House Approves Two More FY2010 Spending Measures; House Committee Approves Defense Spending Bill, Provisions on Breast, Ovarian Cancer Research

This week, the House approved the FY2010 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Related Agencies spending bills. The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2010 Department of Defense spending bill.

Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies

On July 24, the House approved, 264-153, the FY2010 Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 3293). The House Appropriations Committee approved the measure on July 17 (see The Source, 7/17/09).

During debate on the measure, the House approved an amendment by Rep. David Obey (D-WI) to, among other provisions, increase funding for the Career Pathways Innovation Fund by $5 million, offset by a $5 million decrease to the funding for the Green Jobs Fund, 284-137.

The House rejected the following amendments:

• an amendment by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) to prohibit funding for any program that distributes sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug, 211-218; and

• an amendment by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) to prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving funding under Title X, the nation’s family planning program, 183-247.

The committee report details a number of programs of interest to women and their families:

Afghanistan: The committee “provides $5.789 million for the Afghanistan health initiative, which is the same as the FY 2009 funding level and the budget request. These funds will be used for the joint departments of Defense and Health and Human Services initiative to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes at the largest women’s hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan” (p. 193).

Microbicides: The report states, “The committee requests that in the future, CDC include information in the HIV/AIDS section of the congressional budget justification on the amount of anticipated and actual funding it allocates to activities related to research and development of microbicides for HIV prevention. The committee urges CDC to work with NIH, USAID, and other appropriate agencies to develop processes for coordinated investment and prioritization for microbicide development, approval, and access.” Additional language on microbicide development can be found on pages 123-124.

Office of Women’s Health (OWH): The committee “includes $2.325 million to continue the OWH violence against women initiative. The committee intends that these funds be used to enhance health care providers’ understanding of domestic and dating violence, and to develop a coordinated public health response regarding domestic violence issues” (p. 193).

Reproductive Health/Family Planning: The committee “includes $7.839 billion for programs that may help reduce the number of abortions in America by alleviating the economic pressures and other real life conditions that can sometimes cause women to decide not to carry their pregnancies to term” (p. 16).

*The committee “provides a total program level of $114.455 million for a new teenage pregnancy prevention initiative, as requested by the administration. This program will provide funds to public and private entities on a competitive basis for proven-effective or otherwise promising teenage pregnancy prevention programs that provide medically accurate, age-appropriate, and complete information to youths. The committee is deeply concerned that teenage birth rates have begun to rise after 14 years of decline….Studies have found that the overwhelming majority of teenage pregnancies are unplanned. Reducing the incidence of teenage pregnancy can have untold individual and societal benefits, including reducing poverty, improving education outcomes, improving child well-being, and reducing the need for abortions” (p. 180). Included in that amount is $75 million for “evidence-based” programs; $25 million of the total is directed to developing and testing programs that have not yet demonstrated effectiveness in preventing teen pregnancy.

Included in the Maternal and Child Health Grant is $4.956 million for “competitive funding to states to increase public awareness of resources available to new parents and women preparing for childbirth through advertising campaigns and toll-freehotlines” (p. 61). Programs to support doulas (birth attendants) would receive $1.504 million in FY2010 (p. 62).

Women and Minority Contracting: Provisions related to women- and minority-owned firms contracting with the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education can be founded on pages 46, 189, and 260, respectively.

Women’s Cancer Research: The report states, “Within the total for breast and cervical cancer, the committee includes $5 million for breast cancer awareness for young women. The committee encourages CDC, in collaboration with HHS, the National Cancer Institute, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to develop evidence-based initiatives to advance understanding and awareness of breast health and breast cancer among women at high risk for developing breast cancer, including women under 40” (p. 88). Additional language on women’s breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer can be found on page 90.

Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies

On July 23, the House approved, 256-168, the FY2010 Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 3288). The House Appropriations Committee approved the measure on July 17 (see The Source, 7/17/09).

The committee report details a number of programs of interest to women and their families:

Defense

On July 22, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2010 Defense spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense approved the bill, by voice vote, in a closed session on July 17.

According to a committee press release, the bill would provide $636.3 billion in FY2010, $4.4 billion above FY2009 and $3.8 billion below the administration’s request.

Included in the overall amount is level-funding of $150 million for the Department of Defense’s peer-reviewed breast cancer research program (P.L. 102-396) and $25 million for ovarian cancer research, $5 million above FY2009.

Family advocacy programs, such as Yellow Ribbon Reintegration program, would receive $472.4 million in FY2010.

Additional information will be available when the committee report accompanying the bill is released.