Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - Thursday October 5 1:01 PM ET
Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer
The legislation, which the House passed 411-0 Thursday and sent to the president for his signature, reauthorizes for five years the Ryan White CARE Act, which expired when the new fiscal year began Oct. 1.
The sponsor, Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the emphasis on AIDS victims rather than those infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has been ``devastating.'' ``While our attention was placed on AIDS the virus silently spread through communities of color and more and more women became unknowingly infected.'' Every year some 40,000 Americans become infected with HIV.
Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Fla., chairman of the House Commerce health subcommittee, said that with the new funding formula, to go into effect in 2005, ``By targeting resources to the front line of the epidemic, we will be able to reduce transmission rates and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to provide care to HIV-positive individuals as soon as possible.''
Supporters say the new funding distribution will mean more money for programs that help infants, women, minorities and people in rural areas. But it met some resistance from lawmakers representing districts with gay men, who were the first to be significantly affected by the AIDS epidemic and who feared losing funds.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she supported the bill after weeks of negotiations to lessen the adverse affect on her San Francisco district. The original bill approved by the House would have cut the city's funding by nearly $40 million over five years. She said in the final compromise the negative impact on San Francisco was reduced to only 15 percent, about $7.5 million, over five years.
The legislation specifically approves $20 million for programs to reduce HIV transmission from mothers to their babies and $30 million for programs to encourage those infected with HIV to notify their partners. It requires those receiving Ryan White funds to join counseling programs.
The AIDS bill was first passed in 1990, the year 18-year-old Ryan White, a hemophiliac from Indiana who contracted AIDS after receiving a transfusion of tainted blood, died.
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The bill is S. 2311.
On the Net: Coburn background on bill: http://www.house.gov/coburn/ryanwhite2000.htm
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