Source: www.napwa.org
This has been an especially good week in the Democratic-controlled Congress for people with AIDS. Last week, both the United States House of Representatives (355-59) and the Senate (69-30) voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R.6331), which ensures access to much needed life-saving antiretroviral drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS who are also Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Long-standing leader on healthcare matters Senator Edward Kennedy, currently recovering from treatment for a tumor in his brain, made the trip from his Cape Cod home to Washington D.C. in a heroic effort to urge the votes needed to pass the bill. Though the White House later threatened the bill with a veto, the House responded by increasing their affirmative vote (383-41) as well as the Senate (70-26) to override the veto and enact the bill into law on Tuesday of this week.
The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) offers special recognition to the Senate which on Wednesday accomplished commendable bi-partisan passage of the Lantos/Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act (S.2731), which reauthorizes the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This bill not only triples funding to fight AIDS worldwide, but also serves as a model toward the development of a national AIDS strategy. PEPFAR is our best hope to remove the statute that restricts HIV-positive non-U.S. citizens from entry and immigration to the United States, and moves us another step toward eradicating HIV-related stigma experienced by people living with or perceived to have the disease. “With this vote, the U.S. Senate demonstrates its ability to change the course of how it responds to its treatment of people with AIDS,” Frank Oldham Jr, NAPWA President & CEO acknowledges. Additionally, the legislation will respond to prevention, care, and treatment needs of men who have sex with men (MSM) who are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and removes the PEPFAR spending requirement for “abstinence-only-until-
Over the past few months, many in the AIDS community have demanded more from our country’s legislators. With a short amount of time left on the legislative calendar, Congressional representatives are proving that they can listen to their constituents living with and concerned about AIDS by responding with action. People living with HIV/AIDS and those in their social and professional networks from across the country joined NAPWA and the Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP) at AIDSWatch this year, April 28 - 30, to demand reprioritization of the response to the American AIDS crisis. NAPWA and TAEP coordinate AIDSWatch each year to educate Congress on the most pertinent regional and national concerns from the AIDS community. Rising healthcare costs, an economic downturn, and static HIV infections of 40,000 at minimum each year brought out dissatisfaction of an absent response to the AIDS epidemic in America. The progressive outcomes from our friends on Capitol Hill demand that we fulfill our responsibility to double our efforts on the ground and continue to expand access to prevention, care, treatment, and support services to those in need. NAPWA offers its appreciation and recognition of the 110th Congress’ leadership to once again effectively manage the AIDS epidemic in our country as well as abroad.
NAPWA advocates for access to care and treatment, encourages awareness and education about HIV/AIDS, and mobilizes diverse communities through training and capacity building. NAPWA amplifies the voices of the greater than one million persons living with HIV and AIDS in the United States to inform administration of HIV/AIDS programs, allocation of resources, and applicable legislation.
