National Commission on AIDS: Annual Report to the President and Congress

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME
1730 K Street, N.W., Suite 815
Washington, D.C. 20006
[phone] [FAX] 254-3060

CHAIRMAN
June E. Osborn, M.D.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 1989

Contact: Thomas Brandt
[phone]

MEMBERS
Diane Ahrens
Scott Allen

STATEMENT ON THE FY '90 APPROPRIATIONS

Hon. Dick Cheney
Harlon L. Dalton, Esq.
Hon. Edward J. Derwinski
Eunice Diaz, M.S., M.P.H.
Donald S. Goldman, Esq.

Don C. DesJarlais, Ph. D.
Larry Kessler
Charles Konigsberg, M.D., M.P.H.
Belinda Mason
David E. Rogers, M.D.
Hon. J. Roy Rowland, M.D.
Hon. Louis W. Sullivan, M.D.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Maureen Byrnes

We, the Members of the National Commission on Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), strongly support the increase in AIDS funding
endorsed by both Houses of Congress and the Administration. While we
believe that much work remains to secure adequate funding for the national
battle against AIDS, we also recognize the fiscal challenges facing the
Congress.
We are particularly pleased that the Senate Committee on Appropriations has
increased the total AIDS budget to accommodate humane and cost-effective
programs designed to meet the burgeoning care needs resulting from the HIV
epidemic. The Congress made clear the priority it places on the health care
needs to provide access to lifesaving medical treatment to those who face
poverty and death is not only a compassionate response to the crisis but a
sound public health strategy for bringing the epidemic under control. The
most compelling incentive for individuals to step forward for HIV counseling
and testing is the availability of effective treatment and appropriate medical
care.
The Commission is most invigorated by the task of advising both the
Administration and the Congress. It is a responsibility that we accept with
great determination. Given the gravity of the HIV epidemic, we are
fortunate to have an abundance of sound data on which to base our public
health policy decisions. With this in mind, we urge the Congress to be
deliberative in its policy-making processes and to resist fragmented
approaches to public policy via amendments to the FY '90 Appropriations
bill.
The National Commission on AIDS stands ready to review and comment on
proposals under consideration by the Congress for addressing the challenges
presented by the HIV epidemic.

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