Date: 2011-02-16
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of the amendment to add funding back to title X from my colleagues Congresswoman LOWEY and Congresswoman DELAURO. who have always been fierce advocates for womens health. and I am thrilled to join them in this important fight. Since 1970. the title X family planning program has been a key component of our Nations 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 womens health care providers like Planned Parenthood. Today. title X serves over 5 million lowincome individuals every year. In every State. women and men rely on title X for basic primary and preventative 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 preventative care isnt limited to cancer screenings and education on how to avoid STDs. If Republicans truly wanted to reduce abortions in this country. they would vote for this amendment. Indeed. title X actually reduces the number of abortions. Title X services help to prevent nearly 1 million unintended pregnancies each year. almost half of which would otherwise end in abortion. So we can say for certain that title X funds play a vital role in helping to reduce the number of abortions in our Nation. working towards the goal of making abortions safe. legal. and rare. But it goes further. The title X programs through providers like Planned Parenthood provide vital family planning services which help improve the life of the mother and the child. It has been proven time and again that 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 planning 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 lifethreatening cancer and other diseases that could have been prevented. In recent weeks. Republicans in this Congress have produced some of the most antichoice. antiwoman. antifamily bills that we have ever seen. trying to redefine rape. raising taxes on women who have private insurance with comprehensive health care coverage. telling women who need our help the most that they are on their own. But that just didnt just go far enough for them. Republican proposals to cut title X funding and completely shut down Planned Parenthood. where millions of women receive their only health care. is one of the most spiteful. egregious moves we have ever seen. It is truly mindboggling that the same Members who purport to be antichoice can turn around and say in the same breath that they want to strike all Federal family planning funding. So now they dont just want to make abortions illegal. they also want to throw a huge obstacle in the path of those who want to prevent themselves from ending up in a situation where they might need one. This helps no one. It doesnt help women. it doesnt help families. and it certainly doesnt help reduce our deficit. That is because title X actually saves taxpayer dollars. Since many of the patients served by title X are on Medicaid. preventive 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 Medicaidrelated costs. That is savings to both Federal and State governments. Mr. Chairman. I am proud to support this amendment of my good friends that would reinstate title X funding in the continuing resolution. The decision by Republicans to defund title X was not only reckless. but thoroughly antiwoman. antichild. and antitaxpayer. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and help correct a massive injustice against American women and families. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will read.