To expand access to preventive health care services that reduce unintended pregnancy (including teen pregnancy), reduce the number of abortions, and improve access to women's health care.
An amendment to S. Con. Res. 18 [109th]: Budget resolution FY2006.
| Offered: | Mar 17, 2005 |
| Sponsor: | Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY] |
| Actions: | Mar 17, 2005:
Amendment SA 244 proposed by Senator Reid for Senator Clinton. Mar 17, 2005:
Amendment SA 244 not agreed to in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 47 - 53. Record Vote Number: 75.
[Vote Details]
|
For more information, see the the official record on THOMAS for S.Amdt. 244.
Text of amendment
SA 244. Mr. REID (for Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. REID, Mr. KERRY, Mr. CORZINE, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN)) proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 18, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2006 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2005 and 2007 through 2010; as follows:
On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $72,000,000.
On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $108,000,000.
On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $14,000,000.
On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $4,000,000.
On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $72,000,000.
On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $108,000,000.
On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $14,000,000.
On page 4, line 1, increase the amount by $4,000,000.
On page 4, line 7, increase the amount by $100,000,000.
On page 4, line 16, increase the amount by $36,000,000.
On page 4, line 17, increase the amount by $54,000,000.
On page 4, line 18, increase the amount by $7,000,000.
On page 4, line 19, increase the amount by $2,000,000.
On page 4, line 24, increase the amount by $36,000,000.
On page 4, line 25, increase the amount by $54,000,000.
On page 5, line 1, increase the amount by $7,000,000.
On page 5, line 2, increase the amount by $2,000,000.
On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $36,000,000.
On page 5, line 8, decrease the amount by $90,000,000.
On page 5, line 9, decrease the amount by $97,000,000.
On page 5, line 10, decrease the amount by $99,000,000.
On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $99,000,000.
On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $36,000,000.
On page 5, line 16, decrease the amount by $90,000,000.
On page 5, line 17, decrease the amount by $97,000,000.
On page 5, line 18, decrease the amount by $99,000,000.
On page 5, line 19, decrease the amount by $99,000,000.
On page 18, line 16, increase the amount by $100,000,000.
On page 18, line 17, increase the amount by $36,000,000.
On page 19, line 4, increase the amount by $2,000,000.
On page 30, line 16, decrease the amount by $72,000,000.
On page 30, line 17, decrease the amount by $198,000,000.
On page 48, line 6, increase the amount by $36,000,000.
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES.
(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included family planning in its published list of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century, the United States still has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancies among industrialized nations.
(2) Increasing access to family planning services will improve women's health and reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy, abortion, and infection with sexually transmitted infections.
(3) Contraceptive use saves public health dollars. Every dollar spent on providing family planning services saves an estimated $3 in expenditures for pregnancy-related and newborn care for Medicaid alone.
(4) Each year, 3,000,000 pregnancies, nearly half of all pregnancies, in the United States are unintended, and nearly half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
(5) In 2002, 34,000,000 women--half of all women of reproductive age were in need of contraceptive services and supplies to help prevent unintended pregnancy, and half of those were in need of public support for such care.
(6) The United States also has the highest rate of infection with sexually transmitted infections of any industrialized country. In 2003 there were approximately 19,000,000 new cases of sexually transmitted infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (November 2004), these sexually transmitted infections impose a tremendous economic burden with direct medical costs as high as $15,500,000,000 per year.
(7) The child born from an unintended pregnancy is at greater risk of low birth weight, dying in the first year of life, being abused, and not receiving sufficient resources for healthy development.
(8) Each year, services under title X of the Public Health Service Act enable Americans to prevent approximately 1,000,000 unintended pregnancies, and one in three women of reproductive age who obtains testing or treatment for sexually transmitted infections does so at a title X-funded clinic. In 2003, title X-funded clinics provided 2,800,000 Pap tests, 5,100,000 sexually transmitted infection tests, and 526,000 HIV tests.
(9) The increasing number of uninsured individuals, stagnant funding, health care inflation, new and expensive contraceptive technologies, and improved but expensive screening and treatment for cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections, have diminished the ability of clinics funded under title X of the Public Health Service Act to adequately serve all those in need. Taking medical inflation into account, funding for the program under such title X declined by 59 percent between 1980
and 2004.
(10) Although employer-sponsored health plans have improved coverage of contraceptive services and supplies, largely in response to State contraceptive coverage laws, there is still significant room for improvement. Half of the 45,000,000 women of reproductive age currently live in the 29 States without contraceptive coverage policies. These women may still find the most effective forms of contraceptives beyond their financial reach due to a lack of coverage.
(11) Including contraceptive coverage in private health care plans saves employers money. Not covering contraceptives in employee health plans costs employers 15 to 17 percent more than providing such coverage.
(12) Approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration, emergency contraception is a safe and effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy after unprotected sex. It is estimated that the use of emergency contraception could cut the number of unintended pregnancies in half, thereby reducing the need for abortion. New research confirms that easier access to emergency contraceptives does not increase sexual risk-taking or sexually transmitted infections.
(13) In 2000, 51,000 abortions were prevented by the use of emergency contraception. Increased use of emergency contraception accounted for up to 43 percent of the total decline in abortions between 1994 and 2000.
(14) Thirteen percent of all teens give birth before age 20. Eighty-eight percent of births to teens age 17 or younger were unintended. Twenty-four percent of Hispanic females gave birth before the age of 20. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 2004).
(15) Children born to teen moms begin life with the odds against them. They are less likely to be ready for kindergarten, more likely to be of low-birth weight, 50 percent more likely to repeat a grade, more likely to live in poverty, and significantly more likely to be victims of abuse and neglect.
(16) Research shows that a range of initiatives, including sex education, youth development and service learning programs, can encourage teens to behave responsibly by delaying sexual activity and pregnancy. Federal tax dollars are best invested in programs with research-based evidence of success.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that this resolution assumes that--
(1) $100,000,000 of the amount provided for under function category 550 (health) for fiscal year 2006 may be used for any or all of the following--
(A) to fund increases in amounts appropriated to carry out title X of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) above amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2005;
(B) to fund legislation that would require equitable coverage of prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, and contraceptive services under health plans;
(C) to fund legislation that would create a public education program administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concerning the use, safety, efficacy, and availability of emergency contraception that is--
(i) approved by the Food and Drug administration to prevent pregnancy; and
(ii) used post-coitally; or
(D) to fund legislation that would permit the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award, on a competitive basis, grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teenage pregnancy prevention programs or to disseminate information to educators and parents about the most effective strategies for preventing teen pregnancy (funds made available under the authority of this subparagraph are not intended for use by abstinence-only education programs);
(2) the prevention programs described in paragraph (1) are cost effective and will achieve savings by--
(A) reducing the number of unintended pregnancies;
(B) reducing the rate of sexually transmitted infections;
(C) reducing the costs to the medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); and
(D) providing for the early detection of HIV and early detection of breast and cervical cancer; and
(3) the increase in funding described in paragraph (1) is offset by an increase in revenues of not to exceed $200,000,000 to be derived from closing corporate tax loopholes, of which the remaining $100,000,000 (after amounts are expended pursuant to this section) should be used for deficit reduction.
(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Mar 17, 2005.)
