Appropriations Bill to Severely Cut Teen Pregnancy Prevention Funding Passes Subcommittee Georgia’s Programs Funding is at Risk: Your Action is Needed

URGENT NEWS ALERT!

Appropriations Bill to Severely Cut Teen Pregnancy Prevention Funding Passes Subcommittee
Georgia’s Programs Funding is at Risk: Your Action is Needed

On Wednesday July 18th, the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee passed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Appropriations bill that severely cuts or eliminates programs that reduce teen and unplanned pregnancy, including cutting the evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) from $105 million to $20 million and providing $20 million for abstinence-only programs with no evidence requirement. The full House Appropriations Committee could vote on this bill as early as next week. For Georgia, this means teen pregnancy prevention funding is as risk as well. Georgia is receiving $9.4 million dollars annually from the evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program funds that is currently allocated to more than 50 community-based organizations, reaching 10,000 young people each year. Programs being implemented include the Carrera Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, Making a Difference, Making Proud Choices, Teen Outreach Program, Becoming a Responsible Teen, Teen Health Project and others. Teen childbearing costs Georgia $465 million a year.
 

What can you do to help?

If your member of Congress is on the House Appropriations Committee please contact them as soon as possible and ask them to support level funding for the evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program at $105 million for FY 2013. If your member of Congress is not on the Appropriations Committee, please reach out to them and ask them to contact their colleagues on the Appropriations Committee.

Here are some key points you can make:

In a July 13th statement, House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rehberg said: “We can strike a balance between funding responsible, effective programs that work for people and trimming waste and duplication to help reduce the deficit.” On this basis alone, TPPP merits level funding.

• TPPP funds evidence-based programs that have proven outcomes in changing behavior and reducing teen pregnancy.

• TPPP and the formula-granted Personal Responsibility Education Program PREP (which is the only other funding stream dedicated to evidence-based approaches to prevent teen pregnancy), serve fewer than 2 percent of all teens in the country.

• TPPP ultimately saves taxpayer dollars. Teen moms are less likely to complete high school or college. And the children of teen parents are more likely to rely on public programs and to become teen parents themselves, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and increasing costs to taxpayers. Cutting funds from current TPPP grantees would take away flexibility from communities, open the door to funding ineffective programs, and disrupt the 200,000 youth in 100 communities that are currently being served through TPPP grants.

For more information on the cuts in this bill, please see The National Campaign’s statement on the House LHHS Subcommittee bill.