House Names Ryan White Care Act Conferees
President Vetoes Budget Reconciliation

Ryan White Conferees Named:

Today, the Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization finally moved into the conference phase where differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill will be reconciled. House conferees named today are: Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) 202-225-5755; Thomas Bliley (R-VA) 202-225-2815; Tom Coburn (R-OK) 202-225-2701; Gerry Studds (D-MA)202-225-3111; and Henry Waxman (D-CA) 202-225-3976. As previously reported, the Senate Conferees are Christopher Dodd (D-CT) 202-224-2823; Bill Frist (R-TN) 202-224-3344; Jim Jeffords (D-VT) 202-224-5141; Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) 202-224-4774; and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) 202-224-4543. E-mail addresses for your Representatives and Senators can be found posted in HandsNet at Resources/Congressional Contacts.

The good news is that Congress may complete the reauthorization process before the end of the year. The bad news is that there are still contentious issues to be worked out, most notably the Coburn-Waxman amendment in the House which intends to mandate HIV testing of pregnant women and infants, and the Helms "No Promo Homo" amendment which would prohibit funds from being used for programs which "promote" homosexuality or intravenous drug use. AIDS Action is opposed to both the Coburn and Helms amendments. All conferees need to hear from you and the people you serve. Please call each conferee and let them know where you stand.

President Clinton Vetoes Budget Reconciliation:

The president vetoed yesterday the latest Republican leadership's version of the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1995. President Clinton affixed his veto on live television and addressed the American people stating, "Today I am vetoing the biggest Medicare and Medicaid cuts in history, deep cuts in education, a rollback in environmental protection and a tax increase on working families."

The president is scheduled to release his budget proposal today, which maintains the entitlement status of Medicaid and reduces projected spending by $54 billion compared to the GOP leadership's plan to cut $163 billion from Medicaid over the next seven years. While AIDS Action approves of the presidential veto, we have not seen any details of the president's budget and at this time do not know where the other cuts may appear to offset the lower cuts in Medicaid and Medicare. AIDS Action remains concerned that other essential programs may suffer as a result of the president's budget proposal. We will report the pertinent details of the president's budget as soon as we have completed an analysis of his proposal.

VA/HUD Passes House:

The VA/HUD appropriations conference report was passed by the House today. It is unclear when the bill will come up for a vote in the Senate.

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E-Mail: aidsaction@aidsaction.org

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12/8/95--HandsNet Public Forums--HN3384