AIDS
activists
are
calling
on
Congress
to
renew
the
federal
Ryan
White
CARE
Act
that
provides
funding
for
services
and
programs
for
those
with
HIV
and
AIDS.
The
act,
originally
passed
by
Congress
in
1990,
expired
Sept.
30.
Funding
for
the
act
is
continuing
to
be
appropriated
and
a
draft
bill
may
come
as
soon
as
next
month,
according
to
Carl
Schmid,
director
of
federal
affairs
for
the
AIDS
Institute,
a
national
public
policy
organization.
Congressional
leaders
currently
working
on
the
draft
bill
are
Sens.
Michael
Enzi
(R-Wyo.)
and
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.)
and
Reps.
Joe
Barton
(R-Texas)
and
John
Dingle
(D-Mich.),
Schmid
said.
“We
heard
today
there
may
be
something
by
the
end
of
November.
We
are
very
pleased
this
is
a
bipartisan
effort
and
to
see
the
parties
working
together,”
Schmid
said
Wednesday.
Renewal
of
the
Ryan
White
CARE
Act,
named
for
the
13-year-old
Indiana
boy
who
put
a
face
on
the
disease,
has
always
been
a
bipartisan
effort,
Schmid
noted.
“Everyone’s
committed
to
reauthorizing
it,”
Schmid
said.
“The
administration
definitely
wants
reauthorization
and
wants
to
see
changes.
The
Hill
and
the
community
want
to
see
it
reauthorized.
Unfortunately,
there
have
been
a
lot
of
unforeseen
events
—
such
as
the
Medicaid
bill
and
Hurricane
Katrina
—
that
has
slowed
the
process.”
President
George
W.
Bush
called
for
the
act’s
renewal
in
his
State
of
the
Union
speech
earlier
this
year
and
his
administration
has
put
out
proposals
for
the
act,
including
having
funds
distributed
to
smaller
cities
that
haven’t
received
as
much
funding
in
the
past,
Schmid
noted.
“This
act
must
be
improved
and
modernized
so
we
can
bring
compassionate
care
and
treatment
to
those
Americans
living
with
HIV/AIDS,”
Health
&
Human
Resources
Secretary
Michael
Leavitt
said
in
July.
Jeanne
White-Ginder,
mother
of
Ryan
White
and
a
board
member
of
the
AIDS
Institute,
recently
urged
Congress
to
pass
the
act.
“I
only
wish
when
Ryan
was
alive
these
drugs
were
available,”
she
said
in
a
Sept.
29
statement.
“Today,
I
see
people
being
kept
alive
and
able
to
live
healthy
and
productive,
longer
lives
—
but
only
when
they
are
able
to
receive
their
medications
and
access
medical
care.”
Jeff
Graham,
policy
director
at
AIDS
Survival
Project,
said
AIDS
service
organizations
are
in
a
“holding
pattern”
right
now.
“We
certainly
hope
Congress
acts
as
swiftly
as
possible,”
he
said.
“We
also
hope
Congress
takes
the
time
to
reflect
on
the
challenges
faced
in
the
HIV
community.”
Proposed
changes
to
the
act,
which
has
been
renewed
every
year
since
it
was
introduced
15
years
ago,
include
more
funding
to
smaller
cities
as
well
as
taking
into
account
the
number
of
HIV
and
AIDS
cases
together
in
states,
rather
than
just
the
number
of
AIDS
cases,
when
allocating
money,
Schmid
said.
Advances
in
treatment
have
helped
people
with
HIV
lead
longer,
more
productive
lives.
These
advances,
combined
with
a
steady
number
of
new
infections
—
about
42,000
a
year
—
have
meant
that
more
people
than
ever
before,
up
to
1.2
million,
are
now
living
with
the
virus,
according
to
AIDS
Action
Council,
an
organization
of
some
100
groups
fighting
HIV
and
AIDS.
The
numbers
show
the
face
of
the
disease
is
changing
and
the
law
should
change
to
reflect
those
changes,
Schmid
said.
Title
I
of
the
Ryan
White
CARE
Act
provides
funding
to
Eligible
Metropolitan
Areas
that
are
most
severely
impacted
by
the
disease.
There
are
51
EMAs
in
the
U.S.
Total
Ryan
White
Title
I
funding
for
2005
reached
$587
million
nationwide,
according
to
the
U.S.
Department
of
Health
&
Human
Services.
Schmid
cited
North
Carolina
—
which
has
several
large
cities,
including
Raleigh
and
Charlotte,
that
don’t
qualify
for
Title
I
funding
—
as
an
example
of
needed
changes
in
the
act.
