A statement from Amy Coen, President/CEO of Population Action International (PAI), applauding House reversal of President Bush's cuts to international family planning:

May 19, 2006

In a significant rebuke to the Bush administration, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations today approved a fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill that rejects the administration's steep proposed cuts in international family planning and reproductive health programs. If the cuts had been adopted, U.S. efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality, unintended pregnancies, abortion, and sexually transmitted infections would have been greatly impeded.

We are so grateful to the members of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee for reaffirming the importance of U.S. investments in international family planning and restoring funding for these programs. These cuts would have had a disastrous impact on millions of women in some of the world's most impoverished areas. Our family planning champions, led by Ranking Member Nita Lowey, really saved the day.

The subcommittee-approved bill will provide $432 million for international family planning and reproductive health programs as opposed to the $357 million level requested by the administration. The administration’s request represented a $79 million (18 percent) reduction from current funding levels. If enacted, it would have equaled a 49 percent reduction, when adjusted for inflation, from the amount of U.S. funding provided for these programs just 10 years ago.

Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.