[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 140 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3997. Mr. CARPER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 6157, making appropriations for the Department of 
Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title II of division B, insert 
     the following:
       Sec. __. (a) Of the amounts made available in this Act for 
     the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of 
     the Division of Reproductive Health of the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, shall use $25,000,000 to 
     establish a grant program to fund State programs to reduce 
     unplanned pregnancy and improve access to contraception, in 
     accordance with subsections (b) and (c).
       (b) An entity receiving grant funds described in subsection 
     (a)--
       (1) may use such funds for--
       (A) provider contraception training, including for 
     contraceptive method use and insertion, and for pregnancy 
     intention screening;
       (B) consumer education;
       (C) facilitating same-day access to the full range of 
     contraceptive methods;
       (D) reducing out-of-pocket cost barriers to the full range 
     of contraceptive methods where such barriers are not already 
     addressed;
       (E) facilitating collaboration among public and private 
     health systems to ensure that individuals can access 
     contraceptive care in a timely manner; or
       (F) other activities that grant applicants can demonstrate 
     would help to improve contraceptive access in the State or 
     community; and
       (2) shall use such funds to--
       (A) provide contraceptive care that is non-coercive, 
     culturally competent care, and medically accurate;
       (B) provide information and access to the full range of 
     methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug 
     Administration, or to fill existing gaps in information and 
     access to such contraception, so as to ensure equitable 
     access to the full range of contraceptive options; and
       (C) evaluate projects funded by such grant, in order to 
     demonstrate outcomes such as reducing gaps in contraceptive 
     use, increasing points of access for the full range of 
     contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug 
     Administration, and patient satisfaction with provider 
     encounter and method choice.
       (c) To be eligible for a grant described in subsection (a), 
     an entity shall be--
       (1) a State, local, or tribal government;
       (2) a public-private partnership; or
       (3) a nonprofit entity.
       (d) Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Contraception is basic health care for women, and women 
     need access to all birth control methods so that they can use 
     the specific birth control that is right for them.
       (2) Removing barriers to access to birth control so that 
     women can plan, space, and prevent pregnancies is critically 
     important for women's health and economic security, as well 
     as the health of any children they may decide to have in the 
     future. Access to birth control is linked to women's greater 
     educational and professional opportunities and increased 
     lifetime earnings.
       (3) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 
     Law 111-148) has removed cost barriers to birth control for 
     over 62,400,000 women, but other non-cost barriers remain, 
     and some women still do not have insurance coverage of birth 
     control.
       (4) A woman's chances of unintended pregnancy increase 
     considerably when barriers prevent her from using birth 
     control consistently and correctly.
       (5) In recent years, States have taken proactive steps to 
     increase women's access to the birth control method of their 
     choice, as follows:
       (A) Several States, including Delaware, Iowa, and Colorado 
     have implemented successful initiatives that include training 
     of providers and consumer education to improve access to the 
     full range of contraceptive methods, resulting in significant 
     reductions in unplanned pregnancy.
       (B) At least 12 States (including California, the District 
     of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, 
     Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and 
     Washington) have passed laws requiring coverage of all birth 
     control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, 
     without out-of-pocket costs.
       (C) At least 12 States (including California, Colorado, the 
     District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, 
     Massachuettes, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and 
     Ohio) have passed laws requiring coverage of 12 months of 
     birth control dispensed at one time.
       (D) At least 7 States (including California, Delaware, 
     Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon) have 
     passed laws requiring coverage of over-the-counter methods of 
     birth control without requiring a prescription.
       (E) In 2018, the Utah State legislature passed a bill 
     requiring the State to apply for a Medicaid family planning 
     eligibility expansion with the Centers for Medicare & 
     Medicaid Services. When approved, Utah will become the 27th 
     State with such an expansion.
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