March 21, 2008
BYE-BYE BAN?
 |
Kerry, we salute your bill repealing the HIV immigration ban |
When the House Foreign Service Committee signed off on $50 billion for the reauthorization of The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) on March 13, a happy addition included attaching Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)'s HIV Nondiscrimination in Travel and Immigration Act to the global AIDS legislation. Kerry's provision would repeal the 1993 Congressional provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act banning HIV-positive travelers and immigrants from entering the U.S.
For bureaucratic and political reasons, a reversal of the travel ban wasn't included in the House version of the PEPFAR bill but as the Washington Blade reported, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said she is committed to include it when Congress conferences the bill upon its return April 1.
Some House Dems were hesitant to draw attention to lifting the travel ban out of concern that attention would bring opposition, and asked advocates to keep the provision's introduction hush-hush. "They were worried it would become an 'election year issue,'" said Nathan Schaefer, director of public policy at the Gay Men's Health Crisis. But the tune has changed since the Senate bill has received a warm reception from the public and, more importantly, the White House.
"The President has a strong interest in the passage of PEPFAR as part of his legacy, and it's a symbolic move to put the immigration ban repeal in PEPFAR," said Immigration Equality Legal Director Victoria Neilson. "It's a national embarrassment that we're taking the lead on fighting HIV/AIDS around the world and have an antiquated policy in our own law."
Even if Kerry's provision sails through during the PEPFAR reauthorization—and the chances look pretty good that it will—it would mean that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is allowed to lift the travel and immigration ban, not that it has to do so. HHS instated the ban in 1987, but when HHS reversed its position in 1991 and tried to overturn the ban, Congress stepped in and made it law.
"Everyone's so focused on step one, but HHS is an executive agency, so it takes a wait-and-see attitude right now," Neilson said, noting that the head of HHS is appointed by the president. On World AIDS Day 2006, Bush hinted that there was at least some room for improvement in the HIV/AIDS travel ban, and proposed a "categorical waiver" to allow HIV-positive people to enter the U.S. on a short-term basis (but said nothing about HIV-positive immigrants). Bush's waiver earned near-universal jeers from AIDS advocates during a comment period because of restrictions that it imposed. The Department of Homeland Security hasn't released the final regulation.
According to AIDSVote.org Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton support lifting the ban, and Sen. John McCain's position is unknown.
"We're actively targeting Congressional targets, and our highest hope is that the President will have a bill for his signature in early July," said Schaefer, who is leading GMHC's involvement in the Coalition to Lift the Bar since the departure of Nancy Ordover from GMHC last month. "It's so encouraging that among Congressional leadership there's enough knowledge and background that they're willing to commit to this. It's been years of grassroots efforts and hard work."
Additional PEPFAR notes...
Despite the good news on the ban, the Senate bill gave the shaft to HIV prevention for women and girls, following in the cowardly footsteps of the House. It requires that PEPFAR country coordinators report to Congress if less than 50 percent of funding to prevent sexual transmission of HIV goes toward abstinence and fidelity programs. Organizations receiving U.S. global AIDS funding must also have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking, a policy that, at least among U.S. organizations, is in the courts because of a violation of free speech. Unlike the House bill, that only allows groups that meet the requirements of the Mexico City Policy to receive PEPFAR funds for HIV/AIDS testing, counseling, and education services, the Senate remained silent on the issue of family planning.
For side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate PEFAR bills and the 2003 version click here. To read an in-depth critique of how "the PEPFAR reauthorization legislation is a sell-out" click here.