on cutting ineffective programs from the budget

from www.dailykos.com

Abstinence-only education budget *increased*
by kos
Tue Feb 8th, 2005 at 09:27:11 PST

Remember when Bush promised to cut only those federal programs that were "ineffective" or "duplicative"?

He should've added "or are demanded by my base" to that list.

Abstinence-only sex education programs have had "little impact" on Texas teenagers' behavior, according to an ongoing study funded by the Texas Department of Health and presented to state officials last week, the Dallas Morning News reports. Buzz Pruitt, professor of health and kinesiology at Texas A&M University, and colleagues examined five abstinence-only sex education programs at more than 24 schools across Texas. For the study, junior high and high school students filled out an anonymous 10-page questionnaire on their sexual behavior. The study found that 23% of ninth-grade girls reported having had sexual intercourse before they received abstinence education, a percentage below the national average. However, the study found that 28% of the same girls reported having had sexual intercourse after receiving abstinence education, a percentage that is "closer to that of their peers across the state," according to the Morning News. In addition, the study found that the percentage of ninth-grade boys reporting having had sexual intercourse remained unchanged before and after abstinence education; however, the percentage of 10th grade boys reporting sexual activity "jumped" from 24% to 39% after participating in abstinence education, according to the Morning News. "We didn't find strong evidence of program effect," Pruitt said, adding, "We didn't find what many would like for us to find."

So here we have a federal program that is clearly ineffective (and we don't need a study to know that teens will have sex whether we like it or not). So according to Bush's criteria, it should be slated for elimination.

You can see the punchline coming a mile away:

If the budget is approved, abstinence education would get $206 million, an increase of $39 million.

Abortions are up during Bush's term. Divorces are up during Bush's term. And, thanks to abstinence-only education, it looks like teen sex is also up during Bush's term.