Proposed Changes to CARE Act Could Harm New Jersey's Efforts to Fight HIV/AIDS, Editorial Says

Although the "response of a logical, humane government" to HIV/AIDS should be to "increase funding for prevention and treatment in areas where the disease is now taking root," proposed changes to the Ryan White CARE Act are a "dangerous reaction to the spread of this deadly affliction," a Bergen Record editorial says. HIV/AIDS has "become primarily a disease of blacks and Hispanics," and New Jersey has the fifth-highest number of AIDS cases nationwide, the editorial says. Under the proposed changes, New Jersey could lose up to $16 million in CARE Act funding during the first year the changes are implemented, according to the Record. "Fighting AIDS isn't a partisan issue," the editorial says, adding, "It shouldn't be a turf battle either. But the Bush administration and Congress have kept Ryan White funding flat at least four years. The president and Congress have found enough money for tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy, but they can't find enough funds for the poorest, sickest and most vulnerable Americans" (Bergen Record, 10/12).

Back to other news for October 13, 2006