New York Congressional Delegation Calls for End to Restrictions on Housing Assistance for People With AIDS

Press Release

House and Senate Members Urge HHS Secretary Leavitt to Prevent Implementation of Arbitrary Cap

Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer along with Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) and Vito J. Fossella (R-NY-13) today joined together to call for the preservation of critically needed housing assistance for people living with HIV and AIDS. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, the members of the New York Congressional Delegation along with several others urged the Secretary to suspend implementation of a federal regulation that would impose a limit on lifetime housing assistance.

"Evidence shows that reducing homelessness among people living with HIV and AIDS improves their health outcomes, yet many Americans living with HIV are either homeless or at increased risk of homelessness. Placing arbitrary caps on housing assistance is a misguided policy that would serve to jeopardize the care of far too many New Yorkers. We should be working to improve health care for Americans living with HIV, not taking away the vital services upon which they rely," Senator Clinton said.

"New York remains the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS crisis in this country, and without sufficient support systems for those living in poverty with the disease, their chances of homelessness and a shorter life span increase dramatically. Placing an arbitrary cap on housing assistance for these extraordinarily vulnerable individuals is both cruel and senseless, and I urge Secretary Leavitt to reconsider," Senator Schumer said.

"The Ryan White CARE Act program has traditionally been the payer of last resort for services benefiting the most vulnerable individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The arbitrary cap proposed by HRSA on Ryan White housing assistance will shut the door on individuals' ability to maintain or improve their health status if they do not have access to stable housing," said Representative Engel.

Fossella said, "This arbitrary cap has the potential to exacerbate homelessness and negatively impact health outcomes for people living with AIDS. It is counterproductive to dedicate millions of dollars to help people with AIDS and then take away one of the key resources that is allowing them to live a better life," said Representative Fossella.