Washington Blade - March 22, 2002
Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Coburn, who favors abstinence-only messages as the centerpiece of government's AIDS prevention programs, pledged to work closely with all of the council's members, including several openly gay members, in an effort to help the Bush administration wage an effective fight against AIDS.

Coburn was joined by Louis Sullivan, the former secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, whom Bush named as the other co-chair of the Council, known as PACHA.

"I think we saw the leadership of Lou Sullivan and Tom Coburn as being very proactive and not in the least bit obstructionist," said Brent Minor, an openly gay man with AIDS whom President Clinton appointed to PACHA. "That's a very positive sign," Minor said.

Minor was among nine Clinton-appointed members of PACHA that Bush chose to retain.

Among the new members named by Bush are gay Republican activists Charles Francis of D.C. and Abner Mason of Massachusetts.

Several PACHA members suggested recommending to Bush that he increase funds in his 2003 budget for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), increase the U.S. contribution to a global AIDS fund, and endorse a bill pending in Congress that calls for expanding Medicaid coverage to people with HIV. The current Medicaid program only covers people with full-blown AIDS. But, at the suggestion of Coburn and Sullivan, members postponed a decision on recommendations and instead agreed to review all past recommendations by PACHA since the council was formed nearly a decade ago.

Most of the two-day PACHA meeting consisted of briefings by top government officials, including HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and National Institutes of Health official Anthony Faucci, on the current status of the AIDS epidemic. Thompson defended the president's decision to "flat fund" AIDS prevention and treatment programs in the 2003 budget, saying the nation's war on terrorism and the need for a sweeping homeland security program made it difficult to find new funds for most domestic programs. He noted that Bush increased the budget for AIDS research.

Marsha Martin, an HHS official during the Clinton administration who now serves as executive director of AIDS Action, a national advocacy group for people with AIDS, agreed with Minor's optimistic assessment of the meeting. But she cautioned that disagreements are likely to surface among PACHA members, who include conservatives like Coburn, as well as openly gay Republicans, and long-time AIDS advocates such as Mary Fisher.

"This will be a tough council to work with because of such a diverse membership," Martin said.

Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, a national gay GOP group, said the council's diverse membership would be its source of strength. He predicted PACHA would help the president and Congress develop "new, innovative policy approaches" to fighting AIDS.

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