| ADDITIONAL RESOURCES | |
| The National Campaign statement on House of Representatives' vote on Labor-HHS Appropriations bill | |
| Thoughts from The National Campaign on the President's budget proposal | |
| National Campaign Statement on Release of President Obama's FY2010 Budget Proposal for Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs | |
| Teen Pregnancy Prevention in the President’s FY2010 Budget. | |
| The HHS Budget in Brief provides an overview of the HHS budget and how the budget supports the major initiatives of the Department | |
| Relevant text from the President's budget and the budget appendix (see pages 490-491). | |
| Relevant text from the Congressional Justification for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (see pages 94-95). Full ACF language can be found here. | |
| Summary of teen and unplanned pregnancy prevention-related funding. | |
On October 13, the Senate Finance Committee passed its health reform bill, which includes a substantial and much-needed investment in teen pregnancy prevention programs. The Personal Responsibility Education for Adulthood Training (PRE-Adulthood Training) program would provide a total of $75 million to help young people avoid teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including $50 million to states and territories for proven, evidence-based programs each year for the next five years. These programs would also address several other issues to help prepare youth for adulthood including healthy relationships, financial literacy, parent-child communication, and educational and career success.
As an organization dedicated to preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy and deeply committed to research and evidence, The National Campaign applauds Chairman Baucus and the committee for the focus on strong science. Given the recent increase in the teen birth rate, a commitment to evidence-based programs is critical to intensify teen pregnancy prevention efforts around the country. Call the members of the Senate Finance Committee who supported this important measure and thank them for supporting funding for programs that work to reduce teen pregnancy. This investment will help prepare young people for successful transitions to adulthood, alleviate poverty and improve educational outcomes, and improve overall child and family well-being.
In addition to the stable funding that would be available to states and territories once a final health reform bill is passed, Congress is also set to pass the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, which includes separate funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs for FY 2010. President Obama proposed $128 million for a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative, which the House included in its Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. The Senate Appropriations committee included $105 million in the bill it passed, which is awaiting a vote in the full Senate.
States and communities desperately need funds for programs that work to reduce teen pregnancy, and supporting this provision and full the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill will ensure that this funding is available! Please take a minute to encourage your Senators to support the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill and let them know how your state and community programs will benefit from this much-needed investment in teen pregnancy prevention. Read these suggested talking points to help start the conversation. Click here to find out who your U.S. Senators are.
Thank the Members of the Senate Finance Committee who supported funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs:
Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) – (202) 224-2651
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) – (202) 224-5521
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) – 202-224-3441
Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) – (202) 224-2441
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) – (202) 224-2043
Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA)– (202) 224-2742
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) – (202) 224-4843
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) – (202) 224-4744
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) – (202) 224-5274
Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WV) – (202) 224-6472
Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) – (202) 224-6542
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) – (202) 224-5344
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) - (202) 224-4822
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) - (202) 224-5244
Use these suggested talking points to let your U.S. Senators know that you support funding for evidence-based programs, and they should, too:
- Hello. I’m Senator [NAME]’s constituent, and I’m calling to ask that he/she support the teen pregnancy prevention provision in the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. The Senate should provide at least the amount that the Appropriations Committee passed ($104 million) for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.
- At a time when the teen birth rate is increasing, investing in programs that work to prevent teen pregnancy is more important than ever.
- In 2004 alone, the United States spent $9.1 billion dollars on teen childbearing. Investing in teen pregnancy prevention not only improves the lives of young people, it saves money. The U.S. saved $6.7 billion in 2004 because of the progress it made in reducing the teen birth rate over the last decade. Take a look at The National Campaign's state cost data to see how much your state spent on teen childbearing in 2004.
- In these tough economic times, it’s important to use our scarce resources on programs with strong evidence of success. The President’s proposal does that, and [SENATOR] should support including funding for effective teen pregnancy prevention programs in the Labor H appropriations bill.
- Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other critical social issues — poverty and income, overall child well-being, out-of-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood, health issues, education, child welfare, and other risky behavior. By investing in programs that work to prevent teen pregnancy, we can make progress on a number of other issues that [SENATOR] cares about, such as improving academic achievement, decreasing drop out rates, and reducing child poverty.