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July 11, 2008
HELMS' HORRID LEGACY
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Helms and Bono |
Although former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms died last week, his hateful HIV/AIDS policies remain. If Helms had merely been all talk—he once said of gay people, "It's their deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct that is responsible for the disease" of AIDS—that would have been bad enough. But Helms' bigotry remains in the form of the U.S. travel and immigration ban for people with HIV/AIDS, and thousands of new infections that could have been prevented by sound sex education.
"His longterm legacy will have to be judged for what it was—he willfully participated in the genocide of millions of people guided by religious fervor," said ACT UP's Eric Sawyer.
The much-loathed HIV immigration and travel ban originated with Helms' 1987 amendment directing the Public Health Service to add HIV to its list of "dangerous contagious diseases." While the Health Service later proposed ending the ban, in 1993, Congress approved a measure that made the HIV immigration and travel ban law. Included in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization that has yet to pass the Senate is the HIV Nondiscrimination in Travel and Immigration Act that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to lift the ban...
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ACTION ALERT: TELL SENATORS TO KEEP PEPFAR MOVING!
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Light up the Senate switchboard for PEPFAR flickr.com/photos/leecullivan/102377512/ |
Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a motion that would circumvent seven obstructionist Senate Republicans and allow the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization (S..2731) to move forward. There will also be an attempt to raise a budget point of order against the bill due to the HIV/AIDS travel ban provision. Sixty votes are needed to overcome this budget point of order, and if that threshold is not met, the bill will fail for this year. The vote could happen as early as today and we need your help to get the 60 votes needed that will move the bill forward!
With lackluster commitments coming out of the G-8 summit this week, it's more important than ever that the U.S. give its fair share in its fight against AIDS, TB and malaria—even if other developed countries aren't.
Please seek your senator's support! Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the senator of your choice. When you speak to a person say, "I would like Sen. ____ to authorize the full $50 billion over five years in the PEPFAR reauthorization bill and resist amendments to take away funding and resist any push to insert further abstinence only provisions."
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ALLIES MOVIN' ON UP IN ALBANY
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Baker: sound voice for people with HIV/AIDS |
Gov. David Paterson announced Tuesday that Dennis Whalen will serve as Interim Director of State Operations and Joe Baker has been promoted to Acting Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services to the Governor.
As director of state operations, all of Paterson's undersecretaries will report to Whalen, and he will be directly responsible for state funding. This is a big deal, said an Albany insider, since next year New York state will likely face pressure to make steep budget cuts like those that just happened in New York City. "Having someone with very deep and very wide experience on HIV/AIDS will be very valuable," the source said.
Whalen has worked behind the scenes since the beginning of New York's response to the AIDS epidemic. Before being appointed to his most recent position, Whalen was Spitzer's Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services. As the governor's go-to guy on health policy, he fought for important issues such as Medicaid reform and SSI invisibility. Whalen previously served in the Department of Health as Executive Deputy Commissioner, Director of the Office of Health Systems Management, and Executive Deputy Director of the AIDS Institute...
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GETTING THE NAHC OF IT
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...to join NAHC! flickr.com/photos/trackrecord/185514449/ |
An ever-growing body of evidence shows that housing is a crucial tool for fighting the AIDS epidemic. And for the past 15 years the National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC) has led the way in gathering this information and educating the public about how housing=healthcare and prevention. The only national organization focusing exclusively on the housing needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS, NAHC works at the federal, state, and local levels to educate and inform advocates, service providers, the business community, and policy makers about the funding priorities that impact housing options for the most vulnerable.
NAHC's leadership on three national AIDS and Housing Research Summits have attracted top researchers from across the globe who have brought together a stellar body of research that empirically demonstrates the correlation between housing, health care, community stability, and cost savings.
Become a NAHC member and help build on what has been started! As a membership-focused organization NAHC maintains a presence in more than half of U.S. states and Canada, and is aiming for full participation from every state and territory. To join the National AIDS Housing Coalition call 202-347-0333 or click on nationalaidshousing.org/join-nahc/...
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JOHN HYSLOP (1945-1993)
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This week's Update is dedicated to the memory of John Hyslop, a renowned archaeologist and loving friend who died of complications from AIDS in 1993.
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