news
PHOTO BY BO S
A
IDS Watch 2003 is about deliv
ering the message to Congress
that “these are real people using
real programs.” Increased fund
ing is crucial to keeping people
alive, said Terje Anderson, executive director of
the National Association of People with AIDS,
which helped organize the event held from
May 18 to 20 in Washington, D.C.
The opening day was filled with briefing
and training sessions, the next two with visits
to members of Congress. Anderson said the
presence of more than 400 advocates was “an
incredibly powerful statement of your commit
ment to these issues” in light of the financial
difficulties that many organizations are facing.
“Tax cuts have direct implications on how
much money is going to he available for
HIV/AIDS programs,” explained Laura Hanen,
National Alliance of State and Territorial
A ID S Directors government relations director.
She saw the smaller $350 billion package pro
posed by the Senate as better than the House
version, which was more than twice as large.
Ernest Hopkins, a lobbyist for the San Fran
cisco A ID S Foundation, was pleased with the
recent “thoughtful dialogue” in both chambers
in passing an international A ID S hill. “Your
job is to bring it hack to talking about what is
happening in your local community,” he said.
"You need to focus on why these programs are
important to you at hom e...don’t focus on the
large numbers” in the total appropriation.
“You can’t take the support of Democrats for
granted,” one audience member cautioned.
That person believed they “rolled over” on
recent votes and supported abstinence-based
prevention programs.
Hopkins told how one constituent recently
E yes on the H ill
AIDS Watch 2003 aims to send a message to a
reluctant Congress
by B ob R oeh r
took a representative to task for becoming
quiet and not as visible in the media on AIDS
issues as she had been in the past. The con
gresswoman was shocked to hear the evalua
tion, he said, and “really got it.”
One of the greatest political accomplish
ments has been to make A ID S a bipartisan
issue. Hopkins urged advocates to continue
framing their efforts within that context.
“ Don’t let members of either party off the hook;
none of them are doing enough on the domes
tic front. Make it a leadership issue. They get
the devastation of the disease [from the inter
national discussion]; now bring it back home.”
“Housing equals health,” said A ID S Alaba
ma C EO Kathie Hiers, offering a short briefing
on the Housing Opportunities for Persons with
A ID S program. A recent survey of the home
less in Birmingham found that 15 percent
knew they were infected with HIV. “How can
people adhere to a difficult medical therapy
without a roof over their head?” she asked.
Ross Baker of Lifelong AIDS Alliance in
Seattle demonstrated a “prevention works dance”
as an animated aid to remembering the major
messages in lobbying: Prevention is cost-effec
tive; say “no” to abstinence-only programs; more
money for vaccine research and needle exchange;
and people of color are affected disproportionate
ly. He closed by forming his arms into a big “C ,”
which stands for condoms, community-based
P avid W. O wens
programs and the Cen
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Hopkins reviewed
the Ryan White Com
prehensive A ID S Re
sources Emergency Act
programs. “We need
significant increases for Ernest Hopkins and Laura Hanen brief advocates during A ID S Watch
all of them," he said.
2003 last month in Washington, D .C .
According to Hop
Diseases to purchase $233 million of anthrax
kins, the largest increase should he for the
vaccine appear to have been derailed. U.S. Sens.
A ID S Drug Assistance Program, where an
Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa,
additional $280 million is needed. Some 14
wrote a joint letter expressing their displeasure
states already have imposed restrictions on
with the proposal, and it appears to have worked.
access to ADAP, and more are likely to follow.
That money would have come out of current
“This is about people’s access to life-and-death
appropriations for research grants. The institute
services,” Hopkins said.
funds the greatest portion of HIV research grants
Robert Greenwald said people often take
Medicaid for granted because it’s an entitle by the National Institutes of Health.
Anderson urged the audience members to
ment program and not AIDS-specific; howev
“stay on message and not get sucked into minutia”
er, “it is an increasingly important part of the
when visiting with members of Congress and their
HIV health care delivery system.” He criticized
the Bush administration proposal to “reform” staffs. “We don’t want Congress writing the rules;
when they do, we get abstinence-only” preven
the program by capping expenditures, calling it
tion programs, he said. “We want them to write
essentially a gutting of Medicaid. “The way to
solve the budget crisis is not on the backs of the check, and then we will work with the experts
to make sure the check gets spent well.” JF1
poor people who need health care.”
One piece of good news to come out of the
B ob ROEHR is a free-lance reporter based in
briefing was that White House efforts to force
Washington, D .C .
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
‘R emember when music was
P.C. & A S S O C I A T E S
s<fmng the community since 1975
A tt o r n ey s a t L aw
David W. Owens
Brady M. Ricks
*<if counsel
Chad E. Schaff
Richard A. Crews*t
Roger Gray*
tluensed Onrpm. Washington, and Colorado
503 224°3100
°
❖ FAMILY LAW
• Domestic Partnerships
• Formation & Dissolution
• Adoptions
• Divorce & Visitation
❖
REAL ESTATE
• Home Purchase Reviews
❖
PERSONAL INJURY
• Auto Accidents
❖ WILLS
&
TRUSTS
• Probate & Trusts
• Conservatorships
& Guardianships
• Advance Directives
❖ BANKRUPTCY
• Advisin9 Businesses
& Individuals
❖ SOCIAL SECURITY
❖ CRIMINAL
❖ LANDLORD/TENANT LAW
• Concentration on Landlord
Rights
❖ BUSINESS FORMATION
& LITIGATION
• Corporations, Partnerships,
LLCs & LLPs
• Commercial Collections of
large accounts
❖ TAX ISSUES
&
APPEALS
w w w .ow ens-law .com • 101 SW MAIN, SUITE 700 • Portland, Oregon 97204 • Parking Validated
Serving the Portland Metro area
fo r all your Escrow and Title needs
• Residential
• Commercial
• 1 0 3 1 Tax Deferred Exchanges
• Reverse Exchanges
• Business Opportunities
Put my experience
to work for you! P acific N orthw eyst T r ru :
o t O r e g o n . In c.
503 - 350-5099
fx: 503.226.7399
...it stiff is
FINE AUDIO EQUIPMENT AND HOME THEATRE SYSTEMS
STEREOTYPES AUDIO
2627 N.E. BROADWAY PORTLAND OREGON 97232
503-280-0910
w ww .stereotypesaudio.com