Victory! Global Gag Rule Left Out of Budget Agreement

As US politicians worked for the last month to avert a government shutdown, Republican leaders took an ongoing war on women to global ends by insisting on policy riders that would have reinstated the Global Gag Rule.

After many groups sprung into action, including on Change.org, the Global Gag Rule was left out of the final spending bill signed into law last night.

YAY!

This is not, however, a clear cut victory. Along with a smorgasbord of problematic budget cuts, funding for family planning did receive disproportionate cuts in the final deal, setting the stage for another fight ahead over the 2012 budget.

Activists at Population Action International, which led the charge, asked us to pass on their thanks to those who organized to tell Obama and Reid to support international family planning. The cuts, they said, could have been much worse.

"Thank you for standing with women and sending letters to the President and Senate Majority Leader Reid supporting international family planning," said Craig Lasher, the Director of U.S. Government Relations at Population Action International, to all the Change.org members that joined the campaign. "Your activism helped stave off the severe funding cuts and damaging policy restrictions proposed by the House.  As a result, women in developing countries will have better access to the contraceptives they need to plan their families."

Here’s the analysis from the advocacy department of Population Action International:

The spending bill (H.R. 1473) that will fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 was introduced in Congress today.  The bill contains disappointing cuts to international family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) programs, but does not impose any of the damaging policy restrictions (“riders”) sought by House Republicans.

Credit is due to congressional family planning champions and the White House for negotiating a deal that avoids the truly devastating funding cuts and policy restrictions that were previously proposed. The earlier version of this bill that was passed by the House in February (H.R. 1) contained a cut of more than $200 million, enacted the Global Gag Rule and prohibited a U.S. contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The spending bill introduced today includes a total of $615 million for international FP/RH programs, including $575 million for bilateral programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development and $40 million for a U.S. contribution to UNFPA.

Although not as large a funding cut as was feared in the wake of the passage of H.R. 1, the $615 million figure represents a $33.5 million—or 5 percent—overall reduction from the comparable FY 2010 level of $648.5 million, which included a $55 million contribution to UNFPA.  Nevertheless, the cut to family planning programs for women stands in contrast to the funding amounts allocated to other global health programs which actually enjoy a net increase of $66 million, even after accounting for the FP/RH reduction and a more modest cut to HIV/AIDS programs.

It is important to acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion over the total funding allocation for FP/RH and the size of the funding cut reflected in competing press releases by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.  A close examination and correct interpretation of the text of the draft bill and by using the comparable base for calculating the size of the cuts, the difference in the numbers being circulated can be reconciled, as we have done above.

The FY 2011 omnibus spending bill is scheduled to be considered on the House floor tomorrow.  The Senate will then take up the House-passed bill.  Congress needs to enact the spending bill and the President must sign it before the current continuing resolution that is keeping the U.S. government running expires at midnight on Friday.

Please stay tuned for further developments and greater detail on the provisions within the bill as they become available.

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Photo: Population Action International