With five months left in FY '96, Congress will complete and the president will sign into law, the FY '96 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3019) tonight. This bill will put into law a number of major victories that in some cases, we have been battling for over a year.

Dornan Repeal

H.R. 3019 contains language that repeals Rep. Robert Dornan's (R-CA) military HIV ban that would have resulted in the discharge of 1,049 HIV+ members of the U.S. Armed Services.

Ryan White CARE Act

The CARE Act received an increase of $105.5 million over FY '95. This increase includes $52.5 million for the 4 Titles (of which an additional $30 million in funds that were added during final negotiations at the insistence of AIDS advocates and the president) and $52.0 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) under Title II.

AIDS Education & Training Center's (AETC's)

The AETC's were saved this year from complete elimination. For FY '96, the AETC's are funded at $12 million. Although this is a $4.3 million cut from the FY '96 level of $16.3 million, it still represents a tremendous victory given the initial elimination of this program by the House last July.

Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA)

Unfortunately HOPWA was flat funded at $171 million. However, the fight continues (see AIDS Action HOPWA Alert, 4/25/96).

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