Congressional Showdown over International Family Planning

Battle lines have been drawn in the fight over 2013 funding for international family planning assistance. In early May, the House Appropriations Committee passed a funding bill that reduced this year’s appropriations by $149 million and cut all funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  In late May, however, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill that would increase funding by $134.5 million, including $44.5 million for UNFPA. While the Senate bill is a victory for supporters of international family planning, Population Institute President Robert Walker warned that, “Now is not that the time to be complacent. The differences between the Senate version of the bill and the House version of the bill are large. We anticipate that there will be a tough fight over this issue when House and Senate conferees eventually meet to hammer out an agreement on 2013 funding levels.”  It’s anticipated that the House-Senate disagreements will not be fully resolved until late in 2012.