Obama's condom-nation to cost billions?

If the Obama administration has its way, not only will taxpayers be forced to purchase health care, they also will be required to indirectly subsidize various health-care services globally.

The plan ultimately could extract another $56 billion from the U.S. Treasury over the next eight years.

A large chunk of the international health-care endeavor would be condom distribution, a measure aimed, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development, at the prevention of HIV/AIDS and reduction of unplanned pregnancies.

USAID this week began circulating a presolicitation notice informing the public and “in particular, members of the business community” of its plans. It is not yet soliciting bids from contractors, however, to carry out such tasks.

President Obama last year unveiled his intention to execute what he calls the Global Health Initiative, or GHI. The latest notice – which USAID uploaded Aug. 21 to the FedBizOpps database – sheds additional light on what is turning out be an increasingly enormous undertaking.

The document points out that this particular part of the Obama plan – despite its $7 billion estimated annual cost for five years plus a three-year option period – is simply one facet of GHI. Indeed, the Global Health Supply Chain initiative, as it is known, solely involves procuring “health commodities and services” while seeking to ensure uninterrupted supply chains.