Reducing our Debt; Continuing the Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Last Friday, I joined Asian American Pacific Islander community leaders at the International Hotel in San Francisco for a roundtable to discuss budget priorities in San Francisco and the devastating potential impact of the Republican budget that ends Medicare.
Nearly one million AAPIs receive Medicare benefits and, like millions of Americans, would suffer under the Republican plan to end Medicare. Democrats will continue to fight against any effort to cut benefits or roll back this pillar of support for America’s seniors.
Reducing our National Debt
Members of the House, Senate and the Obama Administration have been engaged for weeks in bipartisan debt reduction discussions, including the need to raise the debt ceiling. As a mother and as a grandmother, I have no intention of passing any debt onto future generations.
Democrats are committed to responsibly reducing our nation’s debt, but an increase in the debt ceiling is required to prevent default on our obligations. Raising the debt ceiling is an essential step to securing our financial stability. It is time for this Congress to get serious about debt reduction and the future financial security of our nation.
30th Anniversary of the First Diagnosis of AIDS
This Sunday marks a solemn anniversary for those living with AIDS, for the families and friends of those who passed away from this disease, and for the Americans and people worldwide still struggling to find a cure.
Yet, despite the pain of these last three decades, there remain glimmers of hope. Across the globe, treatment access has improved, and new infections and AIDS deaths are on the decline. In the past five years, Congress expanded investments in HIV/AIDS care, lifted the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange, and reauthorized the Ryan White Act. In passing health insurance reform, we increased access to Medicaid for people with HIV, strengthened the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, and ended discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
In my first speech on the House floor in 1987, I told my colleagues that I came to Congress to fight AIDS – because San Francisco had known the anguish caused by HIV/AIDS from the start. On this anniversary, we must work toward a day when we mark not the first diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, but celebrate the end of this pandemic.
You're Invited!
Congress on Your Corner
In the coming weeks, my San Francisco office will be conducting “Congress on Your Corner” office hours at San Francisco Public Library branches. My staff will be available to offer assistance in resolving issues with federal agencies and problems obtaining Social Security/SSI, Medicare student loans, veterans and other federal benefits, and to address questions and concerns about federal agencies and programs.
4-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Excelsior Branch
4400 Mission Street (at Cotter)
(415) 355-2868
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4-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Main Library
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
1st Floor, Stong Room
(415) 557-4277
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2-5 p.m. Friday, July 8, 2011
Glen Park Branch
2825 Diamond Street (near Bosworth)
(415) 355-2858
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Please feel free to forward this information to your family and friends. To learn more about these efforts, to express your views, or to sign up for email updates, please visit my website. I am also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi.