Senate on Record with Funding Levels for AIDS Programs

The Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee and the full House Appropriations Committee voted on FY '98 bills on Tuesday that provide funding for AIDS research, care, training, and prevention. A chart is attached comparing House and Senate Action. While no changes were made by the full House Appropriations committee to AIDS funding levels, Senate allocations for FY '98 funding vary drastically. Most apparent is the $30 million increase for Prevention and the minimal $50 million increase for ADAP given by the Senate. Additionally, the distribution of increases provided to the Titles of the Ryan White CARE Act dramatically differs as well.

Fortunately, there were no negative or hostile amendments offered during either of the committee votes. We are cautious, however, that amendments attacking needle exchange or attempting to transfer HIV prevention funding to other disease accounts might surface during full Senate and House considerations of the these bills.

Next Steps

The House FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill now goes before the full House for consideration and final passage. This may occur next week but has yet to be placed on the House schedule. The full Senate Appropriation Committee will consider the Senate bill today, July 24th. We do not expect the full Senate Appropriations committee to make any changes to AIDS funding levels approved by the subcommittee. The full Senate may consider the bill next week, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Once both the full House and Senate have passed their versions of the Labor/HHS Appropriations bill, a joint House-Senate conference committee will meet to settle the differences between the bills and produce a final bill - referred to as a conference report. It is at this time that we will have an opportunity to successfully garner increases for all AIDS programs. A list of the potential conference committee members is provided below.

Contact your Members of Congress over the August Recess

Congress will be on recess for the entire month of August. Representatives and Senators will be in their home districts/states offering an excellent opportunity for you to tell them to fund AIDS programs at the highest level possible. If your congressional members are on the list below, it is especially important that you contact them. They will be making the final decisions on the funding levels. If your Member of Congress is not on the committee, ask them to communicate their support for funding AIDS programs at the highest level possible to the Chair and Ranking Member of the conference committee.

AIDS Action:

For House and Senate consideration of their Labor/HHS bills in the following weeks:

• Call/fax your Representatives in the House and urge them to support the funding increases provided in the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill when the bill is considered by the full House.
• Call/fax your Senators and urge them to support the funding increases provided in the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill when the bill is considered by the full Senate.

Over the August Recess:

• Meet with/Call your Senators and Representatives and urge them to support the highest funding level possible for all AIDS programs in the conference committee report on the FY '98 Labor/HHS Appropriations bill. If your Representative or Senator is on the list below, it is critical that you contact them. If they are not on the list, urge them to communicate their support to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the conference committee.

Potential conference committee roster:

House Full Appropriations Committee:
Robert Livingston, Chairman/225-3015
David Obey, Ranking member/225-3365

Labor/HHS subcommittee:
John Porter (R-IL), Chairman/225-4835
David Obey (D-WI), Ranking member225-3365
Bill Young (R-FL)/225-5961
Louis Stokes (D-OH)/225-7032
Henry Bonilla (R-TX)225-4511
Steny Hoyer (D-MD)/225-4131
Ernest Istook (R-OK)/225-2132
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)/225-4965
Dan Miller (R-FL)/225-5015
Nita Lowey (D-NY)/225-6506
Jay Dickey (R-AR)/225-3772
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)/225-3661
Roger Wicker (R-MS)/225-4306
Anne Northrup (R-KY)/225-5401

Senate Full Appropriations Committee:
Ted Stevens (R-AK), Chairman/224-3004
Robert Byrd (D-WV), Ranking member/224-3954

Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee:
Arlen Specter (R-PA) Chairman/224-4254
Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking member/224-3254
Thad Cochran (R-MS)/224-5054
Ernest Hollings (D-SC)/224-6121
Slade Gorton (R-WA)/224-3441
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)/224-3934
Christopher Bond (R-MO)/224-5721
Dale Bumpers/224-4843
Judd Gregg (R-NH)/224-2752
Harry Reid (D-NV)/224-3542
Lauch Faircloth (R-NC)/224-3154
Herb Kohl (D-WI)/224-5653
Larry Craig (R-ID)/224-2752
Patty Murray (D-WA)/224-2621
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)/224-5922

Messages / Talking Points:

