Pressure from conservative politicians and advocacy groups is weakening CDC programs, according to CDC staff members and agency-funded groups. AIDS prevention is one of the major points of contention.

Staff members point to the recent removal from CDC Web sites of AIDS prevention information, while groups receiving AIDS education grants have been hit by audits they believe are intended to have a chilling effect. The CDC's parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has changed the makeup of several key advisory committees on AIDS and STDs, in one case replacing the majority of a panel's membership. While these occurrences may seem minor, some CDC staffers say privately they detect a pattern of political pressure they fear will intensify once Republicans assume control of Congress in January.

The Web pages were removed to be updated with new research from the National Institutes of Health, said Dr. Harold Jaffe, the new director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, adding that at least some of the audits are part of a scheduled review of CDC-funded programs. Advisory committee members have been replaced as their terms ended, said Health and Human Services spokesperson William Pierce.

In November, a committee that advises CDC on HIV prevention was merged with an NIH AIDS committee. Critics say that move dilutes the panel's power.

A December prevention summit in Atlanta has drawn protests from AIDS advocacy organizations because the CDC invited groups that promote abstinence. In scientific studies, abstinence-only programs have not performed as well as safe sex programs. "We have very conservative groups represented and we have very liberal groups represented," Jaffe said. "It is important that we look at what we are doing in HIV prevention, and I think that would be true in either a Democratic or a Republican administration."

In September, 24 Congressional Republicans asked Thompson to audit three nonprofit groups that develop sex education materials. Shortly after, 12 Democratic representatives asked Thompson to provide details of all CDC-related audits and to account for the removal of the Web site materials and the changes in advisory panels.

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