Chicago Tribune (CT) - WEDNESDAY, December 18, 1996 Edition: NORTH SPORTS FINAL Section: NEWS Page: 8 Word Count: 475
David S. Cloud, Washington Bureau.

"The National AIDS Strategy," the report from the National AIDS Policy Office, purports to be a blueprint for the future. But it focuses mainly on existing federal efforts to fight the epidemic, sidestepping difficult budget questions and policy disagreements.

Although some AIDS activists applauded the report, which fulfilled a Clinton campaign pledge, other groups criticized the lack of specifics and the absence of firm commitments by the administration to expand research spending and assistance for AIDS patients.

The report "reads more like a record of accomplishments and litany of ongoing activities than as a strategic plan to combat AIDS," said Christine Lubinski, deputy executive director of the AIDS Action Council.

White House spokesman Mike McCurry said that specific budget allocations for AIDS research and assistance for AIDS patients would be detailed in the administration's budget, which will be released early next year. McCurry said he had no apology for the emphasis on existing programs in the report.

"I think we have done a lot with respect to AIDS over the last four years," he said.

Total federal funding on AIDS research and patient care has increased from $508 million in 1986 to more than $7 billion in the current fiscal year.

The administration is facing several difficult battles that will affect AIDS patients next year, notably whether budget cuts will reduce benefits in Medicaid, Medicare and other programs that help AIDS patients pay for expensive drugs, treatment and housing.

In addition to seeking a vaccination and a cure for AIDS, the report establishes the goal of ensuring "that all people living with HIV have access to services . . . that are affordable."

Although AIDS activists assert that providing intravenous drug users with clean syringes reduces AIDS transmission, the report remains neutral on the question of whether federal funds should be used in needle-exchange programs.

Congressional Republicans are skeptical about such programs, despite promising results in some cities.

The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing a report, due in February, on whether needle-exchange programs are effective in reducing AIDS infection without increasing drug addiction.

The White House, sensitive to GOP charges that it is soft on drugs, refrained from taking a position.

"To inject ourselves into the middle of that process would have been inappropriate," said a White House official involved in drafting the AIDS strategy.

In the report, the administration takes credit for speeding up government approval of several anti-viral drugs known as protease inhibitors, which have been strengthened the immune systems of some AIDS patients.

But a final determination about whether the expensive drugs, taken in combination, might lead to a cure is awaiting lengthy clinical trials.

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