. This is a crucial step towards eliminating the Helms Amendment, which has restricted the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds for abortion since 1973.
reinserting the Helms Amendment and restrictions on abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers; andOf the nine amendments, only two were made in order by the Rules Committee, those related to striking the bilateral FP/RH and UNFPA funding earmarks, sponsored by Reps. Carol Miller and Chip Roy , respectively.
On the Republican side, Subcommittee Ranking Member Hal Rogers and full Committee Ranking Member Kay Granger bemoaned the removal of the Helms Amendment from the bill and declared that it jeopardized getting to a final agreement on an FY 2022 bill. Joining them arguing against the Helms Amendment were House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Jackie Walorski . Rep.
With final passage of the subcommittee bill and rejection of the Republican en bloc amendment to remove bilateral and multilateral FP/RH funding earmarks, the key global SRHR provisions in the House-passed bill for their Senate counterparts to consider matching increasing funding for bilateral FP/RH funding to $760 million ;modifying the Kemp-Kasten amendment by requiring that an organization be determined to be “directly” engaged in coercive practices before being denied U.S.
HIV Working Capital Fund: Includes changes to allow global health funds, including FP/RH, to utilize this mechanism to purchase contraceptive commodities.