Funding for Sex Education Before Obama, Before these programs, the only federal funding for sex education was for abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) programs. In fact, since 1982 Congress has funneled more than $2 billion (with a b) into AOUM programs that withhold critical information about birth control and STIs. These AOUM programs often use shame and scare tactics to promote abstinence as the only option for young people.