WASHINGTON, DC—Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) issued the following statement on the passage Wednesday of S. 1793, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. The legislation increases funding for the treatment program and extends it for four years. The program assists about 500,000 mostly low-income and uninsured patients with AIDS/HIV annually, according to the Government Accountability Office.

“I strongly support the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act,” said Woolsey. “This legislation provides important funding for life-saving medical and support services that individuals with HIV/AIDS depend upon. With this reauthorization, we are ensuring that several of the Transitional Grant Areas that were slated to lose access to these grants will continue to receive funding. One of these TGA’s is in my district in Santa Rosa. This important change will ensure that Santa Rosa will continue to provide a continuity of care to patients with HIV/AIDS.”

The act is named after an Indiana teenager with hemophilia who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. It has already passed the Senate and now goes to the president’s desk for his signature.