Pelosi Statement on Senate Amendment to Cut HIV/AIDS Funding for San Francisco and Other Areas

Statement

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement in response to today's Senate vote in support of an amendment to the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill that reinstates severe, destabilizing HIV/AIDS funding cuts in 11 jurisdictions, including San Francisco:

"Although San Francisco developed the model of community-based care that served as the basis for the original Ryan White CARE Act, our City's needs are still severe. AIDS continues to be the City's second leading cause of premature death and nearly 23,000 San Franciscans are currently living with HIV/AIDS - more than at any point in the history of the epidemic.

"I will work with the Appropriations Committee to maintain this critical protection in conference. Given that Senator Enzi misrepresented the impact of the House stop-loss provision - it will not take away funding away from other areas - I urge Senators who voted in favor of the amendment to reconsider their vote and instead support removing the Enzi amendment in conference."

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