House Subpanel Approves Funding Ban for Planned Parenthood, Title X as Part of FY 2013 Labor-HHS Spending Bill

July 19, 2012 — The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies on Wednesday approved a fiscal year 2013 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which includes a funding ban for Planned Parenthood and eliminates funding for the Title X federal family planning program, CQ Today reports (Khatami, CQ Today, 7/18).

The bill, which would provide $150 billion in spending, passed on an 8-6 vote, with all Democrats and one Republican -- Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) -- voting against it (Cheney, Politico, 7/18). Prior to the vote on Wednesday, much of the subcommittee's debate focused on the bill's health care provisions, particularly on efforts by Republicans to defund and repeal the federal health reform law (PL 111-148). The bill would rescind funding to implement the health reform law.

The bill also contains riders to eliminate funding for Title X, which provides funding for health services, such as contraception and cancer screenings, for low-income women. In addition, the bill would bar funding from going to Planned Parenthood or its affiliates unless they pledged to stop providing abortion care and to stop giving referrals to places that do (CQ Today, 7/18).

The subcommittee voted down an amendment by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) that would have eliminated the Planned Parenthood funding ban, as well as an amendment by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) that would have eliminated a rider to stop the Obama administration from requiring insurers to provide contraceptive coverage (Wasson, "On the Money," The Hill, 7/18).

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called the bill "wrong for women, wrong for children and wrong for seniors," adding that Republicans should "[s]top pushing an ideological agenda that places the health of our constituents at risk."

Prospects for Bill

A House aide said the bill likely would be marked up by the full House Appropriations Committee next week (CQ Today, 7/18). While the bill is not expected to reach the House floor, it would "certainly not pass" if it reached the Democratic-controlled Senate, according to National Journal (McCarthy, National Journal, 7/18).