Update On FY '96 Funding For AIDS Programs, Ultimate Decisions On Ryan White, HOPWA Still In Limbo

Urgent: Meet with Your Members During Recess

Over the weekend, President Clinton submitted a seven-year balanced budget using Congressional Budget Office (CBO) numbers, thereby triggering the provisions of yet another "continuing resolution" (CR) passed by the House and Senate on Friday.

As we reported earlier, previous CRs provided funding for a number of programs -- including NIH and most CDC programs -- until Sept. 30, 1996. Under this latest CR, all remaining federal programs -- including Ryan White and HOPWA -- are funded until January 26th. These programs will be funded at FY '95, House or Senate levels -- whichever is lower -- until January 26th. Programs which were eliminated by either the House or the Senate -- including the AIDS Education & Training Centers -- will be funded at 75 percent of the FY '95 level.

Congress has now recessed until January 23rd. Meanwhile, budget talks between the Administration and the Congressional Republican leadership have been put on hold as of yesterday (January 9th), and are not expected to resume until Wednesday, January 17th at the earliest.

While all federal AIDS programs are now funded under some Continuing Resolution (see 1/7/96 Alert), the fate of FY '96 funding beyond January 26th for Ryan White, HOPWA and other homeless assistance programs, and the AIDS Education & Training Centers, still hangs in the balance. If Congress does not return until Jan. 23rd, that leaves only 3 days to take action before funding for these programs is frozen once again.

The picture looks even grimmer for FY '97 funding and beyond. All of the balanced budget proposals on the table, including President Clinton's, call for deep cuts in domestic discretionary spending over the next seven years. Yesterday, the President said his latest budget proposes such deep cuts in domestic discretionary spending that across-the-board cuts would be required in all programs, including his "investment" programs. The President said "steep cuts" would be needed in programs in order to preserve funding for his "priority" programs -- namely education and the environment.

As long as the Administration and Congress continue to seek a balanced budget agreement that cuts taxes and holds defense spending harmless, the chances of maintaining even flat-funding for domestic discretionary programs, including critical AIDS programs at HRSA, HUD, NIH and CDC, grow dimmer and dimmer. Budget negotiators still appear to be stalemated on Medicaid. Overall funding levels for Medicaid are not the only issue: while the Republican leadership has reduced significantly the overall amount of their proposed cuts in Medicaid funding, they continue to insist on block granting the program.

Stay Tuned For Further Details

For more information, contact:
AIDS Action Council
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW #700
Washington DC 20009
202-986-1300 x 3042
202-986-1345 (fax)
202-332-9614 (tty)
E-Mail: aidsaction@aidsaction.org