Response to Planned Parenthood Questionnaire

By
Anthony Williams
Candidate for Mayor

Candidate Name: Anthony Williams
Present Occupation: Candidate for Mayor
Address: 1634 I St. NW
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 393-8669
Fax: (202) 393-3598

1. How will you improve the health care safety net for low-income women and children?

Everyone has a fundamental right to receive adequate health care without regard to their income level. Because low-income women and children are particularly at risk, this is an important area for government attention and action. The low-income health care system in this City is broken. We spend literally hundreds-of-millions of dollars each year on the District's Medicaid program, yet people continue to face long waits to be seen by a doctor. Additionally, waste and abuse undermines the system as a whole. Last year, Congress approved a District False Claims Act that finally put some teeth in the District's ability to stop abuses within the Medicaid system. The law has been on the books for more than 15 months. To date, not a single case has been brought against anyone. Even more embarrassing, the City's Medicaid agency waited as long as seven years to recover millions in Medicaid overpayments it made to health care providers. Now there has been a legal ruling that may make it impossible for the District to ever get that money back because it waited so long. That kind of mismanagement will not be tolerated in a Williams Administration.

In my administration, these types of management absurdities will come to an end. We will make more Medicaid money available for low-income patients by making sure that government managers are held accountable for properly controlling the millions of dollars that have been entrusted to them for the benefit of low income patients. While CFO, I demonstrated leadership by ensuring that our programs were administered in an efficient manner. I improved the vendor payment process, improved our tax assessment and tax refund process, and improved the financial operations of the District government. As Mayor, I will do the same for the rest of the government

2. Title X is the nation's primary family planning program serving low income women with family planning counseling, contraceptive services, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and other preventive care. Many jurisdictions supplement the federal program with local funds. What is your position on supplementing Title X funds?

The District should join the federal government in Title X funding of family planning and reproductive health services to the extent it can. As the District's finances continue to improve over the next few years, I am committed to increasing Title X spending above the Federal level.

3. Planned Parenthood believes that minors, as well as adults, should have confidential access to reproductive services. What is your position on government- mandated parental involvement?

I support and encourage the right of a young woman to voluntarily involve her parents and family in her decision, but I believe that government should not involve itself in such private matters.

4. More than half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion. Contraceptives have a proven track record of enhancing the health of women and children, preventing unintended pregnancy, and reducing the need for abortion. Although contraception is basic health care for women, far too many insurance policies exclude this vital coverage. What is your position on action that requires insurers to cover prescription contraceptives in the same way they cover prescription drugs?

It's a simple fact that contraceptives prevent unwanted pregnancies. Unwanted pregnancies are costly in both human and financial terms and should be prevented whenever possible I believe the government should continue to support Title X Medicaid funding of contraceptive services. I also believe we should look to the private sector insurers and health care providers for their support on this issue.

5. Although education is primarily a state function, Congress recently used its funding powers to allocate $250 million for abstinence only sex education, which excludes any mention of contraception. What is your position on teaching responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including information about both abstinence and contraception, in public schools?

Education is possibly the most effective tool available in preventing unwanted pregnancies. I support comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education including education about abstinence and contraception.

6. Planned Parenthood believes that the decision whether and when to bear a child is the personal decision of the woman in consultation with her medical professional. It is the policy of Planned Parenthood to ensure that women have the right to seek and obtain medically safe, legal abortions under the standards set forth by the Supreme Court.

A. What is your position on the rights of women to seek and obtain medically safe legal abortions?

I support choice. The private decision about whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is best left to a woman, her physician, and any family and friends that she chooses to look to for support. It is not an area for government intrusion.

B. What is your position on Anti-choice groups that have tried to erode a woman's constitutionally protected right to choose by trying to ban specific abortion procedures?

Again, the private decision about whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is best left to a woman, her physician, and any family and friends that she chooses to look to for support. It is not an area for government intrusion.

C. What is your position on a ban or other restrictions that would limit access to safe and medically necessary methods of abortion?

We will not go back to the days of women dying from back-alley abortions. I do not support limiting access to safe and medically necessary methods of abortion.

D. What is your position on government restrictions on access to safe, non-surgical abortion (such as mifepristone, also known as RU-486).

Approval of the safety and efficacy of RU-486 should be determined by the FDA.

