Steep cuts proposed by House Republicans to federal HIV/AIDS dollars are in addition to reductions that will already happen this year — including a proposal to gut an HIV prevention program former President Donald Trump had once supported.
As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, there'll likely be between $500,000 and $800,000 in cuts from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV prevention dollars to San Francisco this year. Now, the Fiscal Year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which passed the House Appropriations Committee in a 31-25 vote July 10, will cut nationally $214 million from CDC's HIV prevention programs (including the entire budget of End the Epidemic initiative), $190 million from Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and $15 million from the Health and Human Services Secretary's Minority HIV/AIDS Fund.
Ernest Hopkins, senior strategist and adviser of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, stated to the B.A.R. that the cuts proposed are "drastic" — but that they're unlikely to pass the House of Representatives, which has only a two-vote Republican majority.
"The spending bill eliminates Minority AIDS Initiative resources at [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration], the End the Epidemic funds, and makes a deep cut in HIV prevention funds at the CDC," he stated.
"Although the funding levels in this bill are far from final and not likely to pass on the House floor, they represent a dangerous move by the House Republican majority to deprioritize support for people living with HIV, women, and people of reproductive age, people of color, low-income individuals, and the LGBTQ community," Hopkins added. "The upcoming elections will determine who and what is prioritized by the next Congress — our votes matter."
Ironically, it was under the Republican administration of Trump that the End the Epidemic initiative was announced. Trump — who was renominated for the third time as the Republicans' presidential candidate at the party's convention Monday, just two days after surviving an assassination attempt — touted it in his 2020 State of the Union address, stating, "we will eradicate the AIDS epidemic in America by the end of the decade."
And indeed the plan seeks to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. by 90% by 2030 for an estimated 250,000 total HIV infections averted. It has been continued by the Biden administration.
And the program seems to be working, with new HIV diagnoses down nationwide 12% in the last five years, according to federal data (https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/ending-the-hiv-epidemic/overview), including 16% in the South and 30% among young people.
Trump's office didn't immediately return a request for comment.
The bill was introduced by Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee Chairman Congressmember Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama), who stated in a July 10 news release that the cuts are about common sense and fiscal responsibility.
"This bill ensures the continued success of critical programs needed by Americans across the nation, while implementing common sense reforms to the appropriations process by reducing and eliminating many programs with expired authorizations, ultimately saving taxpayer dollars," Aderholt stated.
"With today's approval by the full committee, we are one step closer to delivering on our continued commitment to restoring trust with the American people by laying a foundation for transparency and fiscal responsibility in the appropriations process," he added.
Congressmember Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) agreed in the release.
"We prioritize life-changing value for patients and the health of the nation through research for novel treatments and cures, while also enhancing our medical supply chain and biodefense capabilities," Cole stated. "The well-being of our greatest gift — America's children — is paramount. We invest in the safety of our classrooms, support kids with special needs, and uphold the dignity of unborn children. Essential core resources are maintained while out-of-touch and wasteful programs are rejected."
Aderholt and Cole didn't return requests for additional comment.
Democrats didn't agree, though a news release from the House Democratic Caucus criticizes the GOP for cuts related to education and reproductive health, and mentions the End the Epidemic cuts only once in a bullet point list of Republican proposals.
"With this bill, House Republicans are threatening the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Americans," Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Congressmember Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) stated. "They are kicking 72,000 teachers out of classrooms — furthering their goal of eliminating public education — and decimating job training opportunities.
"While almost all of the 2025 funding bills we have considered this year have included attacks on women's health, this one goes the furthest, blocking access to abortion, reproductive care health care, and contraception," she added.
Carl Schmid, a gay man who is executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Institute, slammed the proposals.
"Instead of providing new investments in ending HIV by increasing funding for testing, prevention programs, such as PrEP, and life-saving care and treatment, House Republicans are again choosing to go through a worthless exercise of cutting programs that the American people depend on and will never pass," he stated.
Republicans had proposed cutting all funding to the program last year, as the B.A.R. reported. At the end of the day, the 2024 budget signed by President Joe Biden increased funding to the program by $20 million, as the B.A.R. also reported.
Last year Republicans proposed $767 million in HIV cuts, and in the final 2024 budget largely maintained 2023 numbers. This year's proposal would make cuts of about $400 million.
LGBTQ Agenda is an online column that appears weekly. Got a tip on queer news? Contact John Ferrannini at [email protected]
The column will be off next week and return July 30.
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