On June 26, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government approved, by voice vote, its FY2003 appropriations bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The measure would allocate $35 billion, of which $18.5 billion would be discretionary spending.
Under the measure, $1 million would be provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to support the use of forensic technology to reunite families. It also would provide $4.2 million for the Customs Cyber Smuggling Center to target international child pornography, trafficking, and preying on children through the Internet.
In addition, the measure maintains current law requiring health plans participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to cover prescription contraceptives if they cover other prescription drugs. Physicians and others who provide contraceptives are exempted from the requirement if they object based on religious beliefs. Religiously affiliated health plans also are exempt. The measure also prohibits abortion coverage under FEHBP except when the life of the mother is endangered or in the case of rape or incest.
