Throughout this past summer and into the early fall, HIV/AIDS activists successfully advocated for increases in appropriations for HIV Education and Prevention efforts, the Minority AIDS Initiative, and vital Ryan White CARE Act programs. Since 1990, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act has insured the delivery of medical care, treatment and social services to state and local governments, AIDS service organizations, and community groups across the country.
However, due to stalled negotiations on the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education Appropriations bill, final passage of these HIV/AIDS funding items remain incomplete. There is still not a final agreement on the Fiscal Year 2001 spending levels, even though we are now nearly 2 1/2 months into the current fiscal year.
Originally, the dispute centered around whether or not to increase spending on this broad appropriations bill by $14 billion as President Clinton proposed, or by only $3 billion as the Republican Congressional leadership proposed. The specific area of contention was the final Appropriation amount for the Department of Education. Unfortunately, the Education conflict led to the unraveling of Congress' agreement on the bill's overall spending plan.
As of today, President Clinton and the Congressional leadership have agreed to reduce new spending increases by approximately $5 billion from the original Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations agreement made just prior to Election Day. As a result, HIV/AIDS appropriations have unfortunately been put back on the table by the President and the Congress, jeopardizing the successes we achieved earlier in the budget process.
The Congressional leadership has promised that HIV/AIDS programs will not face disproportionate or targeted cuts. Despite these assurances, HIV/AIDS activists must remain vigilant to ensure that funding levels remain sufficient to meet the distinct needs of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Of specific importance are the following key programs, which are likely to be denied sufficient increases in funding necessary to keep pace with the epidemic:
ACTION:
Please contact the President, Congressional leaders who are negotiating the Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Bill, and your own Member of Congress. Encourage them to maintain the previously agreed upon HIV/ AIDS funding increases, which more accurately reflect the needs of affected populations!
THE WHITE HOUSE: (202) 456-1414
President Bill Clinton
CONGRESSIONAL SWITCHBOARD: (202) 224-3121
Speaker Of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois)
Rep. Bill Young
(R-Florida) - Chair, House Appropriations Committee
Rep. John Porter
(R-Illinois) - Chair, House Appropriations Labor, HHS, and Education
Subcommittee
Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) - Ranking Democrat, House
Appropriations Labor, HHS, and Education Subcommittee
Senator Arlen
Specter (R-Pennsylvania) - Chair, Senate Labor, HHS and Education
Appropriations Subcommittee
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) - Ranking
Democratic, Senate Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations
Subcommittee
Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) - Chair, Senate
Appropriations Committee
If you need help identifying your federal or state legislators: call APLA's Grassroots Hotline at (323) 993-1680 or Government Affairs at (323) 993-1378. Federal legislator information may be found on the internet at www.house.gov/writerep and http://www.senate.gov/. California state legislator information may be found on the internet at www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/yoursenator.htp
To hear issues updates, find out about meetings and special events, request Voter Registration materials or information about elected officials, or register a response to a current Action Alert, call APLA's Grassroots Hotline at (323) 993-1680. RAPID RESPONSE NETWORK is a service of AIDS Project Los Angeles' Grassroots Networks. For more information, contact: APLA/Gov't Affairs 1313 N. Vine St., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Telephone: (323) 993-1378 Fax:(323) 993-1592 Email: http://www.apla.org/apla/rapidresponse/rlouis@apla.org