I 

★ 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2553 

To provide for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy, HIV rates, and other 

sexually transmitted diseases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2005 

Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 

Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. FARR, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. EDDIE

BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. 

KUCINICH, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER

of California, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DICKS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. INSLEE, 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KILPATRICK of 

Michigan, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. MORAN

of Virginia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

ROTHMAN, Mr. RUSH, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. STARK, 

Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WAXMAN, 

Mr. WEXLER, Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania, Mr. WYNN, Ms. LORETTA

SANCHEZ of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SOLIS, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, 

Ms. WATSON, Mr. WEINER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 

and Mr. MEEK of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy, HIV 
2 

•HR 2553 IH 

rates, and other sexually transmitted diseases, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsible Education 

5 About Life Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The American Medical Association 

9 (‘‘AMA’’), the American Nurses Association 

10 (‘‘ANA’’), the American Academy of Pediatrics 

11 (‘‘AAP’’), the American College of Obstetricians and 

12 Gynecologists (‘‘ACOG’’), the American Public 

13 Health Association (‘‘APHA’’), and the Society of 

14 Adolescent Medicine (‘‘SAM’’), support responsible 

15 sexuality education that includes information about 

16 both abstinence and contraception. 

17 (2) Recent scientific reports by the Institute of 

18 Medicine, the American Medical Association and the 

19 Office on National AIDS Policy stress the need for 

20 sexuality education that includes messages about ab21 stinence and provides young people with information 

22 about contraception for the prevention of teen preg23 nancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted 

24 diseases (‘‘STDs’’). 
3 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 (3) Research shows that teenagers who receive 

2 sexuality education that includes discussion of con3 traception are more likely than those who receive ab4 stinence-only messages to delay sexual activity and 

5 to use contraceptives when they do become sexually 

6 active. 

7 (4) Comprehensive sexuality education pro8 grams respect the diversity of values and beliefs rep9 resented in the community and will complement and 

10 augment the sexuality education children receive 

11 from their families. 

12 (5) The median age of puberty is 13 years and 

13 the average age of marriage is over 26 years old. 

14 American teens need access to full, complete, and 

15 medically and factually accurate information regard16 ing sexuality, including contraception, STD/HIV 

17 prevention, and abstinence. 

18 (6) Although teen pregnancy rates are decreas19 ing, there are still between 750,000 and 850,000 

20 teen pregnancies each year. Between 75 and 90 per21 cent of teen pregnancies among 15- to 19-year olds 

22 are unintended. 

23 (7) Research shows that 75 percent of the de24 crease in teen pregnancy between 1988 and 1995 
4 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 was due to improved contraceptive use, while 25 per2 cent was due to increased abstinence. 

3 (8) More than eight out of ten Americans be4 lieve that young people should have information 

5 about abstinence and protecting themselves from un6 planned pregnancies and sexually transmitted dis7 eases. 

8 (9) United States teens acquire an estimated 

9 4,000,000 sexually transmitted infections each year. 

10 By age 24, at least one in three sexually active peo11 ple will have contracted a sexually transmitted dis12 ease. 

13 (10) An average of two young people in the 

14 United States are infected with HIV every hour of 

15 every day. African Americans and Hispanic youth 

16 have been disproportionately affected by the HIV/ 

17 AIDS epidemic. Although less than 16 percent of 

18 the adolescent population in the United States is Af19 rican American, nearly 50 percent of AIDS cases 

20 through June 2000 among 13- to 19-year olds were 

21 among Blacks. Hispanics comprise 13 percent of the 

22 population and 20 percent of the reported adolescent 

23 AIDS cases though June 2000. 
5 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE TEEN PREGNANCY, HIV/ 

2 AIDS, AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED 

3 DISEASES AND TO SUPPORT HEALTHY ADO4 LESCENT DEVELOPMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible State shall be enti6 tled to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human 

7 Services, for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010, 

8 a grant to conduct programs of family life education, in9 cluding education on both abstinence and contraception 

10 for the prevention of teenage pregnancy and sexually 

11 transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY LIFE PROGRAMS.— 

13 For purposes of this Act, a program of family life edu14 cation is a program that— 

15 (1) is age-appropriate and medically accurate; 

16 (2) does not teach or promote religion; 

17 (3) teaches that abstinence is the only sure way 

18 to avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; 

19 (4) stresses the value of abstinence while not ig20 noring those young people who have had or are hav21 ing sexual intercourse; 

22 (5) provides information about the health bene23 fits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier 

24 methods as a means to prevent pregnancy; 

25 (6) provides information about the health bene26 fits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier 
6 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 methods as a means to reduce the risk of con2 tracting sexually transmitted diseases, including 

3 HIV/AIDS; 

4 (7) encourages family communication about 

5 sexuality between parent and child; 

6 (8) teaches young people the skills to make re7 sponsible decisions about sexuality, including how to 

8 avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual ad9 vances and how not to make unwanted verbal, phys10 ical, and sexual advances; and 

11 (9) teaches young people how alcohol and drug 

12 use can effect responsible decisionmaking. 

