutdown seems to grow closer, the very real threat clearly does not seem to be fostering a desire to compromise.  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) continues to push for attaching policy riders to the final budget bill – meaning, the potential defunding of Planned Parenthood and/or Title X Family Planning. 

We are working with our friends at the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) to keep you posted on any new developments.  This is an extremely crucial time to call your representatives in the Senate AND the House to voice your support for the Title X program and its providers, including Planned Parenthood.  Tell them:

• For every public dollar invested in family planning care, $4 is saved in Medicaid expenditures.
• California serves 22% of all Title X clients with essential, cost-effective family planning services. Without these funds clinical services for low income individuals are at risk.
• California has over 314 clinic sites providing Title X services to over 1.1 million clients.
• Title X has contributed to the decline in California’s teen birth rate.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected with your senators and representatives!