For Immediate Release:
February 6, 1997
President Clinton today released his budget request for 1998 , including a request for $3.3 billion for AIDS programs within the Public Health Service, an increase of three percent over comparable 1997 funding.
The Clinton Administration is to be commended for its commitment to responding to the HIV epidemic over the last four years. Fortunately, our investments in biomedical research have resulted in dramatic advances in medical treatment in the last year. New combination therapies bring the hope of improved health and higher quality of life for many people with HIV disease.
The President's budget requests modest increases in spending for AIDS research, prevention, treatment and housing programs. The funding request for AIDS research at the national Institutes of Health (NIH) is $1.54 billion, an increase of $39 million over comparable 1997 funding. The request for HIV prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is $673 million, an increase of $17 million over comparable 1997 funding. The request for Ryan White programs is $1.036 billion, an increase of $40 million over comparable 1997 funding.
Given the drastic reductions in spending proposed for many other federal programs, this budget speaks to the relative priority the Administration has placed on responding to AIDS. Unfortunately, however, the budget request does not meet the demand to provide new treatments to all Americans who would benefit from them. These new drugs are very expensive and beyond the financial ability of many people with HIV disease.
By March, the Public Health Service will have completed guidelines for standards of care for people with HIV. I urge the President to revise his budget request to assure that these standards of care are available to all Americans with HIV disease. Specifically, the President should submit to Congress an emergency supplemental budget request for the remainder of this year sufficient to fund these new treatment opportunities for all Americans who wold benefit from them despite ability to pay. In addition, he should amend his 1998 budget request to more adequately address the moral imperative to provide these new treatments.
As a Member of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, I will work for increased funding for these new treatments.