Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - July 31, 2009
Until 2007, the District was the only city in the nation barred from using both local and federal tax dollars to hand out clean needles to drug addicts. Norton says that's a main reason for D.C.'s high rate of HIV infection.
Now, she's fighting a House amendment that would essentially reinstate the ban. The amendment would prohibit the District from providing money to any needle exchange program that operates within 1,000 feet of virtually any location where children gather.
The amendment's sponsor, Republican Congressman Jack Kingston of Georgia, says kids shouldn't have to watch people exchanging needles for illegal drug use.
D.C. officials are hoping the Senate fails to include a similar amendment in its version of the bill and that it will be killed in conference committee.
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