FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2015
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, asandusky@nfprha.org, 202-293-3114 ext. 207

Senate’s Proposed Cuts to Title X are Pound-Foolish

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

WASHINGTON, DC – “The US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies today released its fiscal year (FY) 2016 funding proposal that cuts funding for Title X, the nation’s family planning program by $28.7 million (10%) to $257.8 million. The Senate proposal comes less than week after a House counterpart that, if enacted, would eliminate the program, and just days before an anticipated US Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell that could put more than six million Americans at risk of losing access to affordable health coverage.

"This is not a game, and Title X is not a political football. Today’s proposal to slash funding for this cost-effective program would endanger access to essential health care, including contraception, counseling, sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment, and breast and cervical cancer screenings for nearly 4.6 million women and men.

“The return on investment for publicly funded family planning is undeniable: in 2010, services provided at Title X-funded health centers accounted for $7 billion in taxpayer savings. That’s just one reason why the American public supports it. Earlier this month, NFPRHA released national public opinion polling data that show women are three times more likely to support a member of Congress who wanted an increase in federal funding for family planning than a member of Congress who wanted to cut funding. Apparently facts don’t matter to some in the Senate. NFPRHA will work to reverse this damaging provision and ensure all women and men have access to the high-quality family planning and sexual health services they deserve.”

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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 more than 840 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.