A Great Victory for People Living with AIDS

I applaud my colleagues in the Senate for ending months of stalemate and delivering a victory for people living with HIV/AIDS with today’s passage of the “Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act

I hope that the House will promptly enact this life-saving bill before the 109th Congress adjourns.

The RWCA reauthorization bill approved today by unanimous consent in the Senate will save lives by increasing overall investment in Ryan White programs and revising flawed funding formulas, which currently favor states with urban areas and a longer history of AIDS infections over states where the disease is now spreading most rampantly. It better targets funding so that infected persons have better access to high quality health care, improves accountability for health outcomes, and ensures more equitable treatment opportunities for all persons with HIV/AIDS.