Washington, DC – This week, President Obama signed into law a provision authored by Congressman David E. Price (NC-04) and sponsored by Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) that modernizes the outdated formula used to distribute funds for the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program. 

HOPWA provides grants to states, municipalities, and non-profit organizations that offer affordable housing and supportive services for low-income Americans with HIV and AIDS.  The only federal program dedicated to this purpose, HOPWA previously used a funding formula based on the cumulative number of AIDS cases in states and municipalities since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.  As a result, more than 50 percent of the people counted in the HOPWA formula last year were deceased.  The Price provision modernizes the funding formula to count only living cases of HIV and AIDS and incorporates housing cost and poverty factors, ensuring the program can distribute resources equitably to communities where the need for support is most acute, including several jurisdictions in North Carolina.

“I have been advocating for a HOPWA formula change for many years, and I am thrilled that President Obama has signed this common-sense provision into law,” said Congressman Price. “With a modernized formula, we can help ensure that communities bearing the brunt of the current HIV/AIDS epidemic have the resources they need to ensure vulnerable residents battling this disease can lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.”

Rep. Price successfully offered the HOPWA formula modernization provision on the House floor in February as an amendment to H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act.  Last month, the Senate passed H.R. 3700 by unanimous consent and the President subsequently signed the measure into law (P.L. 114-201).  The formula change has been endorsed by national advocacy organizations, including the National AIDS Housing Coalition, AIDS United, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the AIDS Institute.

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