Why Compromise? Democrats Leverage Abstinence Education

When Congress belongs to one party and The White House to another, a whole lot of bargaining goes on. And as any good bargainer knows, offering something with sentimental value can get you a lot in return.

This is the tactic Democrats are using with a bill to fund the three departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. This legislation is the largest of the spending bills --exceeding even the Defense spending bill -- and for years has been among the toughest appropriations measures for Congress to pass.

The bill, which includes a lot of projects important to Democrats, costs about $10.6 billion more than Bush would like. But the bill also increases funds for abstinence-only education, a program that the president really cares about. The Democrats’ strategy is to keep Bush from vetoing the measure.

President Bush has promised to veto any spending legislation that exceeds his requests, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill.

Why Compromise?

If the bill passes, abstinence-only education will get $141 million in 2008, $28 million more than last year - and more than Bush requested. Democrats balanced out this concession by also giving Planned Parenthood $28 million more this year.

While $141 million sounds like a lot, it’s a relatively small amount compared with the $607 billion bill total. But this “small” amount may have a disproportionately large effect on The White House. Bush isn’t going to want to veto abstinence-only education, especially when Democrats are letting other abstinence-only grants expire at the end of June 2007. Funding Abstinence

Even critics of abstinence-only education acknowledge that it can communicate positive messages. The emphasis on long-term relationships, trust, and communication is likely to be valuable, although overall effectiveness of these programs is still widely disputed. A ten-year study commissioned by Congress itself concluded that abstinence-only programs have no impact on teen behavior. Further, ranking minority member on government oversight at the time, Democrat Henry Waxman, spearheaded a report in 2004 on the content of abstinence-only programs that showed that over 80 percent of the programs contained “false or misleading information.” For more on this, click here.

The debate about abstinence-only education is largely a dialogue about the most responsible way to communicate with children about sex. It’s likely that different children and different parents require different solutions. What do you think?

WomenMatter will continue to track the use of the budget to promote particular policies.


There’s time to tell your Senators what you think!

Posted on: 06/08/07