7. Although Medicaid covers reproductive health services, the "Hyde Amendment" forbids the use of federal or District Medicaid funds for abortions for low-income women, except when the woman's life is endangered by the pregnancy or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. What is your position on local government funding for abortions for low-income women?

I support the right of low-income woman to have access to District dollars for health needs. I am a foster child and I believe the District's citizens should be entitled to allocate their tax money as they see fit and they should have full representation in Congress to help stop federal attempts to limit local spending of District tax dollars.

8. How will you extend quality and affordability of child care for working women?

Access to affordable and quality child care is the most critical barrier to be addressed if Welfare Work initiatives are to succeed in the District. In Fiscal Year (FY) 1997, some 6,200 children per day were in subsidized child care spaces, down from 7,900 in FY 1996. Of these 6,200, there were 4,131 children of working poor parents. It is expected that the number of children requiring subsidized spaces will increase in FY 1998 and 1999 as more welfare recipients move to work activities while on TANF and as recipients leave TANF to enter the workforce. In order to accommodate the increased need for child care and help our citizens find jobs to improve the quality of their lives, the District needs to take strong action to establish a quality child care system. This would include at its core an initial drop in child care center. Additionally, we will

• Establish a Drop-in-Care Center at an appropriate Department of Human Services welfare site;
• Center would provide welfare recipients a safe place to care for their child;
• Enact state of the art child care licensing and regulatory procedures;
• Consolidate the licensing function under the Office of Early Childhood Development;
• Pay market rate so that the providers can hire qualified, licensed care givers;

The center would provide high quality child care in a safe and caring environment. The facility would be a convenient place for welfare recipients to leave their children while either searching for a job or going on a job interview. This drop-in center will help job searchers and will ultimately help move people from welfare to work.

In addition, the government needs to take positive action to increase the availability of family child care homes (in the last five years the number of licensed family homes decreased by approximately 30%); e.g. expanding training programs for both potential and existing providers, simplifying licensing procedures, strengthening family child care networks as well as ensure full maximization of the Child Care Food Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A comprehensive approach to child care must also address the needs of school age children, e.g. coordinating with the public schools, the Department of Recreation, community based programs and churches to ensure the availability of school age programs in every elementary school.

9. What is your position on the role of the University of the District of Columbia in providing upward mobility for the city's poor?

Government should provide citizens with access to a quality higher education. The University of the District of Columbia is in a position to provide this access. As Mayor, I will work to improve UDC and will support its mission of offering higher education to District citizens. I will also work to expand UDC's outreach programs for non-traditional students and under-served communities. As I have said many times, education is the most important investment we can make in our future.

10. How will you improve education for children in the public school system?

In the District, too many children attend schools where teachers lack the tools they need to teach, where roofs leak, and violence fills the halls. Through the Mayor's authority and responsibility to propose the District's budget, I will submit a comprehensive budget based on the following principles:

• Teachers are equipped to teach Teachers must have textbooks, training, aides, supplies and administrative support to teach kids effectively. Adequate resources must be targeted to support school-based management, rather than unnecessary overhead.
• School grounds are safe. Police and security guards must be assigned to school grounds to ensure the classrooms, playgrounds, and surrounding neighborhoods are safe places for children.
• School buildings are fully functional. A multi-year capital improvement program will fund repairs to school buildings to make them places where children can focus on learning.

In addition, we must all work together - educators, parents, community leaders and businesses — to ensure a safe place for our children to spend their time outside school hours, develop their skills in math, science, the arts and other subjects, and provide enrichment opportunities to develop the social skills necessary to be successful in life.

11. What is your position on expanding access to quality after school programs and recreational opportunities for students in the District of Columbia?

It is important to provide a safe, enriching environment for children even outside the parameters of a normal school day. For this reason, I would support the expansion of access to quality after school programs and recreational opportunities for D.C. students. After school enrichment programs have demonstrated that they are tremendously helpful to young students. Additionally, these programs provide a safe environment for kids after school. Instead of perhaps getting into trouble after school, they are learning after school.

Additionally, the Recreation Department can play a critical role in helping to educate our children. Currently, our recreation department is not active in helping our youngsters attain the quality of education they deserve. I would ask my recreation Director to develop a strategic plan, in consultation with the Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools, to coordinate efforts. I believe that this approach will put the District in a competitive advantage over the surrounding jurisdictions.

Candidate Signature:

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