Republicans Slash HIV/AIDS Funding in New Appropriations Bill

NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata, one of the nation’s leading HIV/AIDS advocates, condemned the new Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill that cuts tens of billions of dollars from an array of live-saving programs.

“If House Republicans had it their way, there would be another AIDS epidemic in America,” said Kawata. “We need to be clear: these proposed cuts would lead to unnecessary death and suffering. They must be stopped.”

Kawata noted that the proposed cuts would threaten access to an array of life-saving programs, including:

Double-digit cuts to the budgets for the Centers for Disease Control (18%) and Department of Health and Human Services (12%)
$3.8 billion cut from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget
$238 million cut from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the nation’s safety net for HIV care and treatment
$226 million cut from the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP)
$32 million cut from the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund
Eliminates funding for Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S.; Title X; and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
Keeping funding levels flat for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which provides FDA-approved medications to low-income people with HIV

“Republicans are waging an unprecedented assault on the LGBTQ+ community, and this is the latest attack,” Kawata added. “While we are confident that this legislation will be dead on arrival in the Senate, it’s scary that these shameful cuts will see the light of day in any chamber of Congress.”

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NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced our mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous electronic and print materials, and a website: www.nmac.org. NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic.