Washington, D.C. -- "Congress continues to dangerously shortchange domestic HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and prevention programs," declared Dr. Gene Copello, Executive Director of The AIDS Institute as Congress today announced its final funding levels for next year's domestic health programs.

This marks yet another year that most Ryan White CARE Act programs received absolutely no increase, and the smallest increase ever ($10 million) for the struggling AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). It also marks the fourth year in a row that CDC's HIV Prevention programs were cut.

"With people living longer thanks to antiretroviral drug treatment, combined with 40,000 new infections each year, without funding increases, we are going to see more and more low-income people across the country, particularly in minority communities, being denied life-saving healthcare and drug treatment," commented Marylin Merida, Board President of The AIDS Institute.

"We are never going to reduce the number of new infections if we don't commit to investing an adequate level of resources for prevention," said noted prevention leader Dr. David Holtgrave, who also serves on The AIDS Institute Board. "Forty thousand new infections each and every year is unacceptable. Instead of cutting dollars, we should be increasing them. Obviously, we won't be making much new progress in the fight against AIDS in the United States with these additional cuts."

The domestic funding situation, as bad as it is now, is expected to get even worse if Congress approves multi-billion dollar Medicaid savings that are being proposed by the House, and across the board rescissions, which are expected to be at least 1 percent.

"This Congress, through its budget and appropriation decisions, has demonstrated that taking care of the growing healthcare needs of poor people living with HIV/AIDS is not a priority," said Dr. Copello. "We urge the Congress not to make matters worse in the remaining days of this session of Congress and reject the House's Medicaid cuts and any across the board funding rescissions. Next year, we will continue our plea, and hopefully, the Congress will demonstrate its commitment to people with HIV/AIDS in our own country."

For more information and to become involved in AIDS advocacy work, please contact The AIDS Institute at: (813) 974-2598, or by e-mail at: Info@theaidsinstitute.org.