34 Million Friends Seek 218 Members of Congress

Family planning activists, Congressional allies look to save thousands of lives, reverse Bush decision to freeze UNFPA funding

Contact:

Suzanne Anziska, Press Secretary to Rep. Crowley: (202) 225-3965 Email: suzanne.anziska@mail.house.gov Afshin Mohamadi,Press Secretary to Rep. Maloney: (202) 225-7944 Email: Afshin.Mohamadi@mail.house.gov Susan Cohen, Director of Government Affairs, The Alan Guttmacher Institute: (202) 296-4012 Email: Scohen@guttmacher.org

Data:

Click here to read the text of the Crowley provision

Timeline of U.S. funding of UNFPA

Click here to see how each member voted

List of Countries with USAID Programs

List of Countries with UNFPA Programs

Background:

Kemp-Kasten defined:
Legislative History by Population Action International (Updated June 2003)

Analysis of Determination that Kemp-Kasten Amendment Precludes Further Funding to UNFPA under Pub. L. 107-115 by US Dept. of State (7/18/02)

Kemp-Kasten Amendment and UNFPA by the ressional Research Service (2/21/02)

July, 2003--UNFPA supporters prepared for a House vote mid-month on a provision proposed by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) that would allow U.S. funding for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, to resume while still guaranteeing that no U.S. funds support coercive practices in China or elsewhere.

In July 2002, The Bush administration withheld $34 million from UNFPA last year because of allegations that the agency’s program in China had run afoul of ambiguous anti-coercion language in the so-called Kemp-Kasten Amendment. New language, proposed by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) and approved on a 23-22 vote after prolonged debate, clarifies that language to say the agency may be de-funded only if it “directly supports or participates in coercive abortion or sterilization.” The measure would authorize $25 million per year for UNFPA as part of the State Department authorization bill.

A bipartisan majority of the House Committee on International Relations adopted the Crowley provision on a 23-22 vote in May 2003.

In June, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) joined Crowley, other lawmakers and the two founders of the 34 Million Friends of UNFPA organization to kick off the “218 Votes campaign,” an effort to pass the crucial international family planning measure. The 34 Million Friends is a grass-roots effort launched in July 2002 by Jane Roberts of New Mexico and Lois Abraham of California to collect $1 each from 34 million individuals to restore UNFPA’s lost funding. It raised its first $1 million in less than a year, and the campaign has now expanded to Europe.

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