FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 6, 2016
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, 202-344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org  

House Proposes Title X Elimination

Statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)

WASHINGTON, DC – “Today, the House appropriations subcommittee released a draft fiscal year (FY) 2017 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) funding bill that eliminates the Title X family planning program.

“NFPRHA is deeply disappointed that the draft bill yet again zeros out funding for Title X, an essential public health program that provides high-quality, patient-centered family planning and sexual health care services to 4.1 million Americans every year. This is the fifth attempt by the House to defund the program in the past seven years. 

“It is particularly foolish to target Title X at a time when the nation is at the precipice of a public health emergency resulting from the Zika virus. For the House to propose defunding the very provider network that is being called upon to address and control the risk to women who may be seeking to prevent pregnancy is absurd.

“Congress needs to stop its politically motivated attacks and start supporting cost-effective programs that improve our nation’s health. We strongly urge members of the House and Senate to restore funding for Title X this year.”

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NFPRHA represents the broad spectrum of family planning administrators and clinicians serving the nation's low-income and uninsured. NFPRHA’s nearly 900 member organizations operate or fund a network of nearly 5,000 health centers and service sites that provide comprehensive family planning services to millions of low-income and uninsured or underinsured individuals in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.