July 25
,
2012
by: ASRM Office of Public Affaits
Published in ASRM Bulletin Volume 14, Number 41
Today, the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee approved its fiscal year 2013 funding bill which dramatically reduces funding levels for key public health agencies, eliminates funding altogether for the Title X program and prohibits funding to enforce key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Republican-drafted measure stands in contrast to the budget priorities contained in President Obama’s 2013 budget request and a measure approved last month by the Democratic-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee.
Beyond zeroing out funding for Title X, the program paying for services such as contraception and cancer screenings for low-income women, the House bill would reduce overall funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by ten percent, provide no increase in funding for NIH, and eliminate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It would also essentially prohibit any funds for Planned Parenthood Federation of America or its affiliates. The bill retains funding for the embryo “adoption” program.
Strong Democratic opposition guarantees the House Republicans’ bill will not advance far as written, but it sets the stage for a protracted fight over deficit reduction and further highlights the goal of the GOP to derail the health reform law.
Stay tuned.
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