PIP: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a leader in international family planning for almost 30 years, accounting for 46% of all funds in international family planning provided by OECD countries during 1991. Moreover, relative to other donor countries, the US supplies worldwide a disproportionate amount of contraceptives. While international family planning activities received $546 million in 1995, the budget was slashed in 1996 to $72 million. This unprecedented cut will have a profound effect upon the reproductive health and family planning choices of tens of millions of people in developing countries. Millions of additional unintended pregnancies and maternal and child deaths may result. 1996 began with the White House and Congress in political gridlock, with negotiations on foreign aid stalled on the issue of abortion. The Republican-led House of Representatives wanted to bar support of any nongovernmental organization (NGO) which also provided information on abortion, while Democratic President Bill Clinton affirmed that he would veto such legislation. At the end of January, the House passed the Balanced Budget and Down Payment Act (HR 2880) containing clauses which cut the aid budget by 35% and barring new money in the area of family planning until July 1. Spending was limited to the allocation of 6.5% of the total budget each month. Some social marketing programmers who distribute condoms and oral contraceptives are already feeling the pinch, and some programs will simply run out of contraceptives. This cut in funding also bodes ill for achieving the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. There is, however, hope that the cuts will be reversed for the next fiscal year. The author notes survey findings which indicate that US citizens support higher budgets for family planning.