Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006
Eshoo Statement on Ryan White Reauthorization
Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, issued the following statement in the Congressional Record regarding consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives of H.R. 6143, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment and Modernization Act of 2006.
"Mr. Speaker, when Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act
in 1990, we sent hope to millions of Americans who were living under a
death sentence that came with a diagnosis of HIV or AIDS. In large part
because of Ryan White, outcomes have dramatically improved.
"This bill fails to uphold the hopeful tradition of the original
legislation because it creates a system of winners and losers in the
allocation of federal resources. This major reauthorization of our
federal HIV/AIDS policy is also being considered under suspension of
the rules, prohibiting Members from offering amendments to address the
serious deficiencies in the bill.
"Last week in committee, I offered an amendment with several of my colleagues from
the California, New York and New Jersey delegations to increase the
overall authorization levels in the bill, which would help address the
needs of communities more recently affected by the epidemic. Our
amendment also extended the hold harmless provisions of the bill by two
years to ensure that the historic epicenters of the disease do not
experience precipitous declines in funding levels from year to year.
Our amendment was defeated by a single vote.
"Today we can't offer that amendment or any other. Instead, we're left
with a 'take it or leave it' proposal that doesn't adequately respond
to the real needs of people suffering from HIV and AIDS.
Congress has a responsibility to address the imminent crisis facing
emerging communities, but we can't abandon the infrastructure of care
already in place. By eliminating the hold harmless provision after
three years in order to free up funding for emerging communities, some
localities will experience sharp funding declines.
The bill also doesn't allow sufficient time for states to transit from HIV
code-based reporting systems to the more efficient names-based system.
"Although California is making enormous strides to comply, Governor
Schwarzenegger reports that the state will likely miss the 2009
deadline, sustaining a loss of up to $50 million, or 23 percent, of its
total funding in FY2011. Such a loss has the potential to derail the
entire state's HIV/AIDS care system.
"Given my serious concerns about the ability of this bill to preserve
current infrastructure of care while extending assistance to areas of
the country newly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and with no
opportunity to address these concerns with amendments, I reluctantly
oppose this bill."
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