News

Log Cabin to Clinton: End the Silence on AIDS Drugs

In Letter to President, Gay GOP Asks Clinton to Join Republicans in Effort to Fund AIDS Drug Assistance Program

September 8, 1997

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The leader of the nation's largest gay and lesbian Republican organization wrote to President Clinton to urge him to end his official silence on the future of a crucial AIDS drug program, strongly supported by Republicans in Congress, which expands access to life-saving breakthrough AIDS treatments.

The letter from Richard Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, to the President was written on September 5 and made public today. In it, Tafel urged Clinton to publicly request an additional $132 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) funded through the Ryan White CARE Act, a program which Clinton flat-funded in his 1998 budget, proposing no increases. The $132 million increase has already been passed by the House Appropriations Committee, through the leadership and support of Chairman Bob Livingston (R-LA) and Labor/HHS subcommittee Chairman John Porter (R-IL).

But to the shock and dismay of leading AIDS activists, the White House has refused to support or comment on the increase.

"The President submitted an inadequate budget that in no way reflected the true needs of the community affected by (the) Ryan White (CARE Act)," said Regina Aragon of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in a July 31 article in San Francisco Fronteirs. "It was, quite frankly, an embarrassment."

"In 1992, before a gathering of gay and lesbian activists in California, you said emotionally that you wished you could wave your hand and make HIV disappear," Tafel wrote in his letter to Clinton. "You campaigned in 1996 as a champion for people with AIDS. Yet, as the greatest breakthrough in the AIDS epidemic to date occurred, and the fruits of that breakthrough became available to the public, you have done little or nothing to help save the lives of these thousands of people who desperately need access to these drugs."

The Senate is proceeding with a more modest increase of $50 million for ADAP in its spending bill, while many state-administered ADAPs are being forced into a lottery, or are simply shutting down due to the crushing demand and the limited funds. As the two versions proceed, opponents of AIDS funding have also indicated they may attack the increased funding and call for cutbacks. Earlier this year, the White House confirmed that AIDS programs are off the list of priority programs that Clinton will oppose cutbacks in.

"We have an appropriations bill close to completion, and a specific funding problem with a solution on the table which the leadership is supporting, and the White House has been silent," Tafel wrote in his letter to Clinton. "In fact, some Members of Congress are seeking to attack these AIDS funding increases, and are using your no-increase budget figures on ADAP as justification for their efforts. It is critical for you get involved today, for the sake of so many people with AIDS whose lives hang in the balance, and publicly request the increase immediately."

Copy of Letter to President Clinton

September 5, 1997

The Honorable Bill Clinton
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of Log Cabin Republicans, I am writing to you to urge you in the strongest possible terms to join the effort in support of the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) funded through the Ryan White CARE Act. ADAP has become a lifeline for thousands of people with AIDS, providing them with access to breakthrough drug therapies that can save and extend their lives today. Without those therapies, people with AIDS face an almost certain death. With the new drugs, they have a hope of survival.

With the introduction of these new breakthrough drugs in 1996, demand for them has predictably skyrocketed. Those who are underinsured yet do not qualify for Medicaid rely on ADAP to access these drugs, and the increased demand has strained ADAPs to the breaking point across the nation. The need has outpaced the funding, and Congress has repeatedly provided additional and emergency funding to meet that need. However, your last two budgets sent to Congress have not been helpful in this effort. Your 1997 budget provided too modest an increase in funding, and, to the shock of people with AIDS, your 1998 budget contained no increases at all. Congress moved ahead in both budgets to provide funding well above your figures. The ADAP crisis is serious, Mr. President. Some states have been forced to resort to placing applicants into a lottery, or have simply shut down their programs. In America, at this time, this is intolerable.

In 1992, before a gathering of gay and lesbian activists in California, you said emotionally that you wished you could wave your hand and make HIV disappear. You campaigned in 1996 as a champion for people with AIDS. Yet, as the greatest breakthrough in the AIDS epidemic to date occurred, and the fruits of that breakthrough became available to the public, you have done little or nothing to help save the lives of these thousands of people who desperately need access to these drugs.

Mr. President, it is essential that you publicly call for a $132 million increase in ADAP funding for Fiscal Year 1998. We face a serious problem that you have the potential to help correct. We have an appropriations bill close to completion, and a specific funding problem with a solution on the table which the leadership is supporting, and the White House has been silent. In fact, some Members of Congress are seeking to attack these AIDS funding increases, and are using your no-increase budget figures on ADAP as justification for their efforts. It is critical for you get involved today, for the sake of so many people with AIDS whose lives hang in the balance, and publicly request the increase immediately.

Sincerely,

Richard Tafel
Executive Director