ju st o u t ▼ a u g u s t 1, 1 9 9 7 T 9
They (Here the Best of Friends
It UJas the Ulorst of Times
G ive and take
House subcommittee approves major increase in ADAP
funding but pares the request for prevention programs
,
T
by Bob Roehr
ome AIDS programs have hit the finan
cial jackpot via budgetary markups on
Capitol Hill.
On July 15, the House Appropria
tions C om m ittee’s panel on labor and
education approved an $80 billion spending bill
which includes about $1.8 billion for AIDS treat
ment and prevention next year— 7 percent more
than President Clinton wanted.
The nearly $2 billion includes $1.17 billion
for the Ryan W hite AIDS Health Services treat
ment program— $132 million more than Clinton
recommended.
The bill includes $299 million for the AIDS
Drug Assistance Program, a 79 percent increase
over fiscal 1997.
ADAP in part provides new life-prolonging
drugs to people with HIV and AIDS.
correlation between a sustained federal invest
ment in AIDS research, prevention, housing and
care and the dramatic drop in AIDS deaths [re
cently] announced at our State of AIDS Forum,”
he says.
Zingale estimates the increase "could allow
overburdened, cash-strapped ADAPs to continue
to provide medications to over 80,000 Americans
living with HIV and A IDS.”
The bill also includes a 4.6 percent increase
for AIDS research at the National Institutes o f
Health and a 4 percent increase for emergency
assistance grants to cities hardest hit by the epi
demic.
"The subcommittee did the right thing by
substantially increasing funding to the AIDS Drug
Assistance Program, something we have been
calling for,” says Seth Kilboum, the Human Rights
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AIDS Action Council Executive Director Daniel Zingale
“It’s rare in this atmosphere to get what you
ask for— to the penny— and have the chair say,
‘You deserve it,’ ” says Bill Arnold, co-chair o f
the ADAP working group, which argued for the
increase.
Lawmakers, however, removed more than $ 12
million from the president’s request for AIDS
prevention programs, allotting about $622 mil
lion.
According to subcomm ittee chair Rep. John
Edward Porter (R-Ill.), members chose to place
greater em phasis on treatment because o f the high
cost o f new AIDS drugs that are prolonging the
lives of people with the disease.
Arnold says Porter deserves a big pat on the
back. “We ow e [him] big time. Sticking his neck
out on something like this was not particularly
easy, especially in the context o f the balanced
budget amendment. And o f course the adm inis
tration didn’t do a fucking thing,” says Arnold,
noting the Clinton adm inistration’s refusal to
support the ADAP increase.
Daniel Zingale, executive director o f the AIDS
Action Council, says he is elated with the results.
“Fortunately many o f our elected officials—
especially Representative Porter— understand the
C am paign’s senior policy analyst for health. “Sev
eral recent reports have spotlighted the need to
increase funding for these programs because many
are facing cash shortfalls at a time when they’re
also expecting demand to rise. This is a clear sign
that these members o f Congress understand the
importance o f getting the new drugs, primary care
and other services to people who might not other
wise be able to afford them .”
He adds, “We also welcome the increase for
NIH research, but w e’re concerned that the sub
committee did not set adequate levels for HIV
prevention programs conducted by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and for early
intervention program s.”
These early intervention programs include
outpatient care services for rural and underserved
urban areas.
AIDS lobbyists, however, say they are pleased
that no amendm ents were offered which would
have restricted the adm inistration’s ability to lift
the ban on federal funding for needle-exchange
programs.
The bill is one of 13 spending measures to
fund federal programs in the fiscal year beginning
Oct. 1.
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