,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bjbh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #f1 #bjag,mr4 ,hultgren 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,la,hood1 ,mr4 ,banks of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,aderholt1 ,mrs4 ,hartzler1 ,mr4 ,jody ,b4 ,hice of ,georgia1 and ,mr4 ,babin7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 acting through the ,administration for ,children ,families1 to award grants on a competitive basis to public and private entities to provide exclusively education in sexual risk avoidance 7meaning avoiding all sexual risk by voluntarily refraining from nonmarital sexual activity74 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,healthy ,relationships ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,sexual risk avoidance education 7a7 ,grants ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 acting through the ,administration for ,children ,families 7in this section referred to as the ,secretary71 may award grants on a competitive basis to public and private entities for the exclusive purpose of providing qualified sexual risk avoidance 7in this section referred to as ,,sra7 education to youth and their parents4 7b7 ,qualified ,,sra education ,to receive funding for ,,sra education under this section1 an entity shall demonstrate to the ,secretary each of the following3 7#a7 ,the education-- 7,a7 will be evidenced-based1 meaning it will have a clear theoretical framework integrating research findings with practical implementation relevant to the ,,sra field that matches the needs and desired outcomes for the intended audience2 and 7,b7 if effectively implemented1 will give youth improved life and health outcomes4 7#b7 ,the unambiguous and primary emphasis and context for each topic covered by the education will be the message to middle and high school students that avoiding nonmarital sexual activity offers the best opportunity for optimal sexual health4 7#c7 ,the education will be medically accurate1 meaning that information will be referenced to peer reviewed publications by educational1 scientific1 governmental1 or health organizations4 7#d7 ,the education will be age-appropriate1 meaning it will be appropriate for the general developmental and social maturity of the targeted age group 7as opposed to the cognitive ability to understand a topic1 or the atypical maturation1 of a small segment of the targeted population74 7#e7 ,the education will thoroughly address each of the following3 7,a7 ,the holistic individual and societal benefits associated with personal responsibility1 self-regulation1 goal setting1 healthy decisionmaking1 and a focus on the future4 7,b7 ,the research-supported advantage of reserving sexual activity for marriage1 in order to improve the future prospects and physical and emotional health of youth1 and helping sexually active students return to a risk-free status4 ,in this subparagraph1 the terms sexual activity and sexually active refer to any type of genital contact or sexual stimulation for the purpose of arousal1 including sexual intercourse4 7,c7 ,the increased likelihood of avoiding poverty when youth implement the success sequence by achieving three norms in sequence3 complete school1 secure a full time job1 and wait until at least #ba years of age to marry and have children4 7,d7 ,the skills needed to resist the harms associated with pornography and the pervasive1 sex-saturated culture that portrays teenage sexual activity as an expected norm1 with few risks or negative consequences4 7,e7 ,the foundational components of healthy relationships and their impact on the formation of healthy marriages and safe and stable families4 7,f7 ,how to resist and avoid sexual coercion and dating violence1 recognizing that even with consent1 teen sex remains a youth risk behavior4 7,g7 ,how other youth risk behaviors1 such as drug and alcohol usage1 increase the risk for teen sex4 7#f7 ,the education will ensure that any information provided on contraception-- 7,a7 is medically accurate and ensures that students understand that contraception offers only physical risk reduction and not risk elimination2 and 7,b7 does not include demonstration1 simulation1 or distribution of contraceptive devices4 7c7 ,priority ,in awarding grants under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall give priority to applicants proposing programs to provide qualified ,,sra education that will-- 7#a7 regularly reinforce the ,,sra message in both the middle and high school grades2 and 7#b7 promote parent-child communication regarding the benefits of avoiding all sexual risk4 7d7 ,application ,to seek an application under this section1 an entity shall submit an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such assurances as the ,secretary may require4 ,at a minimum1 the application shall include-- 7#a7 assurances satisfactory to the ,secretary that each of the conditions listed in subsection 7c7 will be satisfied2 7#b7 an individualized plan to evaluate the ,,sra education to be funded through the grant for behavioral impact1 or to inform best practices in the provision of such ,,sra education that are based on research that-- 7,a7 is conducted by independent researchers who have experience in conducting and publishing research in peer-reviewed outlets2 and 7,b7 is not part of a national evaluation that is mandated by1 contracted for1 or conducted by the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services2 and 7#c7 an agreement to expend not more than #bj percent of their overall grant award for such evaluation4 7e7 ,training and technical assistance 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may provide training and technical assistance to grantees under this section4 7#b7 ,requirements ,any such training and technical assistance shall-- 7,a7 emphasize the practical implementation of ,,sra in all educational messaging to teens2 7,b7 be provided directly to grantees by ,,sra-credentialed experts2 7,c7 cover methodologies and best practices in ,,sra for teens2 and 7,d7 consistently teach in the context of a public health model that stresses risk avoidance or a return to a risk avoidance status4 7#c7 ,settings ,any such training and technical assistance shall be provided during national and regional conferences1 webinars1 and one-on-one conversations about funded projects4 7#d7 ,qualified organizations ,in addition to training and technical assistance provided by staff of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 such training and technical assistance shall be provided by qualified organizations that have-- 7,a7 sole focus on the development and advancement of ,,sra education2 7,b7 expertise in theory-based ,,sra program development and implementation2 7,c7 direct experience in developing ,,sra evaluation instruments2 and 7,d7 the ability to offer technical assistance and training on topics relevant to the ,,sra field4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,to carry out this section1 there is authorized to be appropriated #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjah through #bjbb4 ,amounts authorized to be appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be derived exclusively from amounts made available for the ,teen ,pregnancy ,prevention program of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services4 7#b7 ,federal administrative costs ,of the amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph 7#a7 for a fiscal year-- 7,a7 up to #a1jjj1jjj are authorized to be used for the creation of a national media campaign to increase understanding and appreciation for ,,sra education2 7,b7 not more than #a1jjj1jjj are authorized to be used for ,federal administrative costs2 and 7,c7 of the amount used by the ,secretary for administrative costs1 no more than #be percent shall be used for training and technical assistance4