TAKE ACTION! 

Time to Advocate for FY 2013 Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Funding! 

Our friends at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy sent this important alert:

Beginning next week, the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees with responsibility for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS) budgets are expected to vote on their versions of the appropriations bill.  The Senate has tentatively scheduled its LHHS subcommittee mark-up for Tuesday June 12 and the full Senate appropriations committee will mark up the bill on Thursday June 14.  In the House, it is rumored that the LHHS subcommittee will have a mark-up on June 20.

Tight budget constraints mean the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) may face serious competition for funds.  In addition, there have been efforts to increase dedicated funding for abstinence-only programs (building on the $5 million added for FY 12).  These efforts could support funding for abstinence-only programs without any evidence criteria and might come at the expense of funding for existing TPPP grants.  If this were to happen, current grantees [such as UT Teen Health in San Antonio] could see cuts in their funding.

What can you do?

Please reach out to your members of Congress, especially if they serve on the House or Senate Appropriations Committees.  In Texas, we can call Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (202-224-5922), Rep. John Carter of Round Rock (202- 225-3864), Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth (202-225-5071) , Rep. John Culberson of Houston (202-225-2571) on Appropriations.  

Here are some key points to make: 

• Support the evidence-based Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.  Currently funded at $105 million for FY 12, the program emphasizes evidence and evaluation, and funds programs that work at a time when teen pregnancy remains a critical challenge. 
• Any reductions in the TPPP funding would harm ongoing projects serving approximately 200,000 teens around the country. 
• The criteria for evidence-based programs in past appropriations language ensures federal funds are focused on programs that offer the greatest success in helping teens avoid pregnancy and maximizing the return on public dollars 
• Abstinence programs should compete for funds just like other programs, with everyone eligible under the same terms that stress high standards of evidence.  The TPPP already funds a variety of evidence-based approaches, including effective abstinence programs.  
• Dverting funding to abstinence-only programs without ensuring they are evidence-based is not an effective use of public funds.  
• Diverting funds from the TPPP will disrupt programs currently serving teens across the country.
• Particularly in a time of scarce federal dollars, funds should be focused on what works to change behavior rather than on ideology.

 

For more detailed information on The National Campaign's appropriations requests please view their House and Senate appropriations request letters and feel free to use any of this language when reaching out to your members of Congress.   You may also find helpful our recently-updated overview of the TPPP.

 

Now is the time to weigh in.  Once initial bills are passed in committee, it is much more difficult to influence funding levels.  If you have any questions or would like more information or resources, please contact Rachel Fey, Senior Manager of Public Policy at rfey@thenc.org.