13 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out a pro14 gram of family life education, a State may expend a grant 

15 under subsection (a) to carry out educational and motiva16 tional activities that help young people— 

17 (1) gain knowledge about the physical, emo18 tional, biological, and hormonal changes of adoles19 cence and subsequent stages of human maturation; 

20 (2) develop the knowledge and skills necessary 

21 to ensure and protect their sexual and reproductive 

22 health from unintended pregnancy and sexually 

23 transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS through24 out their lifespan; 
7 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 (3) gain knowledge about the specific involve2 ment of and male responsibility in sexual decision3 making; 

4 (4) develop healthy attitudes and values about 

5 adolescent growth and development, body image, 

6 gender roles, racial and ethnic diversity, sexual ori7 entation, and other subjects; 

8 (5) develop and practice healthy life skills in9 cluding goal-setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, 

10 communication, and stress management; 

11 (6) promote self-esteem and positive inter12 personal skills focusing on relationship dynamics, in13 cluding, but not limited to, friendships, dating, ro14 mantic involvement, marriage and family inter15 actions; and 

16 (7) prepare for the adult world by focusing on 

17 educational and career success, including developing 

18 skills for employment preparation, job seeking, inde19 pendent living, financial self-sufficiency, and work20 place productivity. 

21 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that while States are not 

23 required to provide matching funds, they are encouraged 

24 to do so. 
8 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of evaluating the 

3 effectiveness of programs of family life education carried 

4 out with a grant under section 3, evaluations of such pro5 gram shall be carried out in accordance with subsections 

6 (b) and (c). 

7 (b) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

9 for a national evaluation of a representative sample 

10 of programs of family life education carried out with 

11 grants under section 3. A condition for the receipt 

12 of such a grant is that the State involved agree to 

13 cooperate with the evaluation. The purposes of the 

14 national evaluation shall be the determination of— 

15 (A) the effectiveness of such programs in 

16 helping to delay the initiation of sexual inter17 course and other high-risk behaviors; 

18 (B) the effectiveness of such programs in 

19 preventing adolescent pregnancy; 

20 (C) the effectiveness of such programs in 

21 preventing sexually transmitted disease, includ22 ing HIV/AIDS; 

23 (D) the effectiveness of such programs in 

24 increasing contraceptive knowledge and contra25 ceptive behaviors when sexual intercourse oc26 curs; and 
9 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 (E) a list of best practices based upon es2 sential programmatic components of evaluated 

3 programs that have led to success in subpara4 graphs (A) through (D). 

5 (2) REPORT.—A report providing the results of 

6 the national evaluation under paragraph (1) shall be 

7 submitted to the Congress not later than March 31, 

8 2011, with an interim report provided on a yearly 

9 basis at the end of each fiscal year. 

10 (c) INDIVIDUAL STATE EVALUATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A condition for the receipt 

12 of a grant under section 3 is that the State involved 

13 agree to provide for the evaluation of the programs 

14 of family education carried out with the grant in ac15 cordance with the following: 

16 (A) The evaluation will be conducted by an 

17 external, independent entity. 

18 (B) The purposes of the evaluation will be 

19 the determination of— 

20 (i) the effectiveness of such programs 

21 in helping to delay the initiation of sexual 

22 intercourse and other high-risk behaviors; 

23 (ii) the effectiveness of such programs 

24 in preventing adolescent pregnancy; 
10 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 (iii) the effectiveness of such pro2 grams in preventing sexually transmitted 

3 disease, including HIV/AIDS; and 

4 (iv) the effectiveness of such programs 

5 in increasing contraceptive knowledge and 

6 contraceptive behaviors when sexual inter7 course occurs. 

8 (2) USE OF GRANT.—A condition for the re9 ceipt of a grant under section 3 is that the State in10 volved agree that not more than 10 percent of the 

11 grant will be expended for the evaluation under 

12 paragraph (1). 

13 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

14 For purposes of this Act: 

15 (1) The term ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State 

16 that submits to the Secretary an application for a 

17 grant under section 3 that is in such form, is made 

18 in such manner, and contains such agreements, as19 surances, and information as the Secretary deter20 mines to be necessary to carry out this Act. 

21 (2) The term ‘‘HIV/AIDS’’ means the human 

22 immunodeficiency virus, and includes acquired im23 mune deficiency syndrome. 

24 (3) The term ‘‘medically accurate’’, with respect 

25 to information, means information that is supported 
11 

•HR 2553 IH 

1 by research, recognized as accurate and objective by 

2 leading medical, psychological, psychiatric, and pub3 lic health organizations and agencies, and where rel4 evant, published in peer review journals. 

5 (4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

6 of Health and Human Services. 

7 SEC. 7. APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of carrying out 

9 this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated 

10 $206,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 

11 2010. 

12 (b) ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated 

13 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year— 

14 (1) not more than 7 percent may be used for 

15 the administrative expenses of the Secretary in car16 rying out this Act for that fiscal year; and 

17 (2) not more than 10 percent may be used for 

18 the national evaluation under section 5(b). 

Æ