Pelosi: Today, San Francisco Again Leads Way for Compassionate, Community-Based Care for People with HIV/AIDS
Contact: Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
San Francisco – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee released his supplemental budget, which includes $1.8 million for HIV/AIDS services.
“The fight against HIV/AIDS and for those suffering from this terrible disease has been one of my top legislative priorities for nearly 25 years. San Francisco was hit early and hit hard by the devastation of HIV/AIDS. But San Franciscans responded by developing a system of care that became the model for the Ryan White CARE Act. Our city showed the nation that comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and services work, save lives, and save money by keeping people healthy and productive. Today, again San Francisco leads the way for compassionate, community-based care for people with HIV/AIDS with this supplemental budget from Mayor Lee.
“Ryan White-funded initiatives are saving lives. Declines in AIDS deaths are a direct result of the therapies and services that have been made more widely available through the Ryan White Act to large numbers of uninsured and under-insured people living with HIV and AIDS.
“That’s why it was disappointing when the Bush Administration first proposed severe cuts in Ryan White investments to several jurisdictions, including San Francisco, and that’s why I’ve fought continued Republican efforts to sustain these cuts. For several years, I worked successfully in a bipartisan way to roll back these destabilizing cuts and their potentially devastating impacts. Since 2007, we’ve restored nearly $21 million to San Francisco’s systems of care.
“Every step of the way in fighting these cuts, I’ve found a partner in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office. Beginning with Mayor Newsom and continued by Mayor Lee, our city’s leadership has been determined to help local care organizations fill the gap. Today’s announcement by Mayor Lee of $1.8 million in supplemental city funding will result in saved lives. I’d also like to acknowledge Supervisors Scott Wiener and David Campos and members of the San Francisco HIV/AIDS Planning Council for their leadership in this fight.
“Together, we will uphold the spirit of the Ryan White CARE Act — ensuring that HIV/AIDS care, treatment, prevention, and research receive increased funding, and improving and strengthening those investments until HIV/AIDS is a painful chapter in the distant past.”
Background
Carefully negotiated provisions were included in the 2006 Ryan White Care Act reauthorization to protect jurisdictions receiving funding under Title I from severe funding cuts that destabilize existing systems of care people living with HIV/AIDS rely upon for access to medications and primary medical care. Unfortunately, flawed implementation of those protections by the Bush Administration and Senate Republicans’ obstruction of efforts to fix this flaw in the 2009 reauthorization caused severe funding cuts for several urban areas, including San Francisco.
Since 2007, Leader Pelosi has been successful in preventing drastic cuts in Ryan White care and treatment funds for San Francisco – restoring nearly $21 million from cuts to San Francisco’s systems of care that people living with HIV/AIDS rely upon for access to medications and primary medical care.
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