FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Christina Adeleke, cadeleke@aidsunited.org; communications@aidsunited.org
AIDS United CEO-Elect Carl Baloney, Jr. Joins Senate Democrats for Pride 2025 Strategy Meeting
Washington, D.C., June 11, 2025 — Carl Baloney, Jr., CEO-elect of AIDS United, joined Democratic U.S. Senators and national LGBTQ+ leaders in the U.S. Capitol this morning for a high-level Pride Month strategy meeting hosted by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. The convening brought together more than a dozen senators and four leading LGBTQ+ organizations to address the escalating attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare access, and civil liberties—particularly those impacting people living with and vulnerable to HIV. This year’s dialogue focused heavily on the urgent need to resist the erosion of access, funding, and protections under the Trump Administration
In his remarks, Baloney underscored that HIV remains a public health and social justice crisis in the United States, especially among Black and Latinx communities, gay and bisexual men, trans women, people who inject drugs, and people living in the South. He warned that recent actions by the Trump Administration—including proposed budget cuts and administrative rollbacks—threaten to dismantle decades of bipartisan progress in HIV prevention, care, and research.
“For many, HIV feels like ancient history. But I’m here to tell you: it is still a crisis—particularly with what’s under consideration by this Congress,” Baloney stated. “We are watching the infrastructure of HIV prevention and care be deliberately dismantled. That’s not just a delay—it’s a deadly setback.”
Baloney detailed several critical threats, including:
- Proposed elimination of key parts of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
- Zeroing out HOPWA, the only federal housing program dedicated to people living with HIV
- Drastic cuts to Medicaid, which serves 40% of adults living with HIV
- Suspension of CDC HIV prevention grants, resulting in stop-work orders, staff layoffs, and service interruptions
- Major workforce reductions at CDC, including the elimination of half of the Division of HIV Prevention’s branches
- NIH funding cuts that jeopardize HIV cure research and next-generation tools like long-acting PrEP
He also addressed the rollback of U.S. leadership on the global HIV response, such as programs like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that are being significantly reduced under the false claim that “no one has died” from these decisions.
“Ending the HIV epidemic is not a standalone goal,” Baloney said. “It is part of the broader fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, for racial justice, and for a future where health is not determined by your ZIP code, your skin color, or who you love.”
The Pride Month meeting reflects AIDS United’s ongoing commitment to ensuring HIV remains central in national conversations about LGBTQ+ rights and health equity.
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About AIDS United – AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant-making, capacity-building, and policy/advocacy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV-related policy for populations and communities most impacted by the U.S. epidemic. As of January 2021, our strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $118 million to local communities, and we have leveraged more than $184 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to, syringe access, access to care, capacity-building, HIV prevention, and advocacy. Learn more at www.aidsunited.org.
