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H.R. 1’s Impact on Women

In February 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican leadership released H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which is the proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 (FY2011).[1] H.R. 1 was passed in the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 235 to 189, with 9 members not present or not voting. The bill has been read once in the Senate and was placed on the Senate calendar on March 9, 2011.[2] The bill has generated significant controversy in that it involves significant budget cuts to programs that primarily impact American women and girls. Critics of the bill argue that these drastic budget cuts to domestic programs will harm the welfare of millions of women and girls, especially those who are not socially well-off and are thus least-equipped to deal with these cuts to essential social services and programs.[3]

Title X is one program that would be completely slashed by the proposed FY2011 budget. The program runs health centers around the country that provide health services like family planning, preventative health care, various types of cancer screening, and HIV and STD tests to over five million low-income women. A recent New York Times article cites a reputable study claiming that as a result of eliminating Title X, there would be an additional 400,000 abortions annually as a result of large numbers of low-income women being denied access to birth control. Similarly, the bill would completely strip Planned Parenthood of any federal funding. Additional controversial cuts include a 10 percent reduction in funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which aids nearly 10 million low-income mothers and their children annually and has widely been regarded as effective, as well as a $50 million cut to a grant that supports prenatal health care for 2.5 million women and health care for 31 million children[4].

References

[1] Nancy Duff Campbell. “House GOP spending cuts will devastate women, families, and economy.” The Hill: The Hill’s Congress Blog. 16 February 2011. Accessed 01 March 2011. <http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/144585-house-gop-spending-cuts-will-devastate-women-families-and-economy->.

[2] GovTrack.us: A Civic Project to Track Congress. “H.R. 1: Fulll-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.” GovTrack.us. 10 March 2011. Accessed 21 March 2011. <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1>.

[3] Campbell.

[4] The New York Times: Staff Editorial. “The War on Women.” NYTimes.com. 25 Feb. 2011. Accessed 01 March 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/opinion/26sat1.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=war%20on%20women&st=cse>.