PI Action alerts & updates ... 2004

Early Treatment for HIV Act
Introduced in the House of Representatives!

Urge Your Representative To Join The Bipartisan Effort!

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)