U.S. Rep. Ben Ray LujánCONGRESSIONAL News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) has announced that the House will consider his effort to invest $400 million in the Title X family planning programs that support the health needs of women and families.
More than 190 House Democrats signed onto Luján’s push for the Title X funds, which have been systematically cut by congressional Republicans and the Trump administration. In New Mexico, there are 67 health care clinics that receive Title X funding.
Title X offers health care and support to women and families, often serving people with low incomes or who lack insurance coverage. The program supported 15,000 women in New Mexico in 2017 – a 24,000 individual decrease from 2010 when the program received increased funding from Congress.
Title X funding is included in the Labor, Health and Human Services fiscal year 2020 appropriations package that is scheduled to pass the House on Wednesday.
An excerpt from remarks Assistant Speaker Luján delivered on the House floor regarding his effort to secure new Title X funding is included below:
“I’m here to speak on the importance of Title X family planning programs and to condemn the Trump administration’s misguided efforts to prevent patients from making fully informed health decisions.
“The House will begin to reverse years of deep funding cuts to this vital program – a slash and burn approach that has had drastic impacts on the health of women and families. Consider this: seven years of Republican cuts left 1.2 million people without access to proper care.
“That is shameful.
“I am proud to have led, with the support of more than 190 of my colleagues, the effort to urge the Appropriations Committee to include $400 million for the Title X family planning program in Fiscal Year 2020.
“Nearly 4 million people struggling to make ends meet, including people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and people in underserved rural communities receive care at Title X centers.
“We must support the health of millions of Americans by supporting Title X and preventing states from discriminating against potential Title X providers.”
