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Project
Inform/Treatment Action Network Alert
Early
Treatment for HIV Act Introduced in the House of Representatives!
Urge
Your Representative To Join The Bipartisan Effort!
March
3, 2004
Last week, Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Jim Leach
(R-IA) introduced H.R. 3859, the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA). The Senate
version of ETHA, S. 847, was introduced last year by Senators Hillary Clinton
(D-NY) and Gordon Smith (R-OR).
The House bill was
introduced with bipartisan support, as there are 20
original Republican
cosponsors and 52 original Democrat cosponsors. Our
success at gaining
bipartisan support is largely the result of the great efforts of advocates
nationwide urging their House Representatives to be cosponsors. A list of
current cosponsors is at the end of this Alert.
ETHA would allow states to
extend Medicaid coverage to include low-income,
pre-disabled people living
with HIV. Current Medicaid eligibility requirements are so strict that many
low-income people living with HIV are unable to qualify for the program until
they become disabled by AIDS. This legislation would allow early access to care
and treatment for thousands of low-income people living with HIV. It would also
help relieve the fiscal burden on other (less stable) safety net care and
treatment programs like the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
You can learn more about
this bill at www.taepusa.org. You can also
read the bill text, and follow its status, at http://thomas.loc.gov
(enter the bill number, H.R. 3859).
Now that the bill has been
introduced, we need as many cosponsors as possible, both Democrats and
Republicans, to make sure that it is considered for a vote and passed. Please
take a moment to call your Representative and urge him/her to sign on in support
of this lifesaving legislation!
What you can do:
Please call your U.S.
Representative and ask to speak to the staffperson who
handles HIV or healthcare
issues. Let him/her know you are a constituent and that you are calling to urge
the Representative to cosponsor H.R. 3859, the Early Treatment for HIV Act. If
your Representative is a Democrat, they should contact Rep. Pelosi's office to
sign on. If he/she is a Republican, they should contact Rep. Leach's office.
If your Representative has
already signed on, please take a moment to call their office and thank them for
their leadership! Urge them to do everything in their power to make sure this
bill becomes law this year!
Contact information:
You can reach your Members
of Congress by calling the Congressional switchboard toll-free at
1-800-839-5276. Ask to be connected to your Representative's office. You'll need
to know who they are in advance. If you
don't know who represents
you, go to www.vote-smart.org.
Look for future Alerts as
we work to make ETHA a reality! Thank you for all of your help with this effort!
H.R. 3859 Cosponsors (as of 3/3/04):
Rep. Neil Abercrombie
(D-HI)
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Rep. Thomas Allen (D-ME)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY)
Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)
Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA)
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)
Rep. Donna Christensen
(D-VI)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)
Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ)
Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)
Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen
(R-NJ)
Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX)
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Rep. Richard Gephardt
(D-MO)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA)
Rep. Amo Houghton (R-NY)
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee
(D-TX)
Rep. William Jefferson
(D-LA)
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY)
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Rep. Gerald Kleczka (D-WI)
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA)--Lead
Sponsor
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-NY)
Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME)
Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald
(D-CA)
Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
Rep. George Nethercutt
(R-WA)
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) -
Lead Sponsor
Rep. David Price (D-NC)
Rep. Jack Quinn (R-NY)
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(R-FL)
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ)
Rep. Janice Schakowsky
(D-IL)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Christopher Shays
(R-CT)
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL)
Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT)
Rep. Louise McIntosh
Slaughter (D-NY)
Rep. Christopher Smith
(R-NJ)
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)
Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY)
Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD)
Rep. James Walsh (R-NY)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL)
For more information,
contact:
Ryan Clary
Senior Policy Advocate
Project Inform
205-13th Street, #2001
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 558-8669 x224
(415) 558-0684 fax
Project Inform
Toll-Free Treatment Hotline
1-800-822-7422
Project Inform's toll-free hotline provides
HIV/AIDS treatment information
to people living with HIV/AIDS, their healthcare and service providers,
and family members.
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