Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Bay Area Reporter - November 2, 2000
Bob Roehr
Funding for AIDS programs is part of the mix, and there is still a glimmer of hope among some gay rights advocates that hate crimes legislation will be attached to a bill as part of a grand compromise.
But the contentious finger pointing inside the Beltway is largely invisible to the American public. Much of it always has been, but this year it is even worse because political reporters, following old patterns, have vacated the Capital to cover the last days of the campaign season in various locales across the country.
"This is weird," said Terje Anderson executive director of the National Association of People With AIDS. "I'm amazed that they are still here doing something as low profile as this." Congress held a Sunday session, for only the 18th time since World War II, to pass another one-day extension of operating authority for the federal government.
And the few players involved in negotiations are not talking details.
"Even [AIDS czar] Sandy's [Thurman] office is locked out," said AIDS lobbyist Gary Rose. He agreed that with the amount of pork being larded onto appropriations measures by members of both parties, AIDS should be in good shape.
Discretionary spending in the budget for the Department of Health and Human Services has grown to $112 billion, according to one news report. "What I'm hearing is good for everything," said Anderson, though people are being "a little imprecise" and are offering only bottom line figures that could be increased before the deal is finalized.
"They are not playing games on AIDS funding," said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign. "That is an important signal that public health is going to be dealt with in a way that makes sense for public health and not for politics."
One thing that seems clear is that Medicaid expansion "is not likely to sneak in," said Anderson. The effort, lead by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-California), was always a long shot for this session of Congress but may fare better next year.
Hope still remains for passing hate crimes legislation this year. As recently as October 26, Clinton wrote to Congress that he would veto the Commerce-Justice-State Departments' appropriations bill if it did not include hate crimes. Stachelberg appreciated the president's continued strong support and attacked opposition from Republican leaders in the House and Senate. "The question is, how long will this continue? We haven't given up here," she said.
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