I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1653 

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

sexually transmitted diseases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2007 

Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ

of California, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ISRAEL, 

Mr. WU, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. FATTAH, 

Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. FARR, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. WOOLSEY, 

and Ms. WATSON) 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 

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: 


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1 (1) The American Medical Association 

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

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

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

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

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

7 Adolescent Medicine (‘‘SAM’’) support responsible 

8 sexuality education that includes information about 

9 both abstinence and contraception. 

10 (2) Recent scientific reports by the Institute of 

11 Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the 

12 Office on National AIDS Policy stress the need for 

13 sexuality education that includes messages about ab14 stinence and provides young people with information 

15 about contraception for the prevention of teen preg16 nancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted 

17 diseases (‘‘STDs’’). 

18 (3) Government-funded abstinence-only-until19 marriage programs are precluded from discussing 

20 contraception except to talk about failure rates. An 

21 October 2006 report from the Government Account22 ability Office concluded that the current administra23 tion of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs by 

24 the Department of Health and Human Services 

25 (‘‘HHS’’) fails to require medical accuracy of the 


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1 vast majority of funded programs and that no reg2 ular monitoring of medical accuracy is being carried 

3 out by HHS. The Government Accountability Office 

4 also reported on the Department’s total lack of ap5 propriate and customary measurements to determine 

6 if funded programs are effective. In addition, a sepa7 rate letter from the Government Accountability Of8 fice in October 2006 to the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services Michael Leavitt contained a legal 

10 finding that the Department was in violation of Fed11 eral law, in particular section 317P(c)(2) of the 

12 Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 247b– 

13 17(c)(2)), for not requiring abstinence-only-until14 marriage programs to provide full and medically ac15 curate information about the effectiveness of 

16 condoms. The Department has argued that the ab17 stinence-only-until-marriage programs are exempt 

18 from the law; however, the Government Account19 ability Office disagrees. 

20 (4) A 2006 statement from the American Pub21 lic Health Association (‘‘APHA’’) ‘‘recognizes the 

22 importance of abstinence education, but only as part 

23 of a comprehensive sexuality education program . . 

24 . APHA calls for repealing current federal funding 

25 for abstinence-only programs and replacing it with 


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1 funding for a new Federal program to promote com2 prehensive sexuality education, combining informa3 tion about abstinence with age-appropriate sexuality 

4 education.’’. 

5 (5) The Society for Adolescent Medicine 

6 (‘‘SAM’’) in a 2006 position paper found the fol7 lowing: ‘‘Efforts to promote abstinence should be 

8 provided within health education programs that pro9 vide adolescents with complete and accurate infor10 mation about sexual health, including information 

11 about concepts of healthy sexuality, sexual orienta12 tion and tolerance, personal responsibility, risks of 

13 HIV and other STIs and unwanted pregnancy, ac14 cess to reproductive health care, and benefits and 

15 risks of condoms and other contraceptive methods... 

16 Current funding for abstinence-only programs 

17 should be replaced with funding for programs that 

18 offer comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality 

19 education’’. 

20 (6) Research shows that teenagers who receive 

21 sexuality education that includes discussion of con22 traception are more likely than those who receive ab23 stinence-only messages to delay sexual activity and 

24 to use contraceptives when they do become sexually 

25 active. 


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1 (7) Comprehensive sexuality education pro2 grams respect the diversity of values and beliefs rep3 resented in the community and will complement and 

4 augment the sexuality education children receive 

5 from their families. 

6 (8) The median age of puberty is 13 years and 

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

8 American teens need access to full, complete, and 

9 medically and factually accurate information regard10 ing sexuality, including contraception, STD/HIV 

11 prevention, and abstinence. 

12 (9) Although teen pregnancy rates are decreas13 ing, the United States has the highest teen preg14 nancy rate in the industrialized world with between 

15 750,000 and 850,000 teen pregnancies each year. 