• Now is not the time to retreat from our battle against the epidemic. We are just beginning to see real hope in improving the quality and length of life of people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Funding increases are needed for all AIDS programs (see funding chart.) Successfully attacking the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our nation requires a commitment to a full-scale approach which includes funding for prevention, research, housing and care, including the AIDS Drug Assistance program.
• The medical care, enabling social services, and health care professional training provided through the Ryan White CARE Act are critical to ensuring the success of any new drug therapies. It is inappropriate to pit funding for drugs against funding for care.
• Absent a vaccine, our only hope of halting HIV transmission is through comprehensive, community-based, targeted HIV prevention programs funded by CDC.
• Although a cure for AIDS still eludes us, federal AIDS research has to the development of powerful new treatments for HIV and has made significant contributions to other biomedical research.

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FY 1998 Appropriations Levels for Federal AIDS Programs as of July 23, 1997 (increases or decreases from the FY 97 numbers are in parentheses)

CDC-Prevention
FY 97 Actuals --$617m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$634m (+17m)
FY 98 Need (1)--$829m(+212m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$622m (+5m)(.8%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)$646.8m (+30m)(4.8%)

HRSA-Ryan White CARE Act:
Total
FY 97 Actuals -- $996.3m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$1,036.3m (+40m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$1,390.2m (+393.9m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$1,168.3m(+172m) (17.3%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$1,077m (+81m)(7.5%)
Title I
FY 97 Actuals -- $449.9m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$454.9m (+5m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$546m (+96.1m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$471.6m(+21.7m) (4.8%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$457.9m (+8m)(1.7%)
Title II -- Care Services
FY 97 Actuals -- $250m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$265m(+15m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$340m (+90m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$262m(+12m) (4.8%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$253m (+3m)(1.2%)
Title II -- ADAP
FY 97 Actuals $167m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$167m(+0)
FY 98 Need(1)--$297.6m (+130.6m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$299m(+132m) (79%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$217m (+50m)(23%)
Title IIIb
FY 97 Actuals -- $69.6m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$84.6m(+15m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$113.6m (+44m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$73m(+3.4m) (4.9%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$79.5m (+10m)(12.6%)
Title IV
FY 97 Actuals -- $36m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$40m(+4m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$61m (+25m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$37.7m(+1.7m) (4.7%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$45m (+9m)(20%)
Title V -- AETCs
FY 97 Actuals -- $16.3m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$17.3m (+1m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$23m (+6.7m)
FY 98 House Action (2)-- $17.1m (+.8m) (4.9%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)-- $17.3m (+1m) (5.8%)
Title V - Dental Reimbursement
FY 97 Actuals -- $7.5m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$7.5m(+0)
FY 98 Need(1)--$9m (+1.5m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$7.9m(+.4m) (5.3%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$7.5m (+0)

NIH-Research
FY 97 Actuals -- $1,501.7m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$1,541.7m(+40m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$1,636.2m (+134.5m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$1,574.7m(+73m) (4.8%)

HUD-HOPWA
FY 97 Actuals -- $196m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$204m(+8m)
FY 98 Need(1)--$250m (+54m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$204m (4)(+8m)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$204m(+8m)

SAMHSA -- Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment Blockgrant
FY 97 Actuals -- $1,360.1m
FY 98 President's Budget Request 2/6/97 --$1,370m(+10m)
FY 98 Need (1)--$1,500m (+140m)
FY 98 House Action (2)--$1,373m(+13m) (1%)
FY 98 Senate Action (3)--$1,360.1m (+0)

(1) Need figures are supported by the NORA Coalition and represent the resources needed to respond to growing case loads, unmet needs and unfunded research opportunities.

(2) The House Labor - HHS Subcommittee mark-up was completed July 15, 1997. The Full Committee mark-up was completed July 22, 1997.

(3) The Senate Labor/HHS Subcommittee mark-up was completed July 22, 1997. The Full Committee mark-up is scheduled for July 24, 1997.

(4) Funding for VA/HUD programs HR. 2158, which passed the House on July 16, 1997. The Senate VA/HUD bill is pending.

AIDS Action Council
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202/986-1300
fax 986-1345
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