MAP Advocate
December 3, 2007
Vol. 13. No. 28

In This Issue:

1. AIDS Action Day Is March 18—Save the Date!
2. Federal Update: 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill—The Good and the Bad
3. In The News: HIV Infection Rate in U.S. Possibly Underestimated By as Much as 50%

AIDS Action Day Is March 18—Save the Date!

AIDS Action Day is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at the State Capitol. Join HIV advocates from around the state to support HIV prevention policies. More information will be available in the coming months. We hope you are able to attend! The 2008 Legislative Agenda will be unveiled in the next MAP Advocate.

AIDS Action Day is an opportunity for HIV advocates to come to the State Capitol and meet with their legislators face-to-face. It is an exciting day that includes lobby training, issues briefing, a noon rally, and time to meet with your elected officials.

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Federal Update: 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill—The Good and the Bad

The 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill was recently passed in Congress and sent to President Bush to be signed. He vetoed the bill because it exceeded his request for spending by $9.8 billion. There was an attempt to override the President’s veto but it failed. Below you will see the good and bad pieces of the legislation that were vetoed.

MAP Supported
It included an increase of $107.4 million for the Ryan White program over Fiscal Year 2007 funding levels. Specifically, an increase to Title I by $32.3 million, Title II AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) funding by $41 million, Title III Early Intervention funding by $23 million, and Title IV Women, Infants and Children funding by $3.5 million, as per the House bill, and Title II base funding by $5 million, as per the Senate bill.

MAP Did Not Support
A $28 million increase for the Community Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program, even though a 10-year evaluation revealed that abstinence-only programs don’t work. The $28 million increase proposed under the current bill would be the second largest increase for these programs in history.

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In The News: HIV Infection Rate in U.S. Possibly Underestimated By as Much as 50%

It is rumored that the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) will be releasing new statistics about the rate of new HIV infections in the United States. The new data could show that HIV infection rates have been underestimated. The old data estimates that there are around 40,000 new cases of HIV infection each year. According to unnamed sources at the CDC the new numbers could be as high as 58,000 to 63,000.

The release of this new information is clear evidence that the United States needs a new fully funded HIV prevention plan. This demonstrates not only how difficult it is to estimate HIV transmission rates, it also shows that the HIV problem in the U.S. is growing due to a lack of governmental and private leadership.

Figures on H.I.V. Rate Expected to Rise
New York Times
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: December 2, 2007

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Visit the MAP Advocate archive to see what you missed.

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For more information about what's of interest to you at the Minnesota State Capitol, visit the Web sites of our allies at OutFront Minnesota and Sex Ed for Life.

MAP Advocate is published by the Minnesota AIDS Project every two weeks while the Minnesota Legislature is in session, and monthly during the rest of the year. It isavailable through the MAP web site mnaidsproject.org and through email list service. If you wish to order the MAP Advocate, visit our Join the Public Policy Action Network page, or contact MAP Public Policy by phone or email.

MAP Public Policy
Minnesota AIDS Project
1400 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404

612-373-2437
1-800-248-2437

public.policy@mnaidsproject.org

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Last Updated: Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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