I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3774 

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to eliminate the abstinenceonly education program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2013 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MOORE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. CAPPS, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition 

to the Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to eliminate 

the abstinence-only education program, 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 ‘‘Repealing Ineffective 

5 and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 

6 2013’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The United States has the highest rate of 

2 teen pregnancy among its peers in the developed 

3 world. In 2012, 3,952,937 babies were born to teen4 agers aged 15 to 19 years. From 2007 to 2011, the 

5 birth rates among African-American and Hispanic 

6 teens were more than two times higher than the rate 

7 for White teens. From 2011 to 2012, both the num8 ber of births and the fertility rate for Asian or Pa9 cific Islander women rose, by 7 percent and 4 per10 cent, respectively. 

11 (2) While young people in the United States 

12 ages 15 to 24 make up only 25 percent of the sexu13 ally active population, they acquire about 50 percent 

14 of the 19,700,000 new sexually transmitted infec15 tions (STIs) every year. The Centers for Disease 

16 Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the 

17 rate of chlamydia diagnoses among persons ages 15– 

18 24 in 2011 was four times higher than the general 

19 population. According to the CDC, young people 

20 ages 13 to 24 account for 25 percent of the esti21 mated 50,000 new HIV infections each year; every 

22 month 1,000 teenagers or young adults are infected 

23 with HIV. African-American adolescents ages 13 to 

24 19 years are disproportionately affected by HIV, ac25 counting for only 15 percent of the adolescent popuVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Dec 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3774.IH H3774

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1 lation, but comprising 67 percent of the estimated 

2 HIV diagnoses in 2011. Since 2008, new HIV cases 

3 specifically among young Black men who have sex 

4 with men (MSM) ages 13 to 24 have increased by 

5 20 percent. 

6 (3) Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs 

7 have been discredited by a wide body of evidence, in8 cluding most notably in a congressionally mandated 

9 study in 2007 which found these programs ineffec10 tive in stopping or delaying teen sex, reducing the 

11 number of reported sexual partners, reducing re12 ported rates of pregnancy or sexually transmitted in13 fections, or otherwise beneficially impacting young 

14 people’s sexual behavior. The Institute of Medicine 

15 of the National Academy of Sciences recommends 

16 the termination of such programs because they rep17 resent poor fiscal and public health policy. 

18 (4) Programs funded through title V, section 

19 510 of the Social Security Act are required to ad20 here to a stigmatizing, shaming, and stereotyping 

21 eight-point definition of ‘‘abstinence education.’’ 

22 This definition promotes marriage as the only ac23 ceptable family structure; ostracizes lesbian, gay, bi24 sexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth; stigmatizes 


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1 youth who have been sexually abused; and denies in2 formation to sexually active youth. 

3 (5) Over 100 leading medical and public health 

4 professional groups, including the American Medical 

5 Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, 

6 the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine, the 

7 American College of Obstetricians and Gyne8 cologists, the American Nurses Association, the 

9 American Public Health Association, and the Amer10 ican Psychological Association, oppose an absti11 nence-only-until-marriage approach as antithetical to 

12 the principles of science. These organizations all 

13 stress the need for sexuality education that includes 

14 messages about abstinence and also provide young 

15 people with information about contraception for the 

16 prevention of teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other 

17 STIs. Additionally, every United States Surgeon 

18 General from Dr. Koop to Dr. Carmona has sup19 ported comprehensive sex education. CDC includes 

20 teen pregnancy prevention as one of its top six prior21 ities, a ‘‘winnable battle’’ in public health, noting 

22 needed support for evidence-based prevention pro23 grams. 

24 (6) Since 1982, the United States has spent 

25 over $1,750,000,000 in Federal funding on abstiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Dec 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3774.IH H3774

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1 nence-only-until-marriage programs that fail to 

2 teach teens how to prevent unintended pregnancy or 

3 STIs, including HIV. Particularly as the Nation con4 tinues recovery efforts from the worst economic dis5 aster since the Great Depression, government fund6 ing should only support evidence-informed programs. 

7 (7) According to the results of a 2005–2006 

8 nationally representative survey of United States 

9 adults published in the Archives of Pediatric & Ado10 lescent Medicine, more than 8 in 10 (82 percent) of 

11 those polled, regardless of political ideology, support 

12 comprehensive sex education that is medically accu13 rate and age-appropriate and includes information 

14 about both abstinence and contraception for protec15 tion against unintended pregnancy and STIs, includ16 ing HIV. 

17 (8) There is strong evidence that more com18 prehensive approaches to sex education help young 

19 people both to withstand the pressures to have sex 

20 too soon and to have healthy, responsible, and mutu21 ally protective relationships when they do become 

22 sexually active. More comprehensive sex education 

23 has been found to be effective in delaying sexual 

24 intercourse, increasing contraceptive use, and reduc25 ing the number of partners among teens. 


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1 (9) Strong evidence indicates that sex education 

2 programs that promote both abstinence and the use 

3 of contraception does not increase sexual behavior. 

4 Studies show that when teens are educated about 

5 and have access to contraception, levels of contracep6 tion use at first intercourse increase while levels of 

7 sex stay the same. 

8 (10) Teens who receive sex education that in9 cludes both abstinence and contraception are more 

10 likely than those who receive abstinence-only-until11 marriage messages to delay sexual activity and use 

12 contraception when they do become sexually active. 

13 Research from the United States shows that teens 

14 who practice contraception consistently in their first 

15 sexual relationship are more likely to continue doing 

16 so than those who use no method or who use a 

17 method inconsistently. 

18 (11) The Personal Responsibility Education 

19 Program (PREP) funds programs that are required 

20 to provide medically accurate information on both 

21 abstinence and contraception for the prevention of 

22 pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS, with a 

23 substantial emphasis on both abstinence and contra24 ceptive use. Programs must also address adulthood 

25 preparation topics such as healthy relationships, adVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Dec 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3774.IH H3774

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1 olescent development, financial literacy, educational 

2 and career success, and healthy life skills. Funded 

3 programs are required to be evidence-based or rep4 licate elements of evidence-based programs that have 

5 been proven on the basis of rigorous scientific re6 search to change behavior. 

7 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Social Security Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) is amended by striking section 

11 510. 

12 (b) RESCISSION.—Amounts appropriated for fiscal 

13 year 2014 under section 510(d) of the Social Security Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 710(d)) (as in effect on the day before the date 

15 of enactment of this Act) that are unobligated as of the 

16 date of enactment of this Act are rescinded. 

17 SEC. 4. REPROGRAMMING OF ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDU18 CATION PROGRAM. 

19 Section 513(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 713(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 

21 2010 through 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 2014, 

22 increased by an amount equal to the unobligated portion 

23 of funds appropriated for fiscal year 2014 under section 

24 510(d) that are rescinded under subsection (b)’’. 

Æ 


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