Partnership to End HIV, STDs, and Hepatitis Statement on HHS Funding Vote in House Appropriations Committee

For Immediate Release: May 9, 2019

Contact: Kyle Murphy, (202) 577-3430
kmurphy@aidsunited.org

Washington, DC — The following is a statement from the Partnership to End HIV, STDs, and Hepatitis on the House Appropriations Committee vote on the L-HHS appropriations bill.

“The House Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to invest significantly, not just in the health of our nation, but in a vision for an America free from new HIV diagnoses. The Trump Administration first challenged the nation to end new HIV transmissions by 2030 at this year’s State of the Union, and yesterday the House of Representatives appeared poised to not just meet that challenge but to raise the bar even higher. Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee voted to fund the effort to end the HIV epidemic within a decade at levels requested by the Administration, as well as increase funding to programs that will support that effort, including the Division of Adolescent Sexual Health at the Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention (CDC), the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and programs intended to address HIV in minority populations. In addition, the Committee addressed the important syndemics of STDs and hepatitis, while also voting to prohibit funds from being used to finalize, implement, or enforce the Administration’s rule allowing medical professionals and health workers to deny care based on personal beliefs.

“Additionally, the committee voted to remove restrictions on funding for syringes, a critical step to reducing new HIV and hepatitis C cases stemming from injection drug use. Unfortunately, the committee failed to increase its investment in expanding hepatitis C testing, surveillance, and linkage to care efforts, and fell short of the community’s and administration’s funding request for a program specifically designed to address the infectious disease consequences of the opioid crisis. We hope the Senate will adequately fund these efforts while following the House in investing in a national effort to end the HIV epidemic, including the inseparable syndemics of sexually transmitted diseases, viral hepatitis, and opioid misuse. Our nation is poised to make history and this partnership looks forward to working with the Senate and all of Congress to make sure we invest the resources to successfully end the HIV, STD and hepatitis epidemics.”

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The Partnership to End HIV, STDs and Hepatitis consists of five preeminent national HIV advocacy organizations — AIDS United (AU), NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), NMAC, and The AIDS Institute (TAI) — working to secure the necessary rights, resources, and services for those affected by the HIV, STD and Hepatitis epidemics through sound policies and appropriations at the federal level. The five partners envision a nation fully committed to ending the HIV, STD and Hepatitis epidemics, where all those affected by these diseases have ready access to stigma-free prevention, care and treatment services.

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