[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1820-1821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     ELIMINATION OF TITLE X FUNDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, it has been 6 weeks now since 
Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives, and we 
have yet to see a single job-creation bill brought to the House floor.

[[Page 1821]]

  Indeed, just last week we spent roughly 10 hours debating a primary 
function of Congress, that of congressional oversight, something we 
already do. Yet still no legislation brought forward to spur job 
creation.
  But while the Republican Congress has yet to bring forward a jobs 
agenda, they have found plenty of time to bring forward an extreme 
anti-woman agenda. Just recently we saw the introduction of H.R. 3, 
legislation that originally sought to redefine the definition of rape. 
Yes, that's right, legislation that would change rape from acting 
without a woman's consent to instead require women to prove force was 
used in order to prove rape.
  It remains to be seen whether Republicans working on this legislation 
have shelved their plans to redefine rape and whether they will revise 
the language in H.R. 3. Still, 163 Republicans signed on as cosponsors 
of the bill with the forcible rape language included.
  But the extreme anti-woman agenda doesn't stop with attempting to 
redefine rape. This week the House will vote on an amendment introduced 
by Representative Mike Pence that would eliminate family planning and 
lifesaving preventive care to millions of individuals each year. Mr. 
Pence's amendment does this by eliminating title X funding.
  Since 1970, the title X family planning program has been a key 
component of our Nation's health care infrastructure and an essential 
element in the winning strategy to reduce unintended pregnancies. 
Efforts to cut the title X program would take away funding from 
essential women's health care providers like Planned Parenthood.
  Today, title X serves over 5 million low-income individuals every 
year. In every State, women and men rely on title X for basic primary 
and preventive health care, including annual exams, lifesaving cancer 
screenings, contraception, and testing and treatment for sexually 
transmitted diseases.
  In fact, in 2009 alone, title X providers performed 2.2 million Pap 
tests, 2.3 million breast exams, and over 6 million tests for sexually 
transmitted diseases including nearly 1 million HIV tests.
  And preventive care isn't limited to cancer screenings and education 
on how to avoid STDs. Title X actually reduces the number of abortions. 
In fact, title X services help prevent nearly 1 million unintended 
pregnancies each year, almost half of which would otherwise end in 
abortion.
  Planned Parenthood and the title X program provide vital family 
planning services which help improve the life of the mother and the 
child. Indeed, family planning keeps women and children healthy. 
Studies have shown that when women have better access to family 
planning, it leads to healthier outcomes for both mother and child.
  When women plan their pregnancies, they are more likely to seek 
prenatal care, improving their own health and the health of their 
children. In fact, access to family planning is directly linked to 
declines in maternal and infant mortality rates.
  Eliminating the national family plan program will result in millions 
of women across the country losing access to basic primary and 
preventative health care and to the providers that offer these 
services. Without title X, more women will experience unintended 
pregnancies and face potentially life-threatening cancer and other 
diseases that could have been prevented.
  The simple fact is that this proposal is anti-woman and anti-family.
  Now, I know that we're all interested in finding ways to cut Federal 
spending, and Representative Pence's amendment to eliminate funding for 
title X is framed in the context of fiscal responsibility.
  But even more important than cutting spending is asking the question, 
are we reducing the deficit? Unfortunately, the answer to whether the 
Pence amendment would also cut the deficit is ``no.'' That's because 
title X actually saves taxpayer dollars. Since many of the patients 
served by title X are on Medicaid, preventative care like cancer 
screenings and contraceptive counseling actually means fewer costs to 
the taxpayer in the long run. Indeed, for every public dollar invested 
in family planning, $3.74 is saved in Medicaid-related costs. That's 
savings to both Federal and State governments.
  Every year, Planned Parenthood works tirelessly to help to improve 
the health of communities across this country. Efforts to undermine the 
title X program and this essential health care provider are not only 
reckless, they are also anti-woman, anti-child, and anti-taxpayer.
  Can we please stop the relentless attack on women, stop pursuing the 
divisive anti-woman legislation and focus on job creation and spurring 
economic growth once and for all?

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