Washington, D.C.—Seeking to stop further appropriations for studies of sexual promiscuity, Iowa Congressman Steve King today voted for an amendment to H.R. 2660 that would prevent the National Institutes of Health from funding specific grants that pay for laboratory studies on sexual conduct and pornography.  

“There are devastating diseases that kill millions of Americans each year,” said King.  “I find it outrageous that taxpayers have been paying for these ridiculous studies while the National Institutes of Health should be focusing on finding cures for innumerous illnesses.” 

The grants that this amendment seek to stop funding for include: 

Grant Number RO1HD043689:  “Mood Arousal and Sexual Risk Taking.”  An excerpt from the grant abstract:  “In a series of laboratory studies, mood and sexual arousal will be induced and their individual and combined effects on sexual risk taking will be examined.” 

Grant Number RO3HDO39206:  “Study on Sexual Habits of Older Men.” This study seeks to determine whether older men experience a decline in sexual behavior and if that decline is associated with sexual dissatisfaction, “especially with behaviors (such as masturbation) that may be substituted for more rigorous activities.” 

Grant Number R01DA01386: “Study on San Francisco’s Asian Prostitutes/Masseuses.”  An excerpt from the grant abstract “The proposed study will describe drug use and HIV-related behaviors among Asian female commercial sex workers at massage parlors.” 

Grant Number R01MH065871:  Study on American Indian Transgender Research. This study aims to get a general understanding of the “American Indian and Alaskan Native lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and two-spirited individuals… who are a drastically understudied and underserved group.” 

Groups supporting the amendment include Citizens Against Government Waste, Family Research Council, Traditional Values Coalition, and Concerned Women of America, among others.   

Although the amendment did not pass by a margin of only two votes, King voted in support of final passage for H.R. 2660, making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes.  He will continue to fight to cut unnecessary government spending.  

“The failure of this amendment, coupled with the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, continues us down a path of a far too permissive society.  The very idea that elected Representatives should not make decisions involving moral choices would cause our founding fathers to roll over in their graves,” King concluded.