16 Between 75 and 90 percent of teen pregnancies 

17 among 15- to 19-year olds are unintended. 

18 (10) A November 2006 study of declining preg19 nancy rates among teens concluded that the reduc20 tion in teen pregnancy between 1995 and 2002 is 

21 primarily the result of increased use of contracep22 tives. As such, it is critically important that teens 

23 receive accurate, unbiased information about contra24 ception. 


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1 (11) More than eight out of ten Americans be2 lieve that young people should have information 

3 about abstinence and protecting themselves from un4 planned pregnancies and sexually transmitted dis5 eases. 

6 (12) The United States has the highest rate of 

7 infection with sexually transmitted diseases of any 

8 industrialized country. In 2005, there were approxi9 mately 19,000,000 new cases of sexually transmitted 

10 diseases, almost half of them occurring in young 

11 people ages 15 to 24. According to the Centers for 

12 Disease Control and Prevention, these sexually 

13 transmitted diseases impose a tremendous economic 

14 burden with direct medical costs as high as 

15 $14,100,000,000 per year. 

16 (13) Each year, teens in the United States con17 tract an estimated 9.1 million sexually transmitted 

18 infections. Each year, one in four sexually active 

19 teens contracts a sexually transmitted disease. 

20 (14) Nearly half of the 40,000 annual new 

21 cases of HIV infections in the United States occur 

22 in youth ages 13 through 24. Approximately 50 

23 young people a day, an average of two young people 

24 every hour of every day, are infected with HIV in 

25 the United States. 


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1 (15) African-American and Latino youth have 

2 been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS 

3 epidemic. Although African-American adolescents 

4 ages 13 through 19 represent only 15 percent of the 

5 adolescent population in the United States, they ac6 counted for 73 percent of new AIDS cases reported 

7 among teens in 2004. Although Latinos ages 20 

8 through 24 represent only 18 percent of the young 

9 adults in the United States, they accounted for 23 

10 percent of the new AIDS cases in 2004. 

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

12 AIDS, AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED 

13 DISEASES AND TO SUPPORT HEALTHY ADO14 LESCENT DEVELOPMENT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible State shall be enti16 tled to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human 

17 Services, for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 

18 a grant to conduct programs of family life education, in19 cluding education on both abstinence and contraception 

20 for the prevention of teenage pregnancy and sexually 

21 transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY LIFE PROGRAMS.— 

23 For purposes of this Act, a program of family life edu24 cation is a program that— 

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


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1 (2) does not teach or promote religion; 

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

3 to avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; 

4 (4) stresses the value of abstinence while not ig5 noring those young people who have had or are hav6 ing sexual intercourse; 

7 (5) provides information about the health bene8 fits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier 

9 methods as a means to prevent pregnancy; 

10 (6) provides information about the health bene11 fits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier 

12 methods as a means to reduce the risk of con13 tracting sexually transmitted diseases, including 

14 HIV/AIDS; 

15 (7) encourages family communication about 

16 sexuality between parent and child; 

17 (8) teaches young people the skills to make re18 sponsible decisions about sexuality, including how to 

19 avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual ad20 vances and how not to make unwanted verbal, phys21 ical, and sexual advances; and 

22 (9) teaches young people how alcohol and drug 

23 use can effect responsible decisionmaking. 

24 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out a pro25 gram of family life education, a State may expend a grant 


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1 under subsection (a) to carry out educational and motiva2 tional activities that help young people— 

3 (1) gain knowledge about the physical, emo4 tional, biological, and hormonal changes of adoles5 cence and subsequent stages of human maturation; 

6 (2) develop the knowledge and skills necessary 

7 to ensure and protect their sexual and reproductive 

8 health from unintended pregnancy and sexually 

9 transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS through10 out their lifespan; 

11 (3) gain knowledge about the specific involve12 ment of and male responsibility in sexual decision13 making; 

14 (4) develop healthy attitudes and values about 

15 adolescent growth and development, body image, 

16 gender roles, racial and ethnic diversity, sexual ori17 entation, and other subjects; 

18 (5) develop and practice healthy life skills in19 cluding goal-setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, 

20 communication, and stress management; 

21 (6) promote self-esteem and positive inter22 personal skills focusing on relationship dynamics, in23 cluding, but not limited to, friendships, dating, ro24 mantic involvement, marriage and family inter25 actions; and 


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

2 educational and career success, including developing 

3 skills for employment preparation, job seeking, inde4 pendent living, financial self-sufficiency, and work5 place productivity. 

6 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

8 required to provide matching funds, they are encouraged 

9 to do so. 

10 SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. 

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

12 effectiveness of programs of family life education carried 

13 out with a grant under section 3, evaluations of such pro14 gram shall be carried out in accordance with subsections 

15 (b) and (c). 

16 (b) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

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

18 for a national evaluation of a representative sample 

19 of programs of family life education carried out with 

20 grants under section 3. A condition for the receipt 

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

22 cooperate with the evaluation. The purposes of the 

23 national evaluation shall be the determination of— 


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1 (A) the effectiveness of such programs in 

2 helping to delay the initiation of sexual inter3 course and other high-risk behaviors; 

4 (B) the effectiveness of such programs in 

5 preventing adolescent pregnancy; 

6 (C) the effectiveness of such programs in 

7 preventing sexually transmitted disease, includ8 ing HIV/AIDS; 

9 (D) the effectiveness of such programs in 

10 increasing contraceptive knowledge and contra11 ceptive behaviors when sexual intercourse oc12 curs; and 

13 (E) a list of best practices based upon es14 sential programmatic components of evaluated 

15 programs that have led to success in subpara16 graphs (A) through (D). 

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

18 the national evaluation under paragraph (1) shall be 

19 submitted to the Congress not later than March 31, 

20 2011, with an interim report provided on a yearly 

21 basis at the end of each fiscal year. 

22 (c) INDIVIDUAL STATE EVALUATIONS.— 

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

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

25 agree to provide for the evaluation of the programs 


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1 of family education carried out with the grant in ac2 cordance with the following: 

3 (A) The evaluation will be conducted by an 

4 external, independent entity. 

5 (B) The purposes of the evaluation will be 

6 the determination of— 

7 (i) the effectiveness of such programs 

8 in helping to delay the initiation of sexual 

9 intercourse and other high-risk behaviors; 

10 (ii) the effectiveness of such programs 

11 in preventing adolescent pregnancy; 

12 (iii) the effectiveness of such pro13 grams in preventing sexually transmitted 

14 disease, including HIV/AIDS; and 

15 (iv) the effectiveness of such programs 

16 in increasing contraceptive knowledge and 

17 contraceptive behaviors when sexual inter18 course occurs. 

19 (2) USE OF GRANT.—A condition for the re20 ceipt of a grant under section 3 is that the State in21 volved agree that not more than 10 percent of the 

22 grant will be expended for the evaluation under 

23 paragraph (1). 

24 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

25 For purposes of this Act: 


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

2 that submits to the Secretary an application for a 

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

4 in such manner, and contains such agreements, as5 surances, and information as the Secretary deter6 mines to be necessary to carry out this Act. 

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

8 immunodeficiency virus, and includes acquired im9 mune deficiency syndrome. 

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

11 to information, means information that is supported 

12 by research, recognized as accurate and objective by 

13 leading medical, psychological, psychiatric, and pub14 lic health organizations and agencies, and where rel15 evant, published in peer review journals. 

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

17 of Health and Human Services. 

18 SEC. 7. APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

20 this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated such 

21 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 

22 through 2012. 

23 (b) ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated 

24 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year— 


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

2 the administrative expenses of the Secretary in car3 rying out this Act for that fiscal year; and 

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

5 the national evaluation under section 5(b). 

Æ